Madison County deputy administrator Stephen Adler was placed on administrator last Friday, but officials familiar with the matter would not provide details on the record.
Adler's boss, county chairman Kurt Prenzler, said he could not discuss the situation publicly as it was a personnel matter, but he did confirm Adler was placed on leave April 30.
County board member Mick Madison (R-Bethalto) said the matter was referred for investigation to State's Attorney Tom Haine. Madison also said he could not comment on personnel issues or matters for executive session.
Haine has not repsonded to a request for comment.
When contacted by phone Wednesday afternoon, Adler also said he could not comment.
"Talk to Kurt Prenzler," Adler said. "He's the only one that can comment."
Adler's placement on administrative leave is another setback for Prenzler's administration.
On April 16, 2020, the county board voted 26-1 to fire Prenzler's top aides, administrator Doug Hulme and IT director Rob Dorman over alleged spying on internal emails and attempted data breach. Hulme and Dorman deny having done anything improper and have filed a series of lawsuits involving their job losses.
Prenzler's ties with Adler go back a few years. After he was first elected in 2016, Prenzler appointed Adler, who had served on the county board for 12 years, to lead the Metro East Sanitary District. But in 2019, Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation taking control of MESD with a bill that changed how board commissioners were appointed.
Adler returned to Prenzler's administration in April 2020 to help manage the county's Covid-19 response, and then later as deputy administrator.