Ex-Bloomingdale Township highway commissioner gets prison for kickback scheme

Former Bloomingdale Township Highway Commissioner Robert Czernek was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in prison for his role in a kickback scheme with a corrupt contractor.

The 71-year-old, whose lawyers said he is suffering symptoms of "long-haul COVID" among other maladies, dabbed tears from his eyes and cleared his throat frequently during a sentencing hearing that lasted about 40 minutes.

Czernek spoke softly as he read nervously from a written statement.

"I make no excuses for my conduct," he said. "My crime was not a mistake, it was something that I did to enrich myself," he said.

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