We’ve been following the saga of Kimberly Yost-Winningham since before it broke…and one would think things might have improved in the situation by now.
And yet, they just haven’t.
Regular readers will recall Ms. Yost (or whatever last name she’s going by these days) is the former elected Lawrence Township Supervisor in Lawrenceville, Illinois, who resigned her position in her second term early in March, after an audit showed a vast sum of missing funds from the township.
We chronicled the resignation here, and within the month, Yost was charged with a major felony.
This isn’t the first time for a Lawrence County public official to be put on blast for an alleged theft or other wrongdoing while in office…but Ms. Yost is among the exceptions in Lawrenceville, apparently, for whom some people will find a “reason” for her actions and in turn, excuses.
That mentality is outlined in this month’s issue in the article, Church ladies rally to support alleged thief’s early court appearance, bond, in your evening Read the Lead.
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LAWRENCE CO.—True to Lawrence County form, some of the county’s societal “heavy hitters” turned out in force for a court hearing of the latest accused taxpayer-money-filcher, Kim Winningham.
Their presence on May 16, however, offered little but a show of probably misplaced support for the former Lawrence Township supervisor, who is accused of writing herself more than $34,000 worth of township checks over the course of two years, this between January 1, 2011 and March 4, 2014, when the loss of funds was discovered following an audit of the township’s books.
Winningham, 34, of Lawrenceville, resigned her position in early March after the discovery was made. After a two-month investigation, two charges were filed against her on May 5: Theft, in which it’s alleged that she knowingly obtained control over government (State of Illinois and County of Lawrence) funds in the amount of $34,140.88; and Official Misconduct as it regards the same actions. The Theft is a Class 1 felony count; the Misconduct….
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To read the rest of the article, click the headline link above the excerpt if you’re a subscriber to the e-Edition; or, if you don’t have a subscription, simply click this link here to get through a few prompts and get started. Remember, there are TWO issues coming up in July, so you’re going to get a lot of bang for your buck if you subscribe now to either the e-Edition or the print version! To pick up your copy of the June 2014 edition in Lawrence County, visit any one of our vendors, including Jim’s Guns between Lawrenceville and Bridgeport, Lou’s Restaurant in Bridgeport or Irene’s Diner in Sumner; or surrounding Lawrence go to Maxwell House in Flat Rock; CJ’s in Allendale; or MotoMart or Marilyn’s Liquor Cabinet in Olney! Next issue hits the stands next Tuesday and Wednesday…get this one now, while you can, as we have no more to redistribute; they’re all out there and once they’re gone, they’re gone!