The January 10th, 2018 raid on administrative offices started by the Madison County State's Attorney Tom Gibbons and continued by Sheriff John Lakin is a miscarriage of justice that should never occur again.
Since, I have fought over two years for the truth of the investigation to come to light and the affidavits show clearly that the "Task Force" was a fishing expedition and smear campaign for political purposes.
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I will be forever grateful that Chief Judge Hylla asked for the case to be removed to an out of county judge and for the prosecution to be given to the Illinois Attorney General so that justice could be served.
I have worked hand in hand with Chairman Kurt Prenzler to lower taxes and to shape Madison County government into a non-political workplace. I am disappointed that some county board members from both parties feel it is important to send malicious political press releases about county employees to further their own political agenda, particularly during the current pandemic.
The newly released affidavits are applications for warrants used in the two year investigation and what is clear is the evidence never supported their assertions. The documents are shallow, one sided accusations and the intent is clearly to hurt the re-election of Kurt Prenzler for the benefits of others, regardless of the collateral damage.
In closing I would like to apologize to those who work under me at the county who suffered through multiple police raids, interrogations, personal threats, and the unimaginable stress of dealing with a two year long police investigation in which I was cleared. Dozens of county employees endured this witch hunt and in the end it was a complete fiasco that has only ended in wasted resources and public political bickering.
Douglas Hulme
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