Thank you for your work on this story. The embarrassment and the frustration over the hiring of Dr. Horton stings to this day. Anyone, involved in the tragedy should not be representing our City in any capacity what so ever. Agree Mr Hernandez and Ms Wilkins need to resign. They can tell their story during the trial of Mr Horton.
Again, I ask Evanston: why are two of The Grifter’s most ardent supporters STILL on the BoE? Illinoisans put up with a lot of corruption. We can’t recall Sergio and Mya, but we could shame them into resigning. Then again, maybe that’s just not possible.
I really think it's the time to ratchet this up, specifically for Mya. The fact that she hasn't met with the Kingsley community or even bothered to respond to their emails as their school liaison is reprehensible. Even if she wasn't part of the Horton era, this dereliction of duty or basic decency means she needs to go now.
One of the BOE reps for D65 is friends with the lawyer who works at NWU that’s married to Dekalb’s lead legal counsel. So there is that. If you can find the one who works at NWU then I can tell you how Horton landed in Dekalb.
I think we’re underrating a key point here, Horton, a guy who hammered “equity” and “antiracism” (I quote not because of their value but because of his questionable commitment to them) grifting with a regular Fox News commentator?
A) we know right wing media is a grift machine all around
B) how committed to antiracism can you be while doing all this work with someone who helps platform the worst right wing ideology?
Please note that we still have Dr Kermit Belcher who came to Dekalb from JCPS because Horton brought him. I have a recorded meeting with Belcher and other staff that the Feds immediately turned into a federal investigation once I sent my complaint off for the illegal activity of sending records to federal agencies without consent. They are still being investigated by the USDOE and OIG for that one.
As of December 2025 I filed another federal complaint that turned into the second federal investigation for Sarita Smith’s and Devon Hortons part in implementing Tomson Reuters CLEAR ID. Sarita solicited Tomson Rueters in October 2023. She and Horton implemented CLEAR ID before having it approved by the BOE or their legal team.
As of November 2025 I was able to verify that they rolled CLEAR ID out on everyone that has data on their servers. We unenrolled five years ago. My 2020 NDA stated that they were required to remove my data from their servers within 15 days of signing our agreement. The district didn’t remove that data. In fact they began harvesting data on two of my personal email addresses. I wiped my footprint from their servers for the FOURTH time back in November. As of the last time I checked (two weeks ago) my personal email address is still ACTIVE in their server which means they’re still using CLEAR ID on family.
I'm going to have to delete this comment because of the claim and she's a private citizen but for other readers the general question here is "Had Sarina been indicted for her role in any of these messes? Is she still employed?"
Hey I’m not even mad at you. I’m not trying to slander anyone. Which is why I’m not saying NAMES for all the folks attached to Evanston IL and DEKALB COUNTY.
She’s still employed. They actually gave her a promotion after Horton was removed. They know she’s complicit in all the government contracts, but for some reason they’re scared to remove her. We’re a right to work state, so they can fire her and she’d lose in court. I’ve given the district and our “elected reps” that represent Dekalb more than enough to remove her from the district, but they won’t.
I had another one of her government contracts removed from the BOE Agenda on Monday because she lied about where the money would be pulled from. It clearly stated they’d paid for that with a credit card back in November of 2025. She was asking for another $180k to cover the expenses she’d already paid to the vendor. The irony? All I had to do was search for the vendors name in the PUBLIC financial reports the district publishes every month. It took 2 minutes to find it.
She’s messy and she doesn’t seem to understand there are around ten to fifteen very vocal stakeholders in Dekalb who babysit this district. I’ve been pulling my stunts to have folks removed since 2016. But again, the powers that be don’t seem phased that she’s one of the reasons the FEDS keep coming back.
I just do not understand what the appeal to keeping her is. Especially when I have connected her to the journalist that was detained at the No Kings Rally out in Brookhaven. They were using CLEAR ID already without the public KNOWING just how invasive it was. I mean if three branches of the Feds used my federal complaint for what SHE and HORTON did, then immediately turned it into an investigation within a week, I’d say that would be a good reason to stop allowing Horton’s flunkies to remain employed in the district.
That CLEAR ID contract she solicited is also TRAINING AI without consent from ANYONE. They’re using all of the data they collect when we enroll our children in the district for this endeavor. But it doesn’t stop there. Any email communication to and from parents, teachers, administrators et al is sent to “TRAIN AI” One of the other government add ons to that contract sends our entire digital footprint to the DHS, and WE get ZERO say in it.
They updated their website last night in an attempt to claim they have the right to do this without consent. Well the OIG, USDOE, DOJ and FBI told me numerous times in email and over the phone “they do not get to send that data anywhere without consent. Especially if they’re sending data to these outside agencies on children who have IEPS and 504s”
So that’s why they grabbed my complaints as quickly as they did. My son has had an IEP on file with the district since 2015.
Just adding that both Smith & Dillard were hired & worke under GA educator credentials which give them extra rights regarding their employment and are just not at will. That is why DeKalb just could not fire Horton outright. I do think DeKalb uses the process as an excuse not to take action sometimes, though.
My position on some of these things is that employees are mostly following the rules… it is the rules that are the problem (re: software and privacy) and the people in charge should address that. Buying things and giving contracts where you & your close associates benefit is different-for me- as there are common standards of ethics and morality, regardless of the official policy. Those should be taken seriously by the leadership and board of the district, as far as keeping people in their positions.
You know I agree with that. Unfortunately I gave them a very long rope to hang themselves. As someone who has spent 30 years of her career in the world of risk mitigation, business intelligence, cybersecurity et al who has government clearance because I busted my ass to obtain it, I should have reported these folks in 2022 when I first found out where our data was going and how easy it was to access it. I reported my findings to the local level and yes, the district was slapped repeatedly for being out of compliance. I never imagined I would have to take the route of going to the Feds to report a district I had sued TWICE already. The second lawsuit was for the very thing they’re doing now and claiming they have immunity to do so. HB268 does NOT give the entire district immunity from sending our data to outside agencies without our consent. It only covers three individuals.
I would LOVE to send you the more damning receipts that I’ve yet to make public. I’ve been threatened, I’ve lost my ability to provide for my family because they keep triggering the PTSD they induced in me back in 2020. They have asked me to commit a FELONY TWICE as a stipulation to resolve a legal situation that’s been brewing since 2015. That felony was to help distract from Horton’s indictment. They asked me to do that right when he would have received notice of the indictment.
The connection of our district’s legal counsel to EVANSTON IL is the piece I haven’t dropped. I haven’t even told Tracy everything about that one. She pointed out that Count 17 was due to a Cook County Commissioner being involved to assist in covering Horton’s financial issues. Well that person is tied to us by proxy of who our BOE uses as their “legal counsel” That individual is married to someone who works at NWU. They own a home in Evanston. Their daughter is a DOJ Attorney. The Cook County person sits on a non profit owned by said legal counsel and her husband that works at NWU. The Cook County individual was once a federal judge but she was removed for unethical conduct.
That individual from Cook County also sits on a non profit I was told about by the districts LEGAL COUNSEL when she was trying to state she advocated for children. That same attorney rolled on Horton in that almost two hour conversation I RECORDED. This was back in July. I had no way of knowing the people I found on the board of that non profit were associated with any of this until a former BOE rep here in Dekalb let us all know what the LEAD counsels married name was. As soon as I found that out I was able to connect the dots as to why that attorney had NO digital footprint under the name she practices with. When I typed her married name in that’s when I found EVERYTHING. Including the address for the home she owns with her husband in Evanston IL.
Those “voluntary bankruptcies” all over Horton’s record. Let’s just say that’s a common theme with everyone that has a home in Georgia and Evanston IL. I found 10+ voluntary bankruptcies from that Cook County commissioner. My opinion to this day is that Horton was sacrificed because someone’s daughter gave their parents the heads up to the investigation. They rolled on Horton to save their own asses.
Here is where I posted about the federal complaint I was about to file against Horton and Smith. This was posted in December. You have no idea how many videos and exhibits I have to prove just how bad this is…
For anyone following along, I did POST about my federal complaint against Devon Horton and Sarita Smith in December. Here is that post. This includes documents that prove at no time was the board of education made aware of her solicitation and implementation of CLEAR ID. She even worked with another former employee of Dr. Horton’s to roll this out without consent from anyone other than his department. That employee is the CIO for our district.
Thank you for your work on this story. The embarrassment and the frustration over the hiring of Dr. Horton stings to this day. Anyone, involved in the tragedy should not be representing our City in any capacity what so ever. Agree Mr Hernandez and Ms Wilkins need to resign. They can tell their story during the trial of Mr Horton.
What is happening with the Forensic Accounting of D65 today? Sergio Hernandez and Miya Wilkins need to resign.
They are negotiating with the vendor - will prob start next month was the sense I got at the last meeting.
Again, I ask Evanston: why are two of The Grifter’s most ardent supporters STILL on the BoE? Illinoisans put up with a lot of corruption. We can’t recall Sergio and Mya, but we could shame them into resigning. Then again, maybe that’s just not possible.
I really think it's the time to ratchet this up, specifically for Mya. The fact that she hasn't met with the Kingsley community or even bothered to respond to their emails as their school liaison is reprehensible. Even if she wasn't part of the Horton era, this dereliction of duty or basic decency means she needs to go now.
One of the BOE reps for D65 is friends with the lawyer who works at NWU that’s married to Dekalb’s lead legal counsel. So there is that. If you can find the one who works at NWU then I can tell you how Horton landed in Dekalb.
I think we’re underrating a key point here, Horton, a guy who hammered “equity” and “antiracism” (I quote not because of their value but because of his questionable commitment to them) grifting with a regular Fox News commentator?
A) we know right wing media is a grift machine all around
B) how committed to antiracism can you be while doing all this work with someone who helps platform the worst right wing ideology?
I bet Gianno is a good contact to have when you need to ask Trump for a pardon
Please note that we still have Dr Kermit Belcher who came to Dekalb from JCPS because Horton brought him. I have a recorded meeting with Belcher and other staff that the Feds immediately turned into a federal investigation once I sent my complaint off for the illegal activity of sending records to federal agencies without consent. They are still being investigated by the USDOE and OIG for that one.
As of December 2025 I filed another federal complaint that turned into the second federal investigation for Sarita Smith’s and Devon Hortons part in implementing Tomson Reuters CLEAR ID. Sarita solicited Tomson Rueters in October 2023. She and Horton implemented CLEAR ID before having it approved by the BOE or their legal team.
As of November 2025 I was able to verify that they rolled CLEAR ID out on everyone that has data on their servers. We unenrolled five years ago. My 2020 NDA stated that they were required to remove my data from their servers within 15 days of signing our agreement. The district didn’t remove that data. In fact they began harvesting data on two of my personal email addresses. I wiped my footprint from their servers for the FOURTH time back in November. As of the last time I checked (two weeks ago) my personal email address is still ACTIVE in their server which means they’re still using CLEAR ID on family.
I'm going to have to delete this comment because of the claim and she's a private citizen but for other readers the general question here is "Had Sarina been indicted for her role in any of these messes? Is she still employed?"
Hey I’m not even mad at you. I’m not trying to slander anyone. Which is why I’m not saying NAMES for all the folks attached to Evanston IL and DEKALB COUNTY.
No- that was me. I insinuated that two former d65 and Dekalb employees could possibly have gone to a Coldplay concert together.
Thank you!
She’s still employed. They actually gave her a promotion after Horton was removed. They know she’s complicit in all the government contracts, but for some reason they’re scared to remove her. We’re a right to work state, so they can fire her and she’d lose in court. I’ve given the district and our “elected reps” that represent Dekalb more than enough to remove her from the district, but they won’t.
I had another one of her government contracts removed from the BOE Agenda on Monday because she lied about where the money would be pulled from. It clearly stated they’d paid for that with a credit card back in November of 2025. She was asking for another $180k to cover the expenses she’d already paid to the vendor. The irony? All I had to do was search for the vendors name in the PUBLIC financial reports the district publishes every month. It took 2 minutes to find it.
She’s messy and she doesn’t seem to understand there are around ten to fifteen very vocal stakeholders in Dekalb who babysit this district. I’ve been pulling my stunts to have folks removed since 2016. But again, the powers that be don’t seem phased that she’s one of the reasons the FEDS keep coming back.
I just do not understand what the appeal to keeping her is. Especially when I have connected her to the journalist that was detained at the No Kings Rally out in Brookhaven. They were using CLEAR ID already without the public KNOWING just how invasive it was. I mean if three branches of the Feds used my federal complaint for what SHE and HORTON did, then immediately turned it into an investigation within a week, I’d say that would be a good reason to stop allowing Horton’s flunkies to remain employed in the district.
That CLEAR ID contract she solicited is also TRAINING AI without consent from ANYONE. They’re using all of the data they collect when we enroll our children in the district for this endeavor. But it doesn’t stop there. Any email communication to and from parents, teachers, administrators et al is sent to “TRAIN AI” One of the other government add ons to that contract sends our entire digital footprint to the DHS, and WE get ZERO say in it.
They updated their website last night in an attempt to claim they have the right to do this without consent. Well the OIG, USDOE, DOJ and FBI told me numerous times in email and over the phone “they do not get to send that data anywhere without consent. Especially if they’re sending data to these outside agencies on children who have IEPS and 504s”
So that’s why they grabbed my complaints as quickly as they did. My son has had an IEP on file with the district since 2015.
Just adding that both Smith & Dillard were hired & worke under GA educator credentials which give them extra rights regarding their employment and are just not at will. That is why DeKalb just could not fire Horton outright. I do think DeKalb uses the process as an excuse not to take action sometimes, though.
My position on some of these things is that employees are mostly following the rules… it is the rules that are the problem (re: software and privacy) and the people in charge should address that. Buying things and giving contracts where you & your close associates benefit is different-for me- as there are common standards of ethics and morality, regardless of the official policy. Those should be taken seriously by the leadership and board of the district, as far as keeping people in their positions.
You know I agree with that. Unfortunately I gave them a very long rope to hang themselves. As someone who has spent 30 years of her career in the world of risk mitigation, business intelligence, cybersecurity et al who has government clearance because I busted my ass to obtain it, I should have reported these folks in 2022 when I first found out where our data was going and how easy it was to access it. I reported my findings to the local level and yes, the district was slapped repeatedly for being out of compliance. I never imagined I would have to take the route of going to the Feds to report a district I had sued TWICE already. The second lawsuit was for the very thing they’re doing now and claiming they have immunity to do so. HB268 does NOT give the entire district immunity from sending our data to outside agencies without our consent. It only covers three individuals.
Tracy I just tagged you and Tom in the post when I filed the federal complaint back in December..
https://open.substack.com/pub/thedirtysouth/p/this-week-is-going-to-be-full-of
I would LOVE to send you the more damning receipts that I’ve yet to make public. I’ve been threatened, I’ve lost my ability to provide for my family because they keep triggering the PTSD they induced in me back in 2020. They have asked me to commit a FELONY TWICE as a stipulation to resolve a legal situation that’s been brewing since 2015. That felony was to help distract from Horton’s indictment. They asked me to do that right when he would have received notice of the indictment.
The connection of our district’s legal counsel to EVANSTON IL is the piece I haven’t dropped. I haven’t even told Tracy everything about that one. She pointed out that Count 17 was due to a Cook County Commissioner being involved to assist in covering Horton’s financial issues. Well that person is tied to us by proxy of who our BOE uses as their “legal counsel” That individual is married to someone who works at NWU. They own a home in Evanston. Their daughter is a DOJ Attorney. The Cook County person sits on a non profit owned by said legal counsel and her husband that works at NWU. The Cook County individual was once a federal judge but she was removed for unethical conduct.
That individual from Cook County also sits on a non profit I was told about by the districts LEGAL COUNSEL when she was trying to state she advocated for children. That same attorney rolled on Horton in that almost two hour conversation I RECORDED. This was back in July. I had no way of knowing the people I found on the board of that non profit were associated with any of this until a former BOE rep here in Dekalb let us all know what the LEAD counsels married name was. As soon as I found that out I was able to connect the dots as to why that attorney had NO digital footprint under the name she practices with. When I typed her married name in that’s when I found EVERYTHING. Including the address for the home she owns with her husband in Evanston IL.
Those “voluntary bankruptcies” all over Horton’s record. Let’s just say that’s a common theme with everyone that has a home in Georgia and Evanston IL. I found 10+ voluntary bankruptcies from that Cook County commissioner. My opinion to this day is that Horton was sacrificed because someone’s daughter gave their parents the heads up to the investigation. They rolled on Horton to save their own asses.
Jesus. All this needs to come out. There are just no words.
Here is where I posted about the federal complaint I was about to file against Horton and Smith. This was posted in December. You have no idea how many videos and exhibits I have to prove just how bad this is…
https://open.substack.com/pub/thedirtysouth/p/this-week-is-going-to-be-full-of
Wait I just found ANOTHER post I made about all of this where I even posted the COMPLAINT number after I filed the second federal complaint!
https://open.substack.com/pub/thedirtysouth/p/they-definitely-woke-up-and-chose
For anyone following along, I did POST about my federal complaint against Devon Horton and Sarita Smith in December. Here is that post. This includes documents that prove at no time was the board of education made aware of her solicitation and implementation of CLEAR ID. She even worked with another former employee of Dr. Horton’s to roll this out without consent from anyone other than his department. That employee is the CIO for our district.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thedirtysouth/p/this-week-is-going-to-be-full-of