East Central Reporter

Shelby County Board member Tad Mayhall recently circulated an email requesting a special meeting. The initial request for the meeting came from the newly appointed State’s Attorney, who only requested it to discuss her budget. "I am writing to request an immediate special meeting to discuss the remaining 2024 budget allocated for the State’s Attorney’s office," she wrote.

Mayhall's additional agenda item for the special meeting seems to be his own creation. He stated, “with a pending murder trial and other issues in her office, the absence of a qualified ASA will likely hamstring her capabilities as well as place a heavy burden on the court system and local law enforcement efforts.” This statement raises questions about whether he believes that the newly appointed State’s Attorney lacks the experience or expertise to handle a murder trial and other issues in her office.

Mayhall's implications suggest that former State’s Attorney Rob Hanlon committed a crime by violating the Illinois Severance Act. Mayhall has urged board members to read this act, which appears to be driving his second discussion item for the special meeting.

The former Shelby County State’s Attorney entered into an agreement with one of his Assistant State’s Attorneys. The allegation being floated is that this violated the Severance Act because more than 20 weeks of compensation was paid to the outgoing ASA. However, compensation is not solely about salary but also includes benefits such as retirement progress value, vacation time, sick time, and matching FICSA withholding.

Hanlon defended himself saying, “The Agreement did not violate the statute because it is not limited by salary but rather by 'total compensation' as indicated in the statute... In order to calculate the compensation of the employee you take the benefit and capitalize it using risk-free rate of return... Total compensation also includes things like...the largest component is valuation of retirement benefits and my calculation of that value was in excess of $90,000 in addition to salary and benefits.”

The former State’s Attorney brought over $300,000.00 of funds into the county during his term, an amount that exceeds not only his compensation but also that of his 1st Assistant, even with the settlement agreement. Despite this, many have allowed emotion to overshadow facts regarding the former State’s Attorney and the operation of his office.