An Illinois park executive is getting dragged after she was accused of using a taxpayer-funded credit card to help cover the cost for an $800 helicopter rental that was used for her daughter’s prom photo shoot, in a prime example of corruption within the state’s government. Quintina Brown, who serves as the head of the Markham Park District, located outside Chicago, arranged for the helicopter to land at Roesner Park on May 8, so her daughter Quamyra, 17, could pose for pictures in front of it.
The company that owned the helicopter sent an invoice for the service to city attorney Kelly Krauchun, which included the credit card number used by Brown. The invoice also listed “Markham Parks” as the customer and used the park district fieldhouse address, and included Brown’s signature. Krauchun revealed that the deposit was charged to a park district credit card that is funded with tax dollars.
“They told me that the deposit was charged to the card, and they have not been successful in getting the remaining $800 off the card, for whatever reason,” Krauchun went on to say, referring to the helicopter company. The invoice was for $800 for one hour of helicopter service. Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa stated that residents need to be concerned if a park district credit card was used to pay for any portion of the booking.
According to a report from The New York Post, Brown has denied she misappropriated public funds, telling local media outlets, “There was no misuse of funds at all,” stating that she used her own credit card to pay for the service. “[My daughter] was graduating and this was going to be a memorable experience. I just wanted to be able to provide that for her,” Brown added. “She wanted to do a prom photo shoot.”
Local law enforcement officials said the chopper flew “alarmingly” low before finally landing close to an active basketball court and playground area. Children who were in the area ran away as the helicopter touched down, according to information provided by Krauchun. Court documents referred to the incident as an “unpermitted landing and operation of a helicopter on park district property, near playgrounds and residential homes.”
Agpawa, clearly angered by the whole situation, referred to the helicopter incident as “reckless.” The mayor added, “This is what happens when you have no oversight, no governance. You’re not answering to the public as you should.” Mayor Agpawa, who has flown and landed choppers, alleged that proper safety precautions were not taken for the photo shoot.
“We want to make sure that things are safe. We had no notice, nothing,” he told the media. “We’ve always had medical people on standby. We’ve had the fire department on standby. We’ve had spotters. We’ve had distances that were safe.” Krauchun said the helicopter landed “right behind basketball courts, where children were playing basketball, right behind the park district facility fieldhouse, and in a residential neighborhood.”
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“It seems pretty self-evident that that’s not a good idea to land a helicopter on park district property, but apparently it has to be said,” she continued. Brown, however, told a different story, saying no children were nearby when the helicopter descended, adding that she was unaware that an ordinance had been violated. Police body camera footage shows the helicopter parked on the field while Brown’s daughter posed in front of it in a purple prom dress.
Both Brown and the helicopter pilot were cited for disorderly conduct and unauthorized landing on public property. And yet, Brown said she doesn’t regret hiring the service. “I did not think it was going to blow up as much as it did, sadly,” she said. “But I’m glad she was happy and she was able to do her photo shoot despite the unexpected turn of events that transpired and unfortunately went viral.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video