County clerk gets another day in court

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PRINCETON — The Hieronymus complaint against the Bureau County Board continues, at least in part.

Bureau County Clerk Kami Hieronymus appeared Thursday morning in LaSalle County Court for a hearing on her second amended complaint filed against the county board for cutting $18,000 from her clerk hire budget. The complaint, or amended versions of the complaint, has been before the judge since last fall.

On Thursday, Circuit Judge Joseph Hettel allowed a motion to dismiss the first count of Hieronymus’ second amended complaint against the county board. That count deals with mandamus, or the county board’s legal right to cut Hieronymus’ clerk hire budget.

However, Hettel allowed Hieronymus’ attorney, Bureau County State’s Attorney Patrick Herrmann, to come back with a third amended complaint dealing with how Hieronymus’ office is affected by the $18,000 budget cut.

The third amended complaint will be heard at 11 a.m. July 24 in LaSalle County Court.

On Friday morning, Hieronymus said the third amended complaint will look, in part, at the county’s finances and her county clerk’s office budget. It will also compare her budget to those of other county offices and look at her budget in prior years.

“I would not be in court unless I thought it was crucial to the running of this office,” Hieronymus said. “The county board’s action not only affects my office this year, but could affect my budget next year and in years to come. It could have a long-term impact on the services and the job we do for the residents of Bureau County.”

Hieronymus’ original complaint, filed Oct. 31, 2007, was dismissed in March. The first amended complaint was filed in April and dismissed in May. The second amended complaint was filed May 19, with arguments presented Thursday to the judge.

In her complaints, Hieronymus has asked the courts to declare the $18,000 cut as invalid.

On Friday, Bureau County Board Chairman Marc Wilt said he had hoped the entire complaint would have been dismissed on Thursday. He’s disappointed that even a portion of the complaint is allowed to go forward, Wilt said. Other than that, he could not comment on on-going litigation, he said.

The Bureau County Board is represented in court by Springfield attorney Gary Smith.

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