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Jurisdiction issueWillcounty auditBy FRANKLIN SHUFTANThe Auditor General’s office apparently has decided it will not review the financial records of the Will county Private Industry council (PIC) as ordered in a state Senate resolution.No one from the office was available to respond to inquiries Friday, but state Sen. George Sangmeister (D-Mokena), who sponsored the resolution, said he had been informed of the decision.Sangmeister criticized the interpretation adopted by the auditor general: that the office has no jurisdiction to conduct a financial audit of the troubled quasi-governmentalagency.“I FIND THIS decision by the auditor general not only contrary to law but incomprehensible.” Sangmeister said.The lawmaker, who will complete a 14-year legislative career next month, said he was told the auditor general views PIC as a not-for-profit agency over which he has no authority.PIC is funded by the U. S. Department of Labor. Money is sent to the state Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA), which transmits it to Will county and finally, to PIC.Citing irregularities surrounding PIC activities and questions of political favoritism in the agency’s practices. Sangmeister called for the audit in a Senate-approved resolution December 5.CONTROVERSY BEGAN to swirl around PIC during the fall general election campaign with disclosure that the agency was paying $106,000 to lease space in a downtown Joliet building that had been purchased a year earlier for $85,000.Exact ownership of the building is concealed in a real estate trust, butJoliet Mayor John Bourg revealed that the beneficiary of the trust is John Bays, a prominent Will county auto dealer who has close ties to GOPleaders.Also, The Star reported last month that PIC awarded a $70,000 consulting contract to a firm headed by longtime Will county board member Glenn Coburn, an influential Frankfort township Republican.Sangmeister initially called for the audit as a means to “clear the air.” But Douglas Kane, deputy auditor general, said early last week that the office would first seek a legal opinion over whether it had authority to proceed.KANE DID not say whether thesnag developed in response to an official protest, but Sangmeister wondered how a question of jurisdictionhad developed.“There is absolutely no one who has stated publicly — and I emphasize publicly — that this audit should not be completed.” Sangmeister said“In fact, the Will county board chairman welcomed it, the chairman of the agency welcomed it and certainly it was welcomed by the citizens of this community, who questioned the agency’s actionsApparently the only person who is opposed to making the audit is the auditor general himself.”SANGMEISTER SAID he originally sought the audit because “there was no place else to turn.“Now, for some reason, this door has been closed It is a sad day when tax-supported agencies refuse to do their job, he addedPIC is audited annually by DCCA but Sangmeister argued that “auditing is not DCCA’s specialty.”“Since when is the auditor general prevented from auditing a governmental agency?” he asked. “They do(Please turn to Page A-2)
Newspaper Details
Crete Star
Crete, Illinois, US
Sun, Dec 21, 1986
Page 1
Full Page
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AZ, USA 29 Jan 2020
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