Jeffrey Tobolski, whose roughly decade in power as both mayor of McCook and as a member of the Cook County Board ended amid a massive federal corruption case, died Sunday, two months before he was scheduled to report to prison.
Tobolski’s lawyer, James Vanzant, said his client died Sunday morning after a short illness. He did not have any additional details.
Tobolski was scheduled to report to prison after being sentenced earlier this year to four years. He was hospitalized twice in October with heart and lung issues and pneumonia, with doctors later noting a suspicious spot on his pancreas, a court filing last week stated. He had previously been scheduled to report to prison on November 3, but the judge in his case recently extended that date to January 16, according to court records.
The sentencing in August came nearly six years after Tobolski had agreed to cooperate with a federal investigation that became public in 2019 after the FBI raided his offices. The raid was part of a sweeping federal corruption probe that eventually brought down nearly a dozen suburban elected officials and political operatives, including Tobolski’s chief of staff and other close associates.
A Democrat, Tobolski pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort a local restaurant owner and filing a false tax return. He admitted to years of corruption as the leader of the small west suburban village of McCook, which has a population of only about 300 people but hosts scores of businesses and warehouses.
He acknowledged accepting more than $250,000 in bribes or extortion payments as well as other benefits such as cigars, dinners, sports tickets, and free air conditioning units that a developer installed at his home.
During the sentencing, U.S. District Chief Judge Virginia Kendall told Tobolski that he was intoxicated by the power of his public position and called him “a Jekyll and Hyde human being.”
“The side that was exhibited during those years was a very ugly, aggressive, arrogant individual, like the complete flip side of a human being,” Kendall said. “This small community should never have been terrorized by one human being.”
In the same hearing, Tobolski admitted his guilt and made a nearly 15-minute statement to the court, apologizing for the people he hurt. He said he had stopped abusing alcohol and changed his life for the better.
“What I did was wrong,” Tobolski said as about a dozen supporters looked on from the courtroom gallery. “I have added to the ever-increasing distrust in elected officials.”
Jeffrey Tobolski was the son of former McCook Mayor Raymond Tobolski, a firefighter and police chief. He rose through the political ranks of the small village, working as a trustee, then president of the local park district, and later president of the village board. He was appointed interim mayor in 2007 and won his first full term in 2009. He was elected to the Cook County Board in 2010 and retired from both positions in 2020.
In addition to his political career, Tobolski worked as a claims adjuster for the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company and Standard Mutual Insurance Company.
He is survived by his wife, Cathleen, and daughter, Emily.
Tobolski was one of several politicians caught up in the 2019 federal sweep that began with then-State Senator Martin Sandoval and extended to village halls and homes of several elected officials. Tobolski was notably absent from county board proceedings on the day of the raid on his office, but reportedly ordered Buona Beef for county staff to celebrate his birthday.
Sandoval also died before serving any prison time. He had pleaded guilty to bribery involving a red light camera company executive and was cooperating with federal investigators, including on matters involving Tobolski, when he died of COVID-19-related complications in December 2020.
After resigning from the Cook County Board and as McCook mayor in March 2020, Tobolski pleaded guilty that September. He cooperated with the federal investigation, which his attorneys argued should have granted him leniency in sentencing.
Tobolski’s chief of staff, Patrick Doherty, was also implicated in the probe. Doherty pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay bribes to help an executive of SafeSpeed get red light cameras installed in suburban Oak Lawn.
Following Tobolski’s resignation from the board, local Democrats chose Frank Aguilar to replace him. Village trustees appointed Terry Carr to serve as McCook mayor.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/09/jeffrey-tobolski-ex-mccook-mayor-convicted-in-corruption-case-dies-months-before-prison-term-was-to-begin/
