PEKIN — Tazewell County Clerk and Recorder of Deeds John C. Ackerman delivered a blistering rebuke Wednesday of a front-page article published in the Peoria Journal Star, accusing the newspaper of promoting fear and uncertainty about mail-in voting without seeking input from local election officials.

Speaking at a press conference just weeks before mail ballots are scheduled to be distributed, Ackerman insisted that election preparations in Tazewell County are proceeding normally and that voters should have confidence in the integrity and reliability of the mail-in voting process.

“We plan to send out mail-in ballots on September 24, just as scheduled,” Ackerman said. “There is no interruption to the normal balloting process.”

At issue is a nationally produced USA Today article that appeared on the front page of Wednesday’s Journal Star under the headline, “Whistleblower warns of ‘chaotic’ mail ballot plan.” The report centered on allegations from a federal whistleblower who claims a new U.S. Postal Service mail-ballot verification system, developed in response to a March executive order issued by President Donald Trump, could experience widespread failures and disrupt the delivery of ballots before the November midterm elections.

The USA Today article cited a complaint delivered to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., alleging that the implementation process was “secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed” and warning of what the whistleblower described as a potential “catastrophic failure.”

While Ackerman acknowledged the ongoing legal and political debate surrounding the federal policy, he said his primary concern was the decision by a regional newspaper serving Central Illinois readers to prominently feature the national story without providing local election context.

“And this column by a regional local newspaper did not seek local input, local information whatsoever,” Ackerman said. “I see no need to worry residents, to scare them, attempt to cause chaos by innuendo, by guesstimation that there is chaos in our system when there is not.”

Ackerman characterized the article as misinformation for local voters and said the headline created a misleading impression that election officials in Illinois were facing disruptions in preparing for the November election.

According to Ackerman, election administrators across Illinois, including in Tazewell County, already have safeguards and procedures in place that meet or exceed the standards being discussed at the federal level. He noted that Illinois voters can track their ballots throughout the mailing process and said his office continues to operate under established state election laws.

He also criticized the article’s reliance on statements from a whistleblower and Blumenthal, arguing that such reports can unnecessarily undermine public confidence in elections.