Elgin check forger sent to prison

An Elgin woman with an extensive criminal history was sentenced to prison Thursday for forging a $360 check.

Christine Richardson, 45, of the 200 block of Ann Street, pleaded guilty in Kane County court to felony forgery in exchange for a 30-month prison sentence. Judge Allen M. Anderson accepted the plea deal.

Assistant State's Attorney Dan Carter said Richardson's criminal history dates to the late 1980s and includes numerous drug-related convictions in Cook and Kane counties resulting in prison terms.

She was charged with forgery in July after faking the signature on a $363.09 check made out to herself, then trying to have it cashed in Elgin, Carter said.

Richardson also was sentenced to a month in the county jail for violating her probation by being charged with drug paraphernalia possession last year.

Richardson, who has been held on $75,000 bond since her arrest on the forgery charge, was given credit for 123 days already served. She also was ordered to pay $380 in court costs.