Fired Madison County administrator plots run against political rival he’s suing
Nearly a year and a half after being fired by the Madison County Board, former County Administrator Doug Hulme says he’s running for county treasurer against the man he says conspired to have him fired in the first place.
Hulme has filed several lawsuits against Treasurer Chris Slusser in relation for his dismissal in April of 2020.
Hulme and former county IT Director Robert Dorman were fired in a 26-1 vote after the pair were the subjects of a corruption investigation.
The two 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 the two after details from the investigation came to light.
The pair long have maintained their innocence since their dismissal, even suing for restitution in hopes of getting their former jobs back. Hulme and Dorman also have filed multiple other lawsuits related to their firing, some of which are still being litigated, while many others have been dismissed, including a lawsuit against Slusser filed in 2020.
Both Hulme and Droman have long argued that Slusser, members of the county board and others colluded to fire the pair for “cleaning up Madison County Government.” Slusser testified against Hulme before a grand jury during the investigation and at one point, wore a wire while meeting with Hulme.
Hulme said he and Dorman were fighting public corruption and exposed political campaigning on county time and equipment when they were “attacked” by former State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons with the two-year investigation.
Hulme said the lawsuits and investigation have little to do with his run, however.
He said the office is currently being mismanaged by Slusser and said he wants to bring back the management style current County Chairman Kurt Prenzler had when running the office. Hulme served as the county’s deputy treasurer under Prenzler from 2010 to 2016.
“I think the treasurer’s office has gotten away from the way Kurt ran it,” Hulme said. “There are more employees there, the budgets been increased and I think there has been some political patronage there and I don’t think that belongs in the treasurer’s office.”
Slusser said in a statement Friday his office has only improved since he took its reins in 2017 when he was elected by Prenzler. He won reelection in 2018.
“As Treasurer, my adjustments to the investment portfolio resulted in Madison County being the top performer in the state, generating millions of dollars in additional interest that helped county government lower its property tax burden,” he said. “Serving as county treasurer for the past five years is one of the honors of my life, and I look forward to continue serving the residents of Madison County.”
The two will face off in the Republican primary on June 28, 2022.
This story was originally published September 25, 2021 at 7:00 AM.