Fired Madison County officials sue cities over two-year corruption investigation
Two former Madison County administrators who were fired by the county board last year have filed a lawsuit against several metro-east cities they say contributed to the investigation that caused them to lose their jobs.
The civil lawsuit filed last week by former County Administrator Doug Hulme and Information Technology Director Robert Dorman states that four metro-east cities whose police officers participated in the county’s anti-corruption task force led to the county’s firing of the two in April 2020.
Dorman and Hulme were accused of accessing employee emails for political gain and leveraging information in a pay-for-play scheme. The Illinois Attorney General’s office declined to file charges, but the county board voted to fire them nearly unanimously in April 2020. Both say through their lawsuit that firing denied them due process.
Hulme and Dorman are seeking damages from Edwardsville, Alton, Granite City and Collinsville for two counts; one count for tortious interference and one count of retaliatory discharge.
Officials with the four cities either declined or did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
The pair are seeking damages in excess of $50,000 and have asked for a trial by jury.
In their complaint, Dorman and Hulme state the task force “intentionally and unjustifiably” caused them to be fired by calling for the termination of their county jobs. They also say officers made many “unsupported accusations of improper conduct.”
In addition, the lawsuit states that officers persuaded members of the county board to fire the men.
The Madison County Board voted nearly unanimously to fire Hulme and Dorman after unsealed affidavits from an investigation showed testimony alleging the two had improperly accessed county emails to help future campaigns.
Anti-Corruption Task Force
Madison County’s Anti Corruption Task Force was formed by former County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons in 2017 to investigate rumored illegal conduct by county officials. In 2018, several computers were seized from the county administration’s office.
Several years passed before any public movement was made in the investigation, which was later passed to Illinois Attorney General Rwame Raoul who dismissed the suit without filing charges.
It was later revealed through unsealed documents the investigation stemmed from allegations that Hulme and Dorman attempted a pay-for-play scheme by offering a county job to a member of U.S. Rep. John Shimkus’ staff if Shimkus endorsed attorney Don Weber for a U.S. attorney position.
Affidavits from the Illinois attorney general’s investigation, which were obtained by the Belleville News-Democrat, reflect further testimony that Hulme and Dorman allegedly accessed the emails of county employees and elected officials to gain political leverage and that printers were installed in county offices that could alert them as to what was being printed.
“Madison County Treasurer Chris Slusser testified in February 2017 that a Madison County employee by the name of Doug Hulme bragged about having evidence of a circuit judge using county resources for political fundraising,” a search warrant complaint from the investigation said. “When Slusser confronted Hulme on how he obtained this evidence, he alluded that they have access to everyone’s emails.”
Slusser also testified that Hulme had told him he wanted GPS devices put on all county vehicles so Dorman could monitor them.
There also were accusations of intimidation, according to documents from the investigation.
Through an affidavit, former Madison County Board member Lisa Ciampoli testified about “improper activity” by Dorman, who she said interfered when she tried to file a petition to run for precinct committeeman, an office for which Dorman’s father was also running.
She said during one encounter, Dorman attempted to swipe filing paperwork from the clerk’s hands. According to the unsealed documents, investigators believed video surveillance footage corroborated that accusation.
Two-Year investigation led to dismissals
While the investigation did not result in criminal charges, the two men were fired, with just one member of the county board voting against their dismissal.
Several members of the Madison County Board brought the allegations forth, citing documents from a state investigation. The two were fired for being “outside the bounds of ethical conduct and standard,” the resolution that led to their firing read.
The board members, citing the documents, also accused the Hulme and Dorman of:
Initiating a “scheme” to hack into and spy on emails of the Madison County judiciary and offices of elected county officials for political purpose;
Compromising victim information, releasing sensitive and legally privileged information regarding ongoing cases;
Reviewing emails of judges and giving access to a non-employee to conduct searches of county email for campaign purposes.
At the time, Hulme said the county board’s decision did not give him “due process” and called it a mistake. He said he planned to appeal the decision through the courts.
“It forces someone like me to assert my rights in a court of law which would have been avoidable and unnecessary,” Hulme wrote in a prepared statement in April.
Dorman also said he disagreed with the board’s decision.
Hulme also filed a lawsuit against Slusser, who Hulme alleges made false statements during the two-year investigations. When the suit was filed in August 2020, Slusser called the claims frivolous.
“This is yet another frivolous lawsuit filed by a disgraced former county official apparently bent on punishing and intimidating honest people who have come forward to report suspected wrongdoing in county government,” Slusser said.
The lawsuit was later dismissed in Nov. 2020.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 5:00 AM.