Guilty Plea in Football Program Theft Case

Theresa Carlquist struggled to pay her bills, faced trouble with the IRS and figured her business would likely go into bankruptcy.

Money problems led Carlquist to turn to an available source of money—the funds she oversaw as volunteer treasurer of the Downers Grove Panther Junior Football Program. She used the money, originally estimated at approximately $112,000, to not only try to fix her financial woes, but also to bolster her life by spending program dollars on, among other things, electronics and a vacation, prosecutors said.

On Thursday, Carlquist pleaded guilty to felony theft in a deal that required her to immediately pay $88,000 in restitution and serve six months in DuPage County Jail.

In accepting the plea, Judge Daniel Guerin decried Carlquist's "selfish conduct" that hurt children and put the "program in serious jeopardy."

Carlquist will also spend three years on probation. Her jail term will be served periodically beginning Oct. 3.

Prosecutors said Carlquist's scheme—which ran from February 2008 until December 2009—began to unravel after program officials discovered checks written to Nicor even though they had no accounts with the natural gas provider.

Carlquist also acknowledged in emails she had done something wrong, including a resignation message to the program president where she wrote "I have screwed up in a major way," Assistant State's Attorney Helen Kapas told Guerin.

As she left court, Carlquist's only statement was that she was glad the case had been resolved.

Several members of the Panther football organization attended Thursday's hearing, including current president Steve Lowery.

"This put us in quite a predicament a couple of years ago," Lowery said. "We had a lot of unpaid bills."

Lowery added money they thought was in the bank was actually in a negative balance.

"We're very thankful," he said of the outcome. Lowery also said they were thankful to the for their investigative work on the case.