Douglas Co. (ECWd) –
The investigation into the Highway Commissioner in Murdock Township holding office while being a resident in another county continues.
October 3, 2025, I was told the following by the Douglas County State’s Attorney:
“Currently, the investigation into this matter is potentially complete, and is currently under review by my office. I expect to make a charging decision next week.”
I requested an update on the matter on October 30, 2025. The following day the State’s Attorney provided the following statement as an update.
“Charges have not yet been filed regarding that investigation. It has taken time to evaluate the full facts and circumstances, and a decision is still expected soon.”
Since the investigation was “potentially” completed, I sent a FOIA request to the Sheriff’s office for a copy of the completed investigation records. That FOIA was sent on November 11, 2025, and was denied by the State’s Attorney on November 17, 2025, for the following reason.
“This matter is under review by the State’s Attorney’s Office for charging and further investigation is contemplated. Any disclosure at the present time of records created during the investigation of the Murdock Township Highway Commissioner in the last 4 months could interfere with actually reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings. This matter involves investigation into the residency of a public official and their qualifications for public office, and the circumstances of the residency of the individual who is the subject of the investigation, William Deckard. At present, it appears to require additional statements and/or evidence from additional witnesses(s). Publication of results of the current state of the investigation may interfere with cooperation and/or candor of further witnesses(s),and may interfere with the untainted recollection of witnesses(s). Thus, at the present time we must deny your request.” (emphasis added)
Whe must note the State’s Attorney indicates what the matter involves but did not include a very important element of the alleged wrongdoing, the falsification of a voter registration document, which we covered in this article.
Let’s break down the points the State’s Attorney indicated.
- This matter involves investigation into the residency of a public official
Coles County Property Tax records, a public record, confirm owner-occupied tax exemption, which is a clear indication of residency for the purposes of holding an elected office. Mr. Deckard confirmed to us that he resides in Coles County, as shared in this article back in August of 2025.
- their qualifications for public office
According to the Election Code, a person must reside in the district in which they are seeking or holding office. We covered that in this article. We must note, again, when I spoke with Mr. Deckard, he confirmed he lived in Coles County, and his property tax records indicate he receives the owner-occupied tax exemption. Only after being informed of the law on the matter did his story change. We must also note, we have never been contacted by any investigator to gather any information we have.
- circumstances of the residency of the individual who is the subject of the investigation, William Deckard
We are not sure how the circumstances of the residency play any role in this matter. The election code is clear and does not provide any circumstantial reasons regarding residency.
While we are unaware of what other statements or evidence would have any bearing on the public records proving his voter registration is bogus, he resides in Coles County and is holding an office the election code indicates he is not allowed to hold because of his residency issue.
We will continue to provide an update on this matter as we learn more from the State’s Attorney, who has assured us he will let us know when he makes a decision on the matter.
