Edwardsville, IL. On Wednesday Republican County Board Member Kathy Smith (R-Alton) proposed a resolution to require all elected and appointed officials of Madison County to disclose whether or not their family members are employed by the taxpayers in Madison County government.
Smith's resolution would require countywide elected and appointed officials in Madison County and members of the Madison County Board to disclose whether or not their family members are employed by the taxpayers in county government. Elected officials would be required to disclose the name(s) of their family member, salary and position held with the Madison County government.
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"The taxpayers deserve to know who is employed by their Madison County government." said Kathy Smith. "It concerns me that some elected officials don't want the taxpayers to know whether or not their family member is employed by the county. What are they trying to hide? I think it's a reasonable request by the taxpayers to require elected and appointed officials in Madison County to disclose whether or not their family member is being paid by the taxpayers."
Smith's proposal was rejected by Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan. Dunstan refused to allow a vote by the Madison County Board on the resolution to require disclosure of whether or not the family members of elected and appointed officials were employed by Madison County government.
According to Smith, "nepotism or the hiring of family members has long been prevalent in Madison County government. It's the kind of nepotism which must not be tolerated and my proposal would expose this abuse of taxpayer dollars."
