PEORIA, Ill. – We’re learning more about spending by Peoria County Auditor Jessica Thomas that the State’s Attorney is calling into question.
The County Board cut Thomas’ budget and staff for 2022, and now Thomas is suing the county in order to restore all that.
But news partner 25 News reports through a Freedom of Information Act request, spending included $1,300 on a recliner that Thomas later returned, but said she bought because the Sheriff and Coroner had similar furniture.
There’s also, among other things,$1,000 spent on a public relations firm, and the use of a time clock separate from the county’s system.
More than $300 was reportedly spent on Christmas cards, $500 spent on decorations, and hundreds of dollars on coffee. Some of the coffee-related purchases may not have been billed to the county.
Hoos says if it’s not campaigning on the taxpayers’ dime, the spending is questionable.
Thomas calls the State’s Attorney’s allegations “slander.”
