Attorney trio in trouble

A Springfield lawyer was asked to resign from her city job this month after allegations of unethical behavior came to light from her time working for the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

At the heart of the controversy is Salena Young and the two men with whom she lives; both also worked with her as assistant attorneys general. One of the men, Thomas Ewick, was her supervisor while she worked at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the other, Jason Young, is her husband.

The three live together in an upscale residence on Springfield’s west side.

The executive inspector general for the attorney general issued a report Dec. 29 accusing the trio of engaging in a scheme that enabled Salena Young to simultaneously work for the attorney general, the Sangamon County Public Defender and operate a private law practice.

Much of the alleged misconduct happened while Salena Young was purportedly working remotely from her home.

In an interview April 20 with IT she said, “I made a mistake. I should have asked for permission (for outside employment). I love the practice of law.” After learning of the investigation, Salena Young resigned from her $93,744 a year state job June 30 “rather than cooperate with the (Office of the Executive Inspector General),” according to the inspector general’s report.

“I always got the job done,” Salena Young said in the interview. “There were never any complaints about the quality of my work. My evaluations were good. I worked long hours late into the evening but did a good job with both jobs. I loved being a public defender and am continuing to work pro bono for some of my clients.”

The inspector general’s report paints a different picture.

The report states that work schedules subpoenaed from the Sangamon County Public Defender and Illinois Attorney General’s offices show her billing work for both entities during the same hours. Further, the report contends court dockets show both Jason and Salena Young appeared as lawyers in court representing parents in private parental rights cases at a time when they were supposed to be working for the taxpayers.

“These representations were frequently adverse to DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services), an agency whose interests they both represented in their state work on behalf of the (Office of the Attorney General),” the report said.

Salena Young told IT she does not believe there was any conflict of interest for her to handle these cases.

The report stated, “To avoid detection and for their personal benefit they failed to report each other’s blatant conflicts and policy violations as required by the OAG and the Ethics Act.”

Ewick and Jason Young both left employment with the attorney general’s office Feb. 15, about six weeks after the inspector general’s report was issued. Jason Young declined to discuss the matter with IT. Ewick could not be reached directly for comment.

Salena Young said she left the state job of her own volition but the other two were forced out of their positions.

After leaving state employment, Salena Young was hired by the city of Springfield, where she helped enforce the city housing code and conducted litigation.

But when Corporation Counsel Greg Moredock became aware of the inspector general’s allegations, he asked for her resignation, she said. She left city employment April 12. When contacted by IT, Moredock declined to elaborate on the circumstances surrounding her departure, although he said he was unaware until recently of the allegations surrounding Salena Young.

Salena Young told IT although Ewick was her supervisor, he was not the person responsible for administering her performance evaluations or determining whether she received her promotion. She added it was known within the attorney general’s office that Ewick lived with both her and her husband.

But the inspector general, Diane Saltoun, said in her report, “Ewick denied having a relationship with S. Young other than being her former supervisor at the (Office of Attorney General). The (inspector general) asked Ewick where he lived but Ewick refused to say.”

The report says while Ewick admitted to having had a previous relationship with her, he added, “I don’t have a personal relationship with Salena Young.” The report also noted Ewick said he did not talk to or get along with Jason Young.

When pressed on where he lived, the report states Ewick said, “It varies from night to night. … I do not live with [Salena] … I do not have a permanent address.”

When asked where he worked during the pandemic, when state offices were closed, the report says Ewick claimed to have worked “mostly out of my car.”

However, the report said the investigation found the trio routinely logged into the state’s computer system from the same residential address. It also noted that the three took days off at the same time and “appeared to all vacation together” as they were logging in remotely from the same out-of-state address during January 2023.

The inspector general contends that Ewick was “dishonest,” “provided false information” and “failed to cooperate” with her investigation.

The report also said that Ewick denied helping Salena Young maintain multiple jobs during the same work hours.

“It is reasonable to conclude from the evidence … that S. Young and J. Young, for their collective benefit, intentionally and repeatedly stole and abused significant amounts of state time by performing other paid employment at the same time they were being paid by the OAG for state work, in violation of the Ethics Act and OAG policies,” the report found.

The investigation further found, “Based on the evidence it is reasonable to conclude that Ewick used state time and resources at the expense of the state, to further his and S. Young and J. Young’s personal and financial interest.”

The report recommended that Ewick and Jason Young be fired from their state jobs. It also recommended that the trio not be recommended for future employment in the office and that the state seek to recoup public money lost in wages paid while they were allegedly working for others.

The attorney general’s press secretary, Jamey Dunn-Thomason, said the matter has been referred to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission as well as the Ethics Commission. Steve Splitt, a spokesman for the ARDC, said he can neither confirm nor deny that his agency is investigating the trio. He added no disciplinary action has been taken against any of them.

Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at sreeder@illinoistimes.com.

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