Updated: 3:45 p.m.
Theresa A. Carlquist of Downers Grove was arrested Aug.21 and charged with embezzling more than $100,000 from the Panther Junior Football organization.
Carlquist, 51, who turned herself into the Downers Grove Police Department, was charged with six felony theft counts. The arrest culminates a nine-month investigation by police into the Panther organization’s finances, police said. Carlquist is a former Panthers treasurer and former member of the Downers Grove Human Service Commission. She resigned in March from the commission, where she had served since May 2005, according to village sources.
The probe began in December 2009 after Panther officials “discovered discrepancies in the funding and account balances for the program,” police said. Carlquist was an immediately suspected and relieved of her duties as treasurer. The subsequent investigation found she had written checks to herself on the Panther checking account for as much as $8,500.
Police allege Carlquist stole more than $100,000 from the Panthers between February 2008 and December 2009. She was released after posting a $5,000 bond pending a Sept. 8 court date.
Chief Robert Porter commended DGPD detectives for their investigative work, which involved poring over numerous financial documents.
UPDATE: Carlquist has been charged with two counts of embezzlement and six counts of felony grand theft. If convicted, felonies in Illinois are crimes that can carry a punishment of a year or more in prison.
There is a low point in someone’s life….its when you steal from Children’s futures…..
The countless hours that parents put in to the 50 yr old program to give their sons a platform to develop into good athletes, and then this person comes along and selfishly takes what is not hers.
No wonder every time I bought a raffle ticket I never won! Maybe the Panthers should just charge to play football instead of using those stupid fund raisers to subsidize the cost. My kid plays hockey and there aint no candy or raffle selling with that. You pay to play. PERIOD!
Nice job Buddyboob. kick the kids just after they’ve been clipped….
The kids do get charged and have an opportunity to sell raffle tickets to offset their costs. it allows less fortunate kids the ability to play an expensive sport. Liability insurance alone is huge, equipment and fields add up.
Editor’s note: Thank you DGDAD for taking the time to explain this.
What does an organization like the Panthers need to have over $100,000 for? To me shame on president and board for not catching earlier.
Editor’s note: This comment was edited. Remember people: The woman has been charged but not convicted of a crime.
Seems odd that the accounts were not audited until almost two year after the alleged checks were written. That is alot of money to entrust to the discretion of just one person. They seem to need a little Risk Management in the organization.
Regardless of the outcome of this case, this should be a reminder to similar organizations to set up audit committees that annually go over the books, track where the checks went, and count the money in the till. It’s a relatively simple process, but does require planning. It’s not a guaranteed safeguard, but its better than nothing.
If you cant afford it oh well. Wait until high school.
That opens up another can of worms, BB – there are probably coaches who won’t play them in High School if they didn’t play Panthers! You know, if you’re a kid and want to play a sport these days, you’d darned well better treat that sport as your life’s calling/your top priority, foresaking all other activities, be they travel/family trips, educational stuff, or – God forbid – any other sports!
A few years ago I had a child involved with Panthers. I was curious about their finances since their fees were so high and they did so much fundraising etc. I went to a few meetings and not one person there could explain the financials to me. They were carrying over about $100,000 from the year before and I said why collect fees or why not reduce them? Oh no, we need that money. We pay for the fields and we have to buy uniforms. I then researched uniforms and they cost a lot less than the fees I was paying. And the field usage fees and the uniform fees still did not add up to what they were raking in. Notice I said raking not taking.
Then I learned they are NOT a not-for-profit organization and no one could tell me who benefits from those hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This is not my opinion. These are facts from my experience. I know football is expensive and I guess uniforms are, but at that time I paid like 300 PLUS HAD to raise another $500.00 or some ungodly amount. Didn’t add up then doesn’t add up now. So yeah, since no one had a clue what is going on, it makes sense that this could happen.
On another note, I pray for the family. I may get “hollered at” here for this but imagine the desperation to drive someone to that… I pray none of us ever know that feeling…
It is very disappointing when someone is charged like this. It makes all the volunteers who handle money seem suspicious which is not fair. Obviously there were very little controls (segregation of duties) to detect it sooner, although they did detect it.
As an aside, I heard that the DGN Football Coach Wander tells all the players to forget what they learned in Panthers. I don’t think he holds it against anybody if they did not play Panthers. I am guessing he prefers if they didn’t.
Wow, I didn’t know our DGPD has forensic auditors. Good job to them! Agree with KellyDGM here. Panthers should have hired an outside auditor. If they did, then they should hire an attorney.
Good to hear that, eirosie, I stand corrected! I guess the obsession requirement comes later, with continuous summer camps & off-season, year-’round stuff for various sports.
Panther shmanthers! If you are talented you will play on any level. If our DG high school coaches are only taking Panthers then they are missing the boat on plenty of talented kids. I wonder if our hostess could do a story on the % of kids who make starter on Varsity and if they played Panther football.
On another note, there is no way the Panthers need that much money for anything. So they don’t have Under Amour uniforms. Poor little spoiled rich kids. That is over rated anyway. A nice Riddel or Starter uniform would suffice. I asked the Panther President where the results where to the raffle that I have done every year and he couldn’t get me the results. Sounds like this is one bad organization.
Editor’s note: Just your opinion, Dude. I know many families who have enjoyed and benefited from their Panther experience and who don’t qualify as “spoiled” or “rich.” My only experience with the group came when my daughter wanted to try out for cheerleading in third grade. We tallied the costs and decided she had to find another activity. On the other hand, I suspect our schools are full of cheerleaders who got their start with Panthers.
I regret hearing the Panther Program having a minor setback. I read from an early post that “due diligence” and “oversight” when dealing with the programs finances where recommended. I would all so recommend no access to ATM withdraws and when signing paper checks two signers; for example, the President and the Treasure. I hate it when organizations get financial misuse that do not need to happen in the first place; thank goodness the Panthers have implemented the new “safeguards.”
As for the percentage of youth going directly on to higher levels of Football or cheerleading is immaterial. I know for fact most of the youth that I grew up with that participated in the Panther Football Program, went onto other positive productive programs that contribute society. I love football like the next American but football is not only event that this great country has to offer. Who knows maybe one of these young Cheerleaders or footballs that take the field this weekend might be a future Chairperson of the Republican Party (Earl, why do you always have to turn everything into politics? Not Kids Earl, that’s below the belt.) Thanks for letting me sell raffle tickets for little league when being a Youth in Downers, help me develop selling and marketing skills that I use today.
All volunteer organizations should take note of this travesty. No matter how many years your organization has been around, no matter how many years people have volunteered….have checks and balances, have financial controls, and Roll over your Board of Directors, especially your Treasurer at least every two years.
600 kids, in the organization that don’t have to buy their equipment. Go price a new helmet, it ain’t cheap. As a parent of a new panther, I will be asking lots of questions, and so should all the others.
There are other Football programs in other towns, they are all run in a similar fashion and charge similar fees.
That would be great if it were totally true “dude”. However at least one staff member at a 99 school has a financial stake in one of the profitable club teams. Some of them have close personal ties with owners of club teams. Does that bias the decision on whether a non club kid makes the HS team? You would hope not but many travel teams are hurting in this economy possibly blurring objectivity.
More than a few kids burn out by HS when they have been scoped in only one sport since toddlerhood like a Soviet gymnast. The overuse injury rate for athletic kids has also sky rocketed. Young bodies were not meant for only one continuous activity.
In an effort to try to stop this in the future, the Downers Grove Park District will now be requiring annual Independent Financial Audits of any organization that has a memorandum of understanding (MOU’s) with them. This is DGYB, DOLLS, Panthers, and Road Runners effective in 2011.
Of course its my opinion. Isn’t that what we do here. I am not claiming any fact. I am stating that its ridiculous to have to pay $300 entry and sell $500 in fund raising just to play football. No way football costs $800 bucks, no way. They use park district fields. Maybe that is the problem right there.
Both our kids played Panther football and they loved it. Given the fees and costs they have before the season even starts that kind of float is understandable. It seems this is the year residents are being reminded that, big or small, public or not, financial scrutiny is a core need, not an option.
First thing, let’s get our facts straight.
The cost this year was a $285 fee to play, plus $100 in raffle tickets. You could sell raffle tickets to reduce your cost. Throwing out an unsubstantiated cost of $800 to play, then saying that cost is absurd is… well, an absurd argument.
Further, organizations carry cash balances from year to year for necessary reasons: For liquidity, saving up for longer term periodic costs,etc. Not sure how anyone can judge what the right amount for someone else to carry in their checkbook.
Seems like a lot ot beefing and assumptions (“there are probably coaches who won’t play them in High School if they didn’t play Panthers!”) for the sake of beefing going on here is diluting an actual discussion.
My speculation was corrected – sorry.
Thanks for chiming in with the numbers.
sounds like DGDUDE has some sort of ax to grind as well as very limited understanding of the facts of running a MAJOR jr football organization.
I say “major” because the Panther organization has been around for 50 years and is very well respected within the Bill George League.
As it relates to your child playing or cheering in HS without doing Any organized sport ahead of time….( I have these converstions with people regarding “travel” baseball and basketball too), these sports help your child grow, which will give them a “leg up” in most cases, once highschool sports start. BUT, in no way does it give them an “I-Pass” to being a starter once highschool starts. I know plenty of kids who haven’t done travel football or baseball, but make starting squads at the highshool levels. All I know, its important to keep your keep physically fit and these sports programs help them do it. My kid loves his Panthers teamates and coaches. We are grateful to have such a well respected organization in our community. Many other communities’ football programs don’t compare as favorably…I know cause I speak with the parents who have brought their kids from those towns’ prgrams and are now playing for the Panthers.
How bout some football..
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If $385 is the correct number then no DG family should need to sell raffle tickets in order for thier kid to play. You all have the money or you wouldnt live here.
DG dude…. I’m going to assume that you are being facetious because I live in Downers Grove and I couldn’t afford that kind of money for football. I only live here now because I’ve lived her so long that I don’t have a $3000/month mortgage like my neighbors.
Then you wouldnt have children who are in Panther football so it doesnt pertain to you. thanks.
The biggest and most obvious problem with all of the Travel and Youth programs is that most parents don’t ask for a financial statement from the organization. Outside auditors should be hired and their expense should be absorbed by the fee and fundraised monies. Evidently this Panther organization which is very successful with numerous teams was a sitting duck for this treasurer.
CMP….Please read my previous post as the Park Dist. is now requiring such audits (annually) in order to be affiliated with them
I believe the alleged was indicted this week. One step closer to justice for the kids.
CMP, why do you believe you have the right to see the financial statements of a private organization?
If I am a paying parent for a player, why would’nt I have the right to see financials? In reality, all parents who pay into any sports organization should know where the funds are being spent. Maybe we would not have as many of these type of underhanded incidents occuring. Many others MAY be in similiar situations in these travel-type teams and feel they too can take a little here and there. Actually, I feel state legislation mandating all these Sport /Travel organizations disclose their financials on a yearly basis would be great especially for the parents paying in. Also many already are disclosing their financials to the parents. They get it and are honest.
If they are affiliated with the Park District then the financials should be made available.
Editor’s note: The Panthers is a private organization, to the best of my knowledge. It is not operated by the park district.
While the Panthers’ private financial statements wouldn’t necessarily be available simply due to the public affiliation, if the Park District required submission of an annual audit (as Mr. Gusel describes), wouldn’t the audits presumably then be subject to a FOIA request directed to the PD?
All the Travel and Recreational Sports team use the Park District facilities for the most part. There may be an odd exception to this rule. This ties them into all the taxpayers in Downers Grove and thus they should submit financials.
CMP
I use the park district facilities too….swings, slides and baseball diamonds…does that give the Park District the right to monitor my check book?
Panthers PAYS, as a third party, the Park District for the use of fields, just like you or I can.