East Central Reporter

Shelby Co., Ill. (ECWd) – Shelby County Circuit Clerk Kari Kingston misappropriated public funds by mistakenly sending several thousand dollars to the wrong individual, depriving a crime victim of those funds for several months.

The situation was resolved only after the former State’s Attorney filed a lawsuit against the unlawful recipient of the funds paid by Circuit Clerk Kingston. The suit was filed as a small claims case with the Circuit Clerk as the Plaintiff and Cinda Smith as the Defendant (Shelby County Case Number 2023SC72). An agreed settlement was reached for $6,955.00. Considering the amount already due to Smith from the clerk, she was required to pay $6,148.00 to the clerk's office in eleven equal installments of $512.33, with a final payment of $512.37.

While there is no signed copy of the settlement available, it has been entered into the court’s docket.

Robert Hanlon commented on another post regarding this issue: “I have been informed that Ms. Kingston has articulated her displeasure with some purported previous filings as being inaccurate. Yes, as a human, I have made mistakes that I have corrected. However, it should be clear that Kari Kingston’s Facebook comments (now removed from public view) casting the first stone come from her proverbial glass house and you may consider this a single stone in return for which plenty more could be cast."

Hanlon further elaborated on his efforts to rectify Kingston's mistake: "Kari disbursed money from the Court’s restitution account by sending thousands of dollars to the wrong person... I had to sue the wrong payee to recover the money for the people... If you were a crime victim and your restitution payment got delayed for several months last year, it was because of Kari’s serious mistake and no other person's fault."

Hanlon mentioned he did not charge Kingston with official misconduct despite complaints: "I believed she made a foolish mistake attributable to ignorance rather than criminal motive." He added that going public would have prejudiced her and noted his preference for addressing issues directly with officials rather than engaging in "high school level gossip."

Hanlon concluded by stating that Shelby County residents will have an opportunity to assess Kingston in an upcoming election: “The People of Shelby County will have an opportunity to assess Kari in the upcoming election and decide what kind of government they want.”