UPDATED 5:23 P.M.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – An appellate court has ruled that Peoria County Auditor Jessica Thomas can’t stay in office.
A ruling issued Thursday by the Fourth District Appellate Court in Springfield says Thomas had no legal standing to oppose the 2022 referendum approved by voters asking whether the office should be eliminated.
An injunction that kept the office from being eliminated while the legal process played out, the opinion says, was invalid.
The county’s efforts to eliminate Thomas’ office started in 2021, when the County Board eliminated Thomas’ employees.
Because voters approved the referendum to abolish the office and continue using an external auditor, the county then said she was supposed to be done last December, despite having been elected to serve until next year.
“I won a four-year term in 2020,” Thomas said to 25 News. “My name was not on the ballot in 2022 when voters decided [to eliminate the office]. One election should not negate the other.”
“We are disappointed at the latest, but not last, decision,” her attorney Justin Penn said to 25 News. “The appellate court decided the issue based solely on a case that none of the attorneys raised or argued in the appeal. Jessica has a very strong argument for her appeal.”
Some form of appeal of the ruling is expected.
CLICK HERE to read the full ruling (PDF).
