South Cook News

Riverdale Mayor Lawrence Jackson was recently the subject of an FBI raid. 

“What’s new on Illinois corruption? Well, today the FBI executed a search warrant at the Riverdale mayor’s home,” NBC’s Mary Ann Ahern noted on Twitter. 

CBS reported the FBI said it had "engaged in court-authorized law enforcement activity.” 

"A source tells CBS 2 political investigator Dana Kosloff the search may be related to work the mayor is doing on his home, however, the FBI will not confirm that information,” a CBS Chicago anchor said in a newscast.

Former Riverdale Mayor Deyon Dean accused Jackson of lacking transparency when he ran against him in 2021. At the time he said he felt Dean was personally benefiting from his position, South Cook News reported.

“It has been brought to my attention that, you know, he's been very supportive to the people that supported him in his race,” Dean said. “He'd run the first time and allowing children, cousins and uncles to come in and work in the village.”

In his last Facebook post on his campaign page before his election in 2017, Jackson said he was running to set the government straight. 

“Mayor Jackson is putting Riverdale on the map for transparent, good government!” he wrote at the time. "His ethical agenda protects Village employees who have the courage to speak out against corruption, ensures the Village hires qualified employees, not friends and family and removes the threat of credit card abuse and financial malfeasance."

Illinois is known nationally as the most corrupt state in the country. Thousands of public officials have been charged and convicted of public corruption, also called the "Chicago way," ABC 7 Chicago reported. Since 2000 alone there have been 891 convictions for public corruption in the state.

According to a study conducted by the University of Illinois-Chicago, Illinois is the second-most corrupt state in the nation. The corruption costs the state economy over $550 million per year.