LeMaire Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Theft from City of Geneva

Steve LeMaire pleaded not guilty Wednesday to all charges stemming from his alleged misuse of a city of Geneva credit card.

Jennifer Kearney, a partner in the firm of Glockzin & Kearney, Ltd. in Naperville, said LeMaire's next court date would be April 19. Kearney represented LeMaire during the brief Wednesday court appearance, standing in for LeMaire's attorney, John P. Carbon, who was unavailable Wednesday.

LeMaire is charged with making more than $24,000 worth of unauthorized credit card purchases in his capacity as the city's streets and fleets superintendent. The charges were discovered when Geneva Public Works Director Dan Dinges checked on some of LeMaire's expenditures while LeMaire was on vacation.

LeMaire is facing three charges, handed down by a grand jury indictment on Feb. 3.

• Theft—a Class 1 felony carrying a possible sentence of four to 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections with a fine of up to $25,000.
• Online Theft by Deception—a Class 2 felony with a possible sentence of three to seven years and up to a $25,000 fine.
• Official Misconduct—a Class 3 felony with a possible sentence of two to five years and up to a $25,000 fine.

After the hearing, LeMaire appeared serious but relaxed. He answered "yes, doing OK" after the hearing to questions of how he and his family are standing up.

from work on Jan. 12 pending the outcome of an investigation related to suspicions that he had intentionally misused city funds. on Feb. 4, after serving 33 years with the city. 

• Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Jennifer Kearney works in John Carbon's law office. Kearney is a partner in her own firm, Glockzin & Kearney, Ltd. in Naperville. She represented Steve LeMaire on behalf of Carbon, who was unavailable Wednesday morning.