Ex-police chief charged with witness tampering

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A former suburban Chicago police chief has been arrested on charges of witness tampering and obstruction of justice in a case involving the alleged misuse of a job-training grant.

The U.S. attorney's office in central Illinois announced Monday that 50-year-old Regina Evans was charged last Friday. She was ordered to remain in custody until a March 25 court hearing.

Evans and her husband, 45-year-old Ronald Evans Jr., previously were charged with wire fraud and money laundering. They were accused of misusing a $1.25 million Illinois job-training grant to pay the mortgage of a 1920s movie palace they owned.

Authorities say Regina Evans won the grant in 2009 with the help of state lawmakers for her nonprofit, We Are Our Brothers Keeper. Her husband is the suburb's former inspector general.