AG upholds ruling on Madison County Board of Review appointee

The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has announced it upheld a ruling made by Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons that Diane Semanisin, recently appointed to the county’s board of review, can stay.

Republican Party chairman Chris Slusser had objected to Gibbons’ ruling that Semanisin, a Democrat, could keep her seat on the board. But the opinion from the Attorney General’s Office cited state statute that says vacancies on county boards should be filled by individuals from the same party as the person who received the most votes in the most recent election.

Sheriff John Lakin, a Democrat who ran unopposed last November, received the most votes of anyone in the election.

“The language of the statute was pretty clear and we made the right call,” Gibbons said in a statement Friday.

The Board of Review rules on property tax appeals.

This story was originally published May 22, 2015 at 5:06 PM with the headline "AG upholds ruling on Madison County Board of Review appointee."