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* Sheila Simon went after Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka with a pretty bogus charge yesterday…

Simon contended Topinka, a veteran politician who is in her first term as comptroller, has failed to serve a watchdog role over local government accounting. Simon specifically cited the looting of Dixon’s coffers by city Comptroller Rita Crundwell of nearly $54 million over 22 years. Crundwell was sentenced earlier this year to almost 20 years in prison.

“Where was the (state) comptroller’s office?” Simon asked. “Their office said they didn’t review the information, they’re just a repository and that’s it. Well that’s not good enough.”

There are something like 8,000 units of local government in this state. They’re all required to conduct outside independent audits, which cost anywhere between $10,000 to $100,000, and then the state comptroller makes sure the firms are on the up and up.

But Dixon’s comptroller completely bamboozled its outside auditor. So what’s the state supposed to do then? Should the state actually pay to conduct its own outside audits on all of those local units after they conduct outside audits, too? That’d be a heckuva lot of money, Sheila.

One idea might be to have the Illinois Auditor General do some random audits of local governments just to gauge how things are going. Or maybe the state comptroller could do that. But I’m not sure what those audits would find that independent audits hadn’t already turned up.

Either way, JBT is definitely not to blame for Dixon. That’s all on Dixon. Simon was just trying to score a cheap political point.

You also gotta wonder what Dan Hynes thinks about this, since the Democrat Hynes was state comptroller during the vast majority of Dixon’s looting.

* This, on the other hand, is what the state comptroller is supposed to do. From late June…

Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka on Thursday announced that she has asked the state Attorney General to investigate the Village of Washington Park after it failed to submit required financial reports for seven years.

Local governments are required to file certain Annual Financial Reports, Audits and TIF reports with the Office of the Comptroller, which serves as a repository for the records. Washington Park is mandated to file AFRs, Audits and a financial report for its TIF District. The municipality, however, has not filed its AFR and Audit reports in seven years, and has never filed a report for its TIF, which was created in 2004.

After repeated attempts to bring the Village into compliance, the Comptroller retained an independent auditing firm to examine the municipality’s financial records. Washington Park, however, either did not or was not able to provide adequate documentation to complete the audit.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 9:39 am

Comments

Someone asked her about that relative to Dan Hynes in Chicago…

I wanted to ask where she thought she would get the funding for that sort of review, but they had to head down to Springfield…

Comment by OneMan Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 9:45 am
Trying to use the Dixon scandal to score cheap political points is a sign of desperation. As in “I got nuttin’ else.”

But I’m not worried about Judy Baar Topinka. I believe she will swat this away with little difficulty.

Besides, it’s August and the election ain’t until November 2014. Other than CapFax fanatics who is even paying attention

Comment by Bill White Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 9:49 am
Dixon also retained a private firm to audit its then-inexplicable loss of revenue and the firm found no problems or wrongdoing. Dixon has sued that firm for malpractice and anticipates recovering substantial damages to compensate for the substantial amounts Crundwell looted in the last years. Another reason Simon’s contention is a non-starter.

Comment by Conservative Republican Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 9:53 am
Rich,
Good call. I think Simon is looking for anything to make a splash. If her name recognition isn’t enough to win in Carbondale, a state-wide contest is even more problematic.
Her turnout yesterday was a little surprising. Did Paul Simon have any type of statewide organization? If so, does it still exist to help Sheila?

Comment by Downstate Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 9:54 am
Bad form by Sheila Simon on the Dixon remark.

Why?

Independent Auditors were duped by the Dixon Comptroller. There were so many others much, much, MUCH closer to the scene, including Dixon itself as a governmental entity, its own elected officials, and those who worked around the Comptroller of Dixon, including bureaucrats inside Dixon who worked on budgets or finance who never though to look at the financial standing beyond what was presented.

This was not a 7-week duping, and funneling millions in a 3 am money wire to Geneva Switzerland, as the Dixon Comptroller had 5 passports living the life of Jason Bourne! This went on for years, and no one locally saw anything, as budgets and finance meetings and public hearings went on and on…

Bad form, Ms. Simon.

If this is your “Campaign”, “Dixon, Illinois”, then that is like having a poker hand of “2 Dueces, 10 High”, and you just went, “All In”.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 9:54 am
C’mon Sheila, yo can do better than that.

I suggest you pull out all the old “Judy Barr Topinka…What is she thinking?!?” commercials and watch them. Study them. Closely.

Then copy them. Don’t think for yourself, Sheila…Blagojevich beat Topinka like a drum this way. It’s been proven to work.

DO THE SAME.

Comment by Anonner Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 9:54 am
I once gave a dollar to a homeless guy holding a sign that said “I’m not gonna lie, I need money to get some beer. Can anyone help me out?”. His honesty is what got me to give him a buck. Maybe if Sheila stopped the standard political attack garbage, and just held up a sign saying “I’m not gonna lie, I don’t even know how to spell comptroller (my aide helped me with that), but please vote for me because I’m my father’s daughter.”, she might get my vote.

Comment by PublicServant Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:03 am
PublicServant: Sweet! LOL

Comment by walkinfool Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:06 am
Her utter disloyalty to Quinn is shocking.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:08 am
Dixon’s not a big town. The folks should notice that their long-time bookkeeper is the country’s leading breeder of quarter horses — and that $53 million in missing.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:08 am
I’m not 100% sure it isn’t a fair hit. According to the Comptroller’s Local Government Division, the Comptroller’s office is supposed to, “serve as the State’s watchdog on financial status of local governments.” Also, they are supposed to, “collect and analyze Annual Financial Reports from local governments.”

It sounds like what happened in Dixon was the antithesis of both of these duties.

Comment by Lakewood-Balmoral Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:11 am
Sheila needs to take some time and educate voters on her bona fides before she goes swinging for the fences like this. Being her father’s daughter is only going to go so far. He retired from elected office 16 years ago and passed away almost 10 years ago. I would bet the majority of younger voters don’t have a clue who the Senator was. She is going to establish herself as her own person. Besides which, the Dixon attack is pretty weak tea.

Comment by And I Approved This Message Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:14 am
Dixon’s not a big town….totally agree. I have wondered where the “city fathers” were during this 22 years. Is the investigation still open?
Keep it classy Sheila

Comment by Hank Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:14 am
- Amalia -,

Relevence to the Post, specifically Dixon?

Dope.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:16 am
@Lakewood:

Those Annual Financial Reports you speak of are audited. I’m not sure why you think the Comptroller’s Office would have caught any of this when auditors didn’t catch it for years. It’s nice to try and play this little blame game but this one isn’t even close. Not. The. Comptroller’s. Fault. Period.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:23 am
Even I’m planning to vote JBT and I don’t vote Republican. This isn’t going to get me to change my mind.

Comment by Chavez-respecting Obamist Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:23 am
Sheila,

Thanks for proving that one’s family name and one’s gender does not make someone a good politician nor qualify one for public office.

Comment by Reader Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:25 am
Boilerplate opening shot missed badly.

Next she’ll blame JBT for paying bills late?

Comment by DanL60 Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:27 am
very bad form, Sheila. if that is all you’ve got JBT will win re-election with no problem. tell me why I should vote FOR you. no reason yet.

Comment by Susiejones Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:27 am
This is not the first time the “Auditor” of Dixon has totally failed in their duties. They should be held “accountable”.

Comment by flea Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:32 am
Flea, I think the City of Dixon is suing the auditor.

Comment by Raising Kane Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:33 am
@Demoralized

http://www.ioc.state.il.us/index.cfm/departments/local-government-division/

If you’re going to take credit for being “the State’s watchdog on financial status of local governments” and that you are analyzing reports from local governments, you can’t pass the buck when a local government’s finances are a mess.

Comment by Lakewood-Balmoral Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:39 am
And btw….wasn’t Simon’s hero DCN the Comptroller when the Dixon looting started. Maybe the next time simon is channeling her ghost she should ask about that.

Comment by Raising Kane Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:39 am
Not sure if this was in fact an opening salvo or just a fire for effect kind of thing. Either way she will have to do much better to take out JBT. I think Sheila can be a good public servant but this may be the wrong move.

Comment by Bemused Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:41 am
Lakewood, again, the audits were conducted by a CPA firm in good standing. They flagged no problems. How would anybody else be in a position to know that there were problems. And as for being a watchdog, I believe that means making sure audits are performs and the reports provided…example: Washington Park.

Comment by Raising Kane Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:42 am
The other thing is, you are going to blame the person who was in office for a year and change?

JBT started Jan 11, 2011 and the fraud was announced around April 28th 2012, so most likely at best there would have been 2 and more likely one report filed by Dixon during her term.

The city had asked the FBI to investigate in October 2011 (http://www.kwqc.com/story/17526287/employee-accused-of-stealing-30-million-from-dixon-il) so it even took the FBI several months to figure it out.

I guess I am missing, how exactly is this Judy’s responsibility?

Comment by OneMan Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:45 am
@Lakewood:

Thanks for the link but I already know what it says. All I would say is that you can’t possibly be serious trying to lay the blame for this at the feet of the Comptroller’s Office. It’s absolutely and totally ridiculous. As Rich said. Oh, c’mon.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:46 am
Q. Is Sheila running for comptroller to be a fiscal watchdog?
A. No, she sees it as a consolation prize because LMadigan is running for AG again.

Q. If not for her last name, would she even be running for comptroller?
A. No, she has her last name and Gov. Quinn to thank for making her relevant.

Q. Is she supporting Gov. Quinn, to thank him for helping her be relevant?
A. No, but she did throw him under the bus.

Q. Does this Dixon thing have anything to do with Topinka, Hynes or any other comptroller?
A. No, but perhaps Dixon should hire better auditors in the future.

Comment by Roamin' Numeral Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:46 am
Dixon’s problems ultimately rest with the City Council who failed in their collective fiduciary duty to the City. Sounds like the auditors dropped the ball as well. It is hard to believe that one woman was able to pull all of this off on her own…

JBT is responsible for the Dixon fiasco about as much as Al Gore is responsible for the creation of the internet.

Comment by Jake From Elwood Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:47 am
@Demoralized

I am saying that if you want to be a watchdog, it requires you to watch. If you want to say you analyze reports from local governments, then you have to actually analyze them. If you’re watching and analyzing, and something bad happens - you missed it.

Comment by Lakewood-Balmoral Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:49 am
lakewood, sicking the Attorney General on a non-compliant town IS being a watchdog….WOOF!

Comment by Raising Kane Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:52 am
Does Sheila beat Duffy Blackburn in the primary? He’s actually a CPA.

Comment by Fire Anita Alvarez Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:52 am
Simon wants to be relevant ,she never will be more than person from a small town.
Going after Judy is a mistake.
The city fathers let this thing fester for over 20 years. To bad Reagan didn’t stick around Dixon to fix things.

Comment by Mokenavince Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:52 am
I wonder if Simon blames Lisa Madigan and Pat Quinn for Rod Blagovich. Makes sense.

Comment by Fed up Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:57 am
Sheila also forgot that JBT assumed office in January 2011. Almost all of the plundering of the City of Dixon occurred well before that. The matter was first discovered in the Fall of 2011.

So, this charge is purely hokum.

Comment by Jake From Elwood Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:59 am
@Lakewood.

One response. Bull. But I’m not going to argue any longer with somebody who obviously doesn’t get it.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:02 am
many, many, years ago there was a dept of local govt affairs. its successor, dcca, had a program of conducting, upon request, an analysis of the fiscal health of a unit of local govt. it was not a verification of the data, it was an analysis of trends, and comparison of financial indicators to various benchmarks. something like that might be useful and manageable.

Comment by langhorne Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:02 am
===He’s actually a CPA.===

“Worked for me!

Signed,

Chris Lauzen, CPA”

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:03 am
I wonder if Sheila were the Comptroller what she would have done different. I believe she said she has no background in accounting. I am wondering, other than the Simon name, and her unwillingness to take on Lisa Madigan for AG, just what qualifies Sheila to be Comptroller.

“Simon contended Topinka, a veteran politician who is in her first term as comptroller, has failed to serve a watchdog role over local government accounting. Simon specifically cited the looting of Dixon’s coffers by city Comptroller Rita Crundwell of nearly $54 million over 22 years. Crundwell was sentenced earlier this year to almost 20 years in prison.

“Where was the (state) comptroller’s office?” Simon asked. “Their office said they didn’t review the information, they’re just a repository and that’s it. Well that’s not good enough.”

Comment by AFSCME Steward Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:09 am
out of curiosity how many other candidates will be on the ballot next year that were also on a ballot when her father last ran?

Comment by Shore Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:21 am
=== Did Paul Simon have any type of statewide organization? If so, does it still exist to help Sheila? ===

Probably.

No.

Comment by Just Observing Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:25 am
=== Does Sheila beat Duffy Blackburn in the primary? He’s actually a CPA. ===

She probably beats Duffy in the primary. This race is generally about name ID, not qualifications.

Comment by Just Observing Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:26 am
I’ve spent a lot of time in Dixon over the years and the story is still mind-boggling.

Young lady goes straight from Dixon High to a job in city hall. No college. Eventually is appointed comptroller/treasurer. Creates a couple of phony accounts and, voila, she’s on a 20-year spending spree — and serious money for a small town, at that.

52 world championship quarter horses. Eight time American breeder of the year. 300 horses. Three homes. Sweet rides.

Geez, when I was growing up in rural Illinois, you could always count on some busy-bodies sticking their noses in everyone’s business and yacking about it. How could you possibly get away with looting a small town treasury of big money — and flaunt it — for so long?

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:33 am
I am saying that if you want to be a watchdog, it requires you to watch. If you want to say you analyze reports from local governments, then you have to actually analyze them.

The thing is, in audit (and any sort of Fraud detection to speak off) it is the transactions that you really have to look at. It doesn’t take too much to produce a summary report that makes everything look ok, the challenge is hiding the transactions or another way to look at it, most if not all of the big accounting and large business frauds of the last 20 years were not caught because someone noticed something in the annual report.

Comment by OneMan Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:40 am
Outrageous claims with no merit. Allegations with no evidence. Wild claims that can’t be substaniated. Specious promises of reform. Hair like a beatle moptop.

Is Rod Blagojevich having an out of body experience?

Comment by dupage dan Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 11:43 am
Quote of the year (2011) “Rita Crundwell is a big asset to the city. She looks after every tax dollar as if it were her own.”

Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:15 pm
This is a great piece on the Dixon embezzlement. Apparently, people thought that she had inherited money “from Chicago” and that she was making money on her horse farm, through sales and stud fees.

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/December-2012/Rita-Crundwell-and-the-Dixon-Embezzlement/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc

Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:21 pm
Soccermom, thanks for the links.

It’s probably the quote of the decade. Going to be hard to top.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:23 pm
Rich, you brought up an question that I have wondered about the Dixon incident - considering the amount of money lost and the long period time this scheme apparently occured how was it never caught by an outside auditor. I find that question baffling.

Comment by Stones Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:31 pm
Stones, my sister has run employee benefits plans for both a small energy company and a school district.

She said the outside auditor would give the books a cursory glance then spend a lot of time trying to up-sell her on “consulting services.”

A lot of these guys are more salesmen than auditors. That’s what got Arthur Andersen into trouble (not our guy).

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:36 pm
===…how was it never caught by an outside auditor. I find that question baffling.===

So do the Feds, the people of Dixon, the city of Dixon, Duped Auditors,…you are in a very long line

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:37 pm
she needs to start wearing a bowtie like here dad to give herself a more ,”aw shucks” look.

Comment by Downstater Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:39 pm
Quite the populist statement, no?

Comment by Dirty Red Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:48 pm
Oswego Willy: I do not think O’blackburn will win because be is a CPA but I think it would be refreshing for someone who is a CPA, a certified fraud examiner and performed government audits for a career to run for Comptroller instead of another entitled Attonery.

Maybe if someone like him was comptroller they would be more proactive to stop this corruption even if it is not the comptroller’s responsibility and maybe the state wouldn’t be in such complete disarray.

JBT is a shoe in for reelection but just food for thought.

Comment by Citizen Carl Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:55 pm
I heard this on the radio driving home last night. It reminded me of something the Margaret Thatcher said.
–I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left. –

Considering Sheila had no basis for her attack at all what argument does she have left?? JBT is a good comptroller but i look better in yellow??

Comment by Mason born Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 12:58 pm
Agree on that Simon’s charge was a cheap shot at worst and perhaps a reflection of her misunderstanding of the Comptroller’s job at best…come to think of it, maybe that is worse.

OTH, as to the Washington Park issue, I guess I might ask, why did it take 7 years before the AG was asked to get involved?

Comment by Tommydanger Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 1:06 pm
Acronyms only work if used correctly! OTH, should have been OTOH. This poster regrets the error!

Comment by Tommydanger Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 1:12 pm
Tommydanger, from the release, it looks like when JBT got into office in 2011 she found they hadn’t been filing their reports for several years. She tried to work with them, paid for an outside auditing firm to come in (because they claimed they couldn’t afford it) but when they stopped cooperating with the auditors she gave it to the AG. That sounds like somebody making a real effort to help an economically disadvantaged community get their act together but when they stonewalded the auditors they got busted.

Comment by Raising Kane Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 1:17 pm
Citizen Carl…

I think OW (I dare not speak for him) is referencing in part how Lauzen went to court to get his CPA added to his name so he could use it on the ballot.

Comment by OneMan Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 1:35 pm
I believe Simon also said something about JBT not doing enough about corruption. Really? What can she point to as Lt Gov that she’s done to fight corruption?

Comment by Empty Suit Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 1:37 pm
I’d be more likely to give the job to Duffy the CPA. I’ve had enuf of the “Illinois inheritance tax” to last a lifetime.

Comment by anon Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 1:42 pm
- OneMan -,

You are correct, Sir.

As an aside, nice work at the Announcement, it was nice to have that info here. Well done, and much appreciated.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 1:46 pm
From what I heard, there used to be very knowledgeable staff at the Comptroller’s office who reviewed the municipal finance reports and sometimes found problems. But apparently Loleta Didrickson laid them off and replaced them with political hacks. So she might deserve more blame than Hynes or JBT. (And so does the outside auditing firm who missed the irregularities with Crundwell.)

It’s true that Duffy Blackburn doesn’t have Sheila Simon’s name recognition, but I was impressed that he was a CPA and certified fraud examiner. He’s a long shot, but it’d be nice to have someone with those credentials as comptroller.

Comment by wayward Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 2:01 pm
My respect for her continues eroding. First she bails on Quinn. Then she kicks off her campaign by making the focal point a baseless, incorrect smear attack. Seriously Sheila? Not exactly the good old fashioned values we associate with the name Simon.
If one is running on the family name - again - instead of their mediocre record, then at least uphold that name and follow the example set by your predecessors.

Comment by Keep Calm and Carry On Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 2:08 pm
Wordslinger @ 12:36

Assuming you are correct, that is troubling for me to hear. I had always thought that these audits are a bit more thorough that just a cursory look at the books. I would think someone at the accounting firm has some explaining to do

OW @ 12:37

You are correct. The article someone linked to earlier in the thread is the best description of the entire episode that I have read to date.

Comment by Stones Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 2:25 pm
@wayward =From what I heard, there used to be very knowledgeable staff at the Comptroller’s office who reviewed the municipal finance reports and sometimes found problems. But apparently Loleta Didrickson laid them off and replaced them with political hacks. So she might deserve more blame than Hynes or JBT = So who did you hear this from?

Comment by Downstater Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 2:27 pm
I struggle to buy into this “name recognition” thing. Between all the Illinoisans who were mere children or not even born when her dad was a senator, and all the voters who have moved to Illinois from other states and countries since then, who exactly does she think is going to be impressed that her maiden name was Simon?

Comment by Responsa Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 2:28 pm
- Stones -

h/t to - Soccermom - …

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 2:31 pm
To Raising Kane, fair enough. Thanks for the additional info.

Comment by Tommydanger Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 2:34 pm
Not surprising Sheila wants to deflect given the “record” she has to run on

Comment by K3 Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 2:35 pm
Running against a popular incumbent comptroller instead of for a vacant treasurer’s seat?

Someone must have convinced Sheila that it made more sense or was somehow easier to attack JBT’s record than to defend her own lack of substantive management or financial experience.

Comment by Brendan Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 3:17 pm
You know, dear, I think that Simon girl should have tried a downstate run for congress (like her father did when he left the LtGov’s office) instead of attempting this fool’s errand.

Heck, she has to win a primary against a more qualified suburban county auditor first!

Comment by Debbie Reynolds Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 3:21 pm
@Stones

What wordslinger is saying sounds about right. And it’s really easy to explain. If you look at any annual report of a public company post-Enron vs pre-Enron, the phrase where the auditors sign off on the numbers has changed. The Big 4 no longer want the liability of attaching their name to someone else’s work, so instead of saying, “These numbers are correct,” the phrase pretty much says, “Yep, they followed GAAP according to what they showed us.”

It’s a small change with massive implications. Auditors are simply checking the process rather than the actual figures.

Comment by ChrisB Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 3:45 pm
Reckless Judy Bait. No way she wins this. I’d give Duffy Blackburn a better shot against JBT because at least with his credentials, he’d have something to run on. Sheila? Just the banjo.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 4:07 pm
@ChrisB:

The cleanest opinion an auditor can provide is that the financials are presented fairly and accurately and that they follow GAAP. The opinion is only as good as the information they are able to obtain. If they don’t believe they have been given all of the required information then they can issue qualified opinions or a negative opinion.

They check more than the process so I’m not sure what gave you that idea. If there are auditors out there simply going through the motions like you suggest then they are crappy auditors and should be sanctioned or put out of business.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 4:27 pm
@Downstater

I know from personal experience Loleta laid off a lot of staff to pay for the conversion from CUSAS to SAMS - can’t speak to replacing them with “hacks” … . And while the date may be off, my memory is the layoffs occurred on August 1, 1996.
http://www.lib.niu.edu/1996/ii960918.html
For the record, the personnel cuts occurred during the writing of the budget, not by transfers after enactment.

The initial implementation was a disaster. This article
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-02-23/news/9802230037_1_computer-system-campaign-promise-financing
politely refers to “working weekends” to make it work.

There were also issues with how Loleta paid for it.
http://www.auditor.illinois.gov/Audit-Reports/Compliance-Agency-List/Comptroller/Comp-NFO/FY00-Comptroller-Comp-NFO-FIN-COMP-digest.html

JBT doesn’t have the resources to do what’s listed on her website (as noted by @Lakewood-Balmoral). Doesn’t make her responsible for Dixon, however.

Comment by Smitty Irving Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 9:54 pm
@Chris B and Stones: Actually, as a trustee of a local fire district, our auditor now performs a “audit” that does not actually review numbers, just the method. When they changed a couple of years ago,I wondered why, now I know. The new “audit” apparently satisfies the legal definition for auditing purposes; more importantly to us, the cost dropped by roughly 25 percent…

Comment by downstate commissioner Thursday, Aug 1, 13 @ 10:00 pm
Clark Edgar Rural Water district had not filed one shred of paper with the Comptroller for over 20 years and when we exposed it NOTHING was done about it!

Comment by Kirk Allen Friday, Aug 2, 13 @ 8:35 am