Peoria County auditor 'lost any right' to finish term, appellate court says
An Illinois appellate court ruled in favor of Peoria County in its attempts to eliminate the elected position of county auditor.
In a ruling May 31, the 4th District Appellate Court in Springfield ruled that Jessica Thomas had no right to finish her four-year term as auditor after voters decided in 2022 to eliminate the office.
"Because we conclude that the referendum was valid and eliminated the office of county auditor upon certification of the referendum result, we hold that plaintiff lost any right she had to the office," Judge James A. Mack wrote in his analysis.
Thomas' lawyer Justin Penn called the ruling "obviously disappointing" and said they plan to either appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court or file a motion to reconsider in appellate court. Thomas and her lawyers have 35 days from the ruling on May 31 to appeal or file a motion to reconsider.
"The appellate court decided the issue based on a single case that was not raised or discussed or argued by any of the lawyers," Penn said. "When judges do that it's usually problematic because they are no longer calling balls and strikes, they're making the arguments."
Penn said the judge cited a ruling in a case called Johnson v. Ames in his analysis of Thomas' case, despite neither side's lawyers using the case in their arguments. Penn said because of that, he believes there is a strong case for an appeal.
Thomas has continued to work in the auditor's office, Penn said. As of Friday, Thomas was still on the county payroll, County Administrator Scott Sorrell said.
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Thomas argued that a referendum passed by voters in November 2022 was not self-fulfilling because it did not specify when the office would be eliminated. The referendum read: “Shall Peoria County eliminate the internal Office of County Auditor when Peoria County already has an external Auditor as required by state law? This would be a cost savings of approximately $150,000 annually."
Thomas argued that because the referendum did not specifically tell voters when the office would cease to exist, she had a right to finish her four-year term, which would end on Dec. 1, 2024.
Peoria County Board members, the defendants in the case, wanted to eliminate her position on Nov. 30, 2022. However, a trial court ruled that Thomas should stay in office and continue to be paid until further court ruling.
The trial court said Thomas had "an ascertainable right to the office she was elected to." The trial court also decided that eliminating the auditor's office "prematurely" could come at a greater cost than "maintaining the status quo."
This week, however, the appellate court ruled differently, saying the Illinois Constitution gave voters the right to eliminate the office immediately.
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The court said that while the Illinois Constitution establishes that elected county officials must serve four-year terms, the Illinois Constitution also allows for the office to be eliminated by a county referendum. Therefore, the voters were capable of eliminating the position before the four-year term expired.
"We conclude that, when read in its entirety, the referendum is sufficiently clear that it invoked the voters’ constitutional ability under section 4(c) to eliminate a county office prior to the expiration of plaintiff’s four-year term," the court's ruling read. "The referendum asked whether voters wished to 'eliminate' the office without qualification."
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 'Disappointing': New ruling might remove Peoria County auditor's job
