Devon Horton Indicted

Former District 65 Superintendent federally charged, indictment not public yet.

Just received the following email from District 65. The Evanston Roundtable has coverage, as does the Decaturish in Georgia.

Dear District 65 Community -

On Thursday, October 9, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois formally filed criminal charges against Dr. Devon Horton for acts he allegedly committed while serving as Superintendent of District 65.

The District has been aware of the ongoing investigation and has fully supported the process. At the request of federal authorities, we have maintained confidentiality to protect the integrity of the investigation.

We are deeply troubled and angered by these allegations. Now that the federal government has formally indicted, the District is reviewing the specific details of the indictment with the District’s legal counsel. A more detailed statement will be forthcoming after we have had an opportunity to review the details of the indictment.

Sergio Hernandez (he/him) and Dr. Nichole Pinkard (she/her)

Board Leadership

I don’t have a copy of the indictment, but will make it available as soon as I get it.

Horton’s Greatest Hits (Evanston)

In case you’re curious what this potentially could be about, here are my greatest hits of stories on Dr. Horton.

• Dr. Horton awarded no bid contracts to his business partners (March 2023)

• Dr. Horton using the Evanston Purchasing card for hotels in Georgia (August 2024)

• Dr. Horton using the Purchasing Card for Walgreens Giftcards and Boxing Pay Per View (March 2025)

• District 65 Used Capital Funds for Expensive Cars; hired a top Chicago Police Chief (November 2024)

• Dr. Horton lies to community about Foster School Construction (October 2023)

• Dr. Horton defaulting on his repayment agreement used a subordinate to make the payments (February 2024)

• Dr. Horton Moonlighting with Search Firm, Recruiting away D65 Staff (June 2023)

• Dr. Horton double dipping work with CPS (April 2023)

• Dr. Horton awarding work to a felon friend, skipping background checks, and then paying for work not completed (January 2023)

But, who knows what the indictment may hold! A smart reader noted the indictment is Horton et al, so there may be others involved.