Daughter of Will County Board member charged with theft
BY JON SEIDEL Sun-Times Media jseidel@suntimes.com July 25, 2012 4:32PM
Megan J. Brooks
Updated: July 25, 2012 4:43PM
The daughter of Will County Board member Herbert Brooks Jr. is facing two felony counts of theft.
Joliet police said Megan J. Brooks, 22, of Joliet confessed to using gift cards to steal almost $1,300 from a Target in the 2700 block of Plainfield Road. She pleaded not guilty during her arraignment Tuesday, though, according to the Will County state’s attorney’s Office.
She’s expected back in court Aug. 28.
Cmdr. Brian Benton said Target officials caught Brooks taking items off the shelves of the Joliet Target store where she worked and then scanning them as returned items. He said she’d apply the credit to gift cards she used to make other purchases, including an American Express debit card. It happened between Dec. 6 and March 20.
Herbert Brooks, D-Joliet, said he originally heard the scheme involved another couple using coupons to buy hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise. He said his daughter denied knowing that couple.
Brooks was indicted in May but not arraigned until this week. A spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office said a special prosecutor will be sought to handle the case.
