The wife and son of Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones combined to earn more than $120,000 in 2023 while working for or on behalf of the city, public records show.
Saprina Jones made $92,538 for her roles while Thaddeus Jones Jr. made $32,250, according to records showing the money they made from the city from Jan. 1 to Dec. 4 of last year.
Saprina Jones apparently was chosen by city officials to work for programs in Calumet City paid for by state funded grants while Thaddeus Jones Jr. worked directly for the city.
Mayor Thaddeus Jones and Saprina Jones did not respond to requests for comment. Thaddeus Jones Jr. could not be reached.
City spokesman Sean Howard said Saprina Jones manages three state-funded grant programs regarding violence prevention, summer school opportunities and youth development.
“Her salary does not come from the general fund of the City of Calumet City,” Howard said in a written statement.
Saprina Jones’ is paid from state grants through the Reimagine Public Safety Act, Howard said. The Illinois Department of Human Services website lists her name as part of the Calumet City portion of the violence prevention services program.
Andre Thomas, a program contact, said Saprina Jones was hired by Calumet City leadership, not a state body.
“If the city of Calumet City was awarded the grant, then the city of Calumet City is responsible for who they hire,” Thomas said. “The onus is on them to hire the people who are capable of doing what it is that they are asking.”
The state does provide oversight to vet candidates and ensure the work is getting done, Thomas said.
Howard defended Saprina Jones’ hiring, highlighting her bachelor’s and master’s degree in human resources and business, as well as other certifications in the field. Her experience also includes work as an assistant vice president and branch manager of a bank, he said.
Howard did not reply to requests for specific information, including how many other applicants were considered, if there was a public job posting and what portion of the state funds cover Saprina Jones’ position.
Neither Howard or Saprina Jones responded to requests for more information on her work on summer school opportunities and a youth development program.
“I would think that Calumet City has plenty of residents qualified to do those jobs that are not family members of the mayor,” 6th Ward Ald. James Patton said in a January interview.
Patton didn’t know Saprina’s title or duties until the Daily Southtown relayed Howard’s statement to him. But he said questions remain.
“I still really don’t know what the job does. I know what the title is but I don’t know what she’s doing,” Patton said. “So I would not say that I know now. I would say I know a title.”
He said this situation is not exclusive to Saprina Jones, explaining aldermen are often kept in the dark about the job descriptions of new hires.
City Clerk Nyota Figgs said, to her knowledge, Mayor Jones, who is also a state representative, did not appoint Saprina Jones to a position.
Thaddeus Jones Jr. did work for the city directly with the public access cable television division, Howard said. The written statement said this is a role he “performs daily for the city of Calumet City” and his salary is $38,000.
The public record shows Jones Jr. worked for only about half of 2023. He was paid for work from May to November and made $32,250 during those six months.
Figgs said she reviews hiring decisions in her role as clerk and said Jones Jr. was hired on a part-time basis as “summer help,” not for the public access cable television department.
“Summer help; they are not paid that much,” she said.
Figgs said employees hired for seasonal help jobs are usually paid minimum wage, which is less than $14 an hour in most of Cook County. Jones Jr. earned $2,500 every two weeks according to the financial records.
Patton also recalled Jones Jr. was hired as part of a summer jobs program which was used for “high school and college aged kids to help out with grass cutting and curb painting and all that stuff during the summer time.”
First Ward Ald. Michael Navarrete, 4th Ward Ald. Ramonde D. Williams and 5th Ward Ald. DeJuan Gardner declined to comment. Ald. DeAndre Tillman, 3rd, and Ald. Anthony Smith, 7th, did not return calls.
Ald. Monet S. Wilson, 2nd, said it was “shameful” when she was told how much Saprina Jones and Thaddeus Jones Jr. made.
“The mayor, who is also the state rep and the liquor commissioner, that’s three paychecks right there, now has his wife on the payroll,” said Wilson. “That’s a fourth paycheck. And his college aged son — that’s a fifth paycheck.”
Howard said it is “unfortunate” former Calumet City Mayor Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush did not receive the same scrutiny as Jones and his family.
“It is important to note that the previous Mayor of Calumet City had numerous relatives on the Calumet City payroll including the former Mayor’s husband, mother and her two sons,” Howard’s email stated.
Markiewicz Qualkinbush could not be reached for comment.
hsanders@chicagotribune.com