Police: Inmates got out of Illinois jail with pandemic loans

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — More than two dozen people have been charged in Illinois with fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief money, with authorities alleging some of them were behind bars when they used their relief money to post bond and free themselves from jail. Joliet Police Chief William Evans says 25 people have been charged in the alleged fraud scheme to get Paycheck Protection Program checks while not operating actual businesses. Fifteen of those people had been arrested by Wednesday. Authorities say a investigation found that some of the defendants were inmates at the Will County Jail in Joliet when they applied for and received Paycheck Protection Program loans, and then used the money to bond out of jail on their felony cases.