By Beth Hundsdorfer
Belleville News-Democrat
BELLEVILLE, Ill. — The corrections officer who faces felony forgery charges is still drawing a state paycheck, though he is locked out of his prison.
Kevan Caliper, 42, of Swansea, was charged on Aug. 23 with forgery. He is accused of signing certificates that driving under the influence defendants completed court-ordered treatment when they hadn’t.
Caliper, who is a Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center guard, was moonlighting as a state-licensed drug and alcohol counselor and operating First Choice DUI Services and Evaluation in Belleville.
After he was charged, Caliper was “locked out” of the prison, but continues to draw a paycheck until a hearing to determine whether he should face suspension without pay.
“Mr. Caliper availed himself of procedures that all employees are entitled to,” said Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Tom Shaer. “The exchange of communications that occurred resulted in the hearing being moved to Tuesday morning.”
Decisions in these kinds of cases are typically made the same day. After the judge makes a ruling, the decision is forwarded to Springfield. The earliest Caliper could expect to see his pay halted would be Wednesday.
The delay allowed Caliper to collect eight days of pay, including a day’s worth of holiday pay for the Labor Day holiday.
Caliper earned $62,446 in annual salary in 2013.
Caliper’s attorney Jim Stern declined to comment on Friday.
A St. Clair County grand jury is scheduled to hear evidence to determine whether Caliper will be indicted on the forgery charge.
In Illinois, anyone arrested for driving under the influence must undergo an alcohol and drug evaluation before sentencing can occur for the DUI office. The court may use the evaluation to order treatment for the defendant.
During an audit, the Illinois Department of Human Service discovered discrepancies in Caliper’s paperwork. IDHS’ Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse suspended Caliper’s provider license in the summer of 2012.
Those discrepancies were turned over to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office who then referred them to St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly.