East Central Reporter

We received a copy of an email sent to the entire board by former State’s Attorney Rob Hanlon just before his last day in office. The email contained several updates for the board, which have not yet been discussed publicly.

One issue raised pertains to election integrity. "It came to my attention that the objection petition filed by Mr. Boehm was highly irregular," Hanlon wrote. He noted that Chris Boehm acknowledged during the hearing on the Objection Petition that he did not have all necessary paperwork. Video footage showed Boehm entering the building with less than a minute left to file his objection, without any papers in hand. A test revealed no significant deviation between the Clerk's clock and video time, indicating an error in the handwritten time on Boehm's petition.

Hanlon stated, "I declined to charge any person and I informed the Clerk of the need to manage her office without irregularities such as this." He also suggested using an electronic time stamp machine for electoral documents.

Boehm invoked his 5th Amendment right during questioning at the hearing. His petition indicates it was turned in at 3:58 PM, two minutes before the 4 PM deadline, despite him entering just before closing.

The proposed solution is an electronic time stamp machine for document accuracy. Shelby County Clerk Jessica Fox was asked about implementing such a system but has not responded at publication time.

Questions remain about actions taken against the Deputy Clerk who signed off on receiving Boehm's petition prematurely. Ensuring election honesty is critical, and any improper actions must be addressed to maintain public trust.

"Boehm pleading the 5th was possibly one of the smartest things he has ever done."