1 charged in Fox Valley parks theft

A Fox Valley Park District employee was arrested Friday on charges she stole about $3,000 - from the police.

Delilah F. England, 69, of the 1800 block of Silver Oaks Court, Aurora, is accused of stealing bond money collected by the park district police department between February 2007 and February 2009.

Kane County Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said park district auditors noticed the missing funds last month and requested an independent investigation. He declined to comment on how or whether the money was spent.

England turned herself in to police Friday on one count of theft of government property, a Class 2 felony punishable by three to seven years in prison or probation. She was released on a $300 bond.

Gengler said the bond money was payment from ordinance violation tickets, such as littering and traffic complaints, that support the park district. He said England was a civilian employee rather than a police officer, and her job duties included processing the bonds.

The Fox Valley Park District, based in Aurora, had no comment on the case Friday. England's first court date was not immediately available.