Skip to content

Librarian sentenced

The judge who sentenced former St. Elmo librarian Terri Gillespie acknowledged that he took into account numerous letters of support in deciding on her sentence.
Gillespie, who was charged in January with two counts of felony theft for taking funds from the St. Elmo Library District, was sentenced to 30 days in jail during Friday’s hearing in Fayette County Circuit Court.
She pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 to one count of theft of between $10,000 and $100,000, a Class 1 felony that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Judge Allan Lolie gave Gillespie credit for the one day that she served in the Fayette County Jail following her arrest on the felony charges, and he also gave her day-for-day credit, meaning that she will serve 14 days in jail, beginning next week.
Lolie also sentenced Gillespie to 100 hours of public service; 120 days of electronic home confinement, at a cost of $10 per day; and four years of probation.
The judge also ordered Gillespie to pay restitution of $45,548 to the library district, an amount that was lowered after she paid $5,000 last week. She has been ordered to pay $500 per month toward the restitution amount.
One of the factors entering into the judge’s ruling was a copy of the library district board’s Aug. 11, 2011, meeting, during which board members voted unanimously to support restitution only as punishment for Gillespie.
In that motion, board members stated that they asked that Gillespie notbe incarcerated.
The library district board voted in June of last year to terminate Gillespie from the librarian post.
Another factor in the sentencing were letters of support from numerous letters, including ones from Gillespie family members, members of the library district board and other individuals in the community.
The letters from family members noted the effects of medication that Gillespie was taking for a condition known as restless leg syndrome.
Her attorney, Peter Wise of Springfield, argued that there is evidence to show that the medications she was taking can cause such actions as compulsive spending.
In their letters to the court, library board members acknowledged the work that she had done to improve the library.
Individuals wrote letters to the court to speak on the work she had done to improve the community, and help individuals and organizations.
The sentencing hearing included evidence on the hardships placed on the library district and the district board members as a result of Gillespie’s action, and Fayette County State’s Attorney Stephen Friedel spoke of how those actions violated the public’s trust.
Friedel said that Gillespie actually took $86,657 from the library district, but began paying back the funds, doing so to avoid action resulting from an investigation.
Gillespie was charged with felony theft after her embezzlement was uncovered through an Illinois State Police investigation.
 

Leave a Comment