Police Department Bought Motorcycles, Cars With Nearly $1 Million Seized Under Controversial Program

A new report from the Justice Department found that a police department located in a Chicago suburb used nearly $1 million it received from a controversial government program to buy items including motorcycles, a Chevy Camaro and a boat, raising further questions about whether the program should exist at all. According to an audit conducted by the Justice Department and released today, the Willow Springs Police Department in Willow Springs, Ill., spent $966,625 in funds from the Justice Department’s Equitable Sharing Program to purchase items the federal agency contended were outside the program’s intended purpose of enhancing law enforcement operations. The Equitable Sharing Program was suspended late last year for budgetary reasons, but was restarted by the Justice Department earlier this month. More...