Investigators raided the home and office of the Cook County regional schools superintendent Wednesday, carting out laptop computers, cell phones and boxes of files, sources said.

Officials with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office confirmed that they have launched a criminal investigation into Supt. Charles Flowers’ office. The Westchester office handles teacher certification and safety inspections for suburban Cook County schools.

The investigation comes after a scathing state audit that found Flowers’ office was nearly $1 million in debt after, among other irregularities, he made personal charges on an office credit card and gave a $6,000 advance to a relative he hired to work for him.

The office was in such disarray that county commissioners lent it $190,000 last year to make ends meet. It has not been repaid.

Read more at the Chicago Tribune

image Carl Schurz High School. Architect Dwight Perkins