PARIS, IL. (ECWd) –
It appears a former Assistant State’s Attorney for Edgar County has decided to attempt to influence the ongoing negotiations between Roger Hopper and the Edgar County Sheriff.
First, he tries to play on the good examples of, and effectiveness of, two other public officials and compares Hopper to them. What he fails to consider is the reason Hopper was dismissed from the City of Paris Police Department (no one will go on record about that yet) and the myriad of other things in his recent past.
Some of these include:
-Illegally purchasing an impounded vehicle, and for less money than the County paid to tow it and fix it.
-Instrumental in the attempted coverup of and trying to get the now convicted jailers, felon Jason Ball and felon Kent Rhoads, to “resign with dignity” instead of aggressively denouncing their illegal behavior with inmates and bringing contraband into the jail for the inmates in exchange for sex.
–Telling a reporter he graduated from Paris High School when he was instead a drop-out.
–Lies about “no drug arrest” being made in his attempt at winning an election
Aside from that, an arbitrator decided and a Judge refused to overturn the arbitrator, that Hopper should get his job back. Here is where it gets interesting. Matthew Hoppock decides to ignore the legal mechanisms that he himself has worked with as an attorney and attack the Sheriff for using this same process to save the taxpayers of the county some money. The law allows for a set-off and the Sheriff’s attorney is ensuring the set-off is applied, and that all parties get what they are LAWFULLY entitled to. How is that not “making things right”?
I would encourage the citizens of Edgar County to call the Sheriff and tell him “Thank You” for keeping the best interest of the taxpayers in mind when going about the process of determining what will be paid to Hopper.
What made you think “the sheriff is not willing to make things right”? The judge ordered it, it is being negotiated.
Matthew Hoppock let the attorneys work it out – that’s what they get paid to do.
