by:  Diane Benjamin

See this post from yesterday:  http://blnnews.com/2014/04/04/mclean-county-michelle-anderson-investigation/

County Auditor Michelle Anderson ran for office calling herself a watchdog.  Evidently the rules apply to other offices, not to hers.  As reported yesterday, she paid for new furniture for her office out of a personnel fund. the $13,000 should have been returned to the County instead.  The question is:  Will the County hold her accountable?

The County Finance Committee is investigating.  These are the people deciding if Anderson purchased the furniture against County policy:

Chairman Ben Owens [email protected]
Laurie Wollrab [email protected]
Sondra O’Connor [email protected]
Erik Rankin [email protected]
Jim Soeldner [email protected]
Chuck Erickson [email protected]

Maybe they should hear what you think.   What precedent does this set for other elected officials?

Here’s a little history on Michelle Anderson:

1)  McLean County Auditor Michelle Anderson believes her track record as the county’s financial watchdog won her the Republican nomination for the auditor’s post on Tuesday.  http://www.illelections.com/elections/bloomington/article_ef472f50-f101-5428-a421-3e4cfbe300a5.html

2)  “It’s my duty as auditor to recommend approval or rejection of claims. My staff and I work very hard with department heads to make sure everything meets county policy. If I put my name on something and say it follows policy, I have to feel comfortable with it,” said Anderson.

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/government-and-politics/county-auditor-officials-dispute-paying-bills/article_8ecb9a4a-19ae-11e3-a49c-001a4bcf887a.html

3)  Read this glowing endorsement by Tari Renner:  http://www.pantagraph.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_27132850-493a-11e1-9198-0019bb2963f4.html

Do the rules only apply to other County officials Michelle?