Published on February 27, 2026 3:49 pm
Last Updated on February 27, 2026 3:57 pm
A January episode of NBC’s Dateline television program interviewed a local Event Planner about the Effingham connection to their story. Patty Greene, from the Thelma Keller Convention Center, was familiar with many details, so the Dateline show travelled to Effingham and interviewed Patty about her business encounters with the subject.
The focus of the “Secrets In The Ashes” episode (aired nationally on January 23) was Allison Salinas. In 2003, she married a Texas man just 6 weeks after his wife died in a suspicious house fire. After Allison’s marriage ended, her ex-husband was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Salinas later remarried and settled in the Peoria area, beginning a political podcast and a primary run for U.S. Senate.
As that campaign attempted to gain traction, Salinas delved into various fundraisers for religious, military, and first-responders. That’s when she corresponded with Patty Greene to host a Gala for “Men and Women in Uniform” at the Convention Center. As Dateline NBC‘s reporter Andrea Canning learned during her interview of Greene, Salinas was insistent on getting Convention Center publicity for the $125-per-plate event, but was never able to fulfill the rental deposit, nor the desired national speaker.
The camera crew filmed the red, white, and blue decorative theme in the Convention Center room that was planned but not used, since lack of payment cancelled the event. Potential attendees and Greene all felt “100% ghosted” by Salinas. The Convention Center was out of the $10,000 reservation rental, which has never been paid, nor have the tickets been refunded to potential attendees.
Allison was later charged with asking a former boyfriend to kill her current husband, after recorded tape conversations surfaced. Mrs. Salinas took a plea-deal and is serving a 16-year-sentence, as she continues to allege misconduct by those who testified against her. In a confusing turn, her current husband defends the innocence of his wife, while she serves time for soliciting his murder.
