Illinois School Employee Sentenced to Nine Years After Stealing $1.5 Million in Chicken Wings From District Near Chicago

Illinois — A longtime school district employee has been sentenced to nine years in prison after prosecutors say she orchestrated a large-scale food theft scheme involving more than $1.5 million worth of chicken wings intended for students at a school near Chicago. The case, which unfolded during the COVID-19 pandemic, involved over 11,000 cases of chicken wings diverted from the district’s food service program.

Prosecutors identified the employee as Vera Liddell, 68, who had worked for the district for more than a decade and oversaw food service operations. Her role allowed her to place orders, manage inventory, and authorize deliveries — responsibilities investigators say she used to execute the yearlong theft.

Routine Audit Exposes Massive Over-Budget Food Spending

The scheme came to light when a routine financial audit flagged food expenditures that were approximately $300,000 over budget, a red flag that prompted a deeper internal review. At the time, schools in the district were closed due to pandemic restrictions, but meal kits were still being provided to families with students learning at home.

According to investigators, none of the chicken wings Liddell ordered ever made it into those student meal kits. Instead, she allegedly placed repeated orders for large quantities of wings, had them delivered to the district, and then transported the shipments using a school cargo van for personal use and profit.

How the Scheme Operated During the Pandemic

Investigators say the theft began in July 2020, at the height of remote learning, and continued for roughly one year. Because students were not consuming food on campus, the sudden spike in meat orders stood out to auditors, prompting closer scrutiny of delivery logs, invoices, and vendor communication.

Liddell allegedly ensured:

• The chicken wings were ordered through official channels
• Delivery paperwork appeared normal
• Food never reached distribution points for student meals

This allowed the scheme to continue for months before financial irregularities forced the district to investigate.

Guilty Plea Leads to Nine-Year Sentence

Liddell ultimately pleaded guilty to theft and operating a criminal enterprise. A judge sentenced her to nine years in prison, according to the report. Prosecutors noted the scale of the theft was extraordinary, both in dollar amount and in the quantity of food diverted.

Court documents state the repeated orders totaled more than $1.5 million, making this one of the largest food service theft cases ever recorded in an Illinois school district.

District Still Recovering From Financial Impact

The district, still dealing with the financial repercussions, has since implemented stricter auditing procedures, improved tracking for food distribution, and introduced new protocols to prevent future abuses of authority.

More details about restitution, district-level policy changes, or further administrative action have not yet been released publicly. NapervilleLocal.com will continue following updates as additional court records or district statements become available.