Political candidate stole thousands from mom, prosecutors say

A perennial Lake County political candidate faces felony charges after he stole thousands of dollars from his elderly mother, authorities said Thursday.

Steven M. Skinner, 49, of the 39000 block of North Woodside Avenue, Antioch Township, surrendered Thursday on a warrant charging him with financial exploitation of an elderly person and theft.

At least $190,000 is believed to be missing, said Marc Hansen, an investigator with the Lake County state's attorney's office.

Skinner, a former library board member who has run unsuccessfully for a variety of other elected offices, took control of his 80-year-old mother's bank accounts in 2004, Hansen said.

The thefts took place between 2004 and 2008, authorities said. Skinner began writing checks from his mother's account to pay his own bills. Skinner also recently bought a house with his mother's money, Hansen said.

A relative discovered the thefts and called authorities, officials said.

Skinner appeared before Associate Judge Raymond Collins on Thursday and was released after posting $5,000 for bond. He is due to appear in court April 28.

If convicted, Skinner faces up to 15 years in prison on each charge.

Reached at home Thursday afternoon, Skinner called the case "very troubling to me" but said he expects to be vindicated.

"There's two sides to every story," he said, declining to comment further.

Skinner, who has worked as a real-estate agent, journalist and machine-shop owner, has been a regular on Lake County ballots for years.

Formerly of Round Lake, he was the Democratic nominee for the State House 52nd District seat in 2002, but lost to Republican Mark Beaubien.

The next year he won a seat on the Round Lake Area Public Library District board. He served as president of that panel.

Skinner ran for the Lake County Board's District 6 seat later in 2003, but lost to Republican Larry Leafblad.

He unsuccessfully ran for Round Lake mayor in 2005, losing to Bill Gentes. After moving to the Antioch area, he lost a Democratic primary bid for the county board's District 1 seat last year.

Daily Herald Staff Writer Lee Filas contributed to this report.