Charges dropped against Northern Illinois University controller

DeKalb County, Ill., prosecutors have dropped charges against a Northern Illinois University administrator who was charged in connection with an alleged scheme in which workers sold university scrap materials. The DeKalb Daily Chronicle says university Controller Keith Jackson, 56, had been charged with official misconduct and violation of the State Property Control Act in connection with alleged scrap metal recycling activities. Jackson was also charged with obstructing justice for allegedly putting the money from the so-called coffee fund account into another account he controlled. Jackson's attorney says his client moved the money to a different account because he did not know who it belonged to and wanted it under university control. Johnson and eight others were charged in connection with the alleged scheme. The prosecutor has dropped three of the nine cases and supported a plea agreement in a fourth. The coffee fund was an off-the-books repository for proceeds from the sale of university-owned scrap metal and other materials.