McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks nominates Shannon Teresi as auditor

McHenry County Chief Deputy Auditor Shannon Teresi has been nominated to fill the vacant office of county auditor.

The nomination came from McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks. The Marengo Democrat and Teresi have discussed changes that would allow the office to focus on auditing and fraud monitoring.

Teresi, who has worked in the office since 2010, has been leading the office since Pam Palmer retired in January.

“I’m very excited to be nominated to serve the public in the vital role of ensuring that their tax dollars are spent wisely and efficiently, and the changes that Chairman Franks and I have discussed will further that role,” Teresi said in a statement.

Teresi is a certified public accountant, a certified internal auditor and a certified fraud examiner. She started her career in the auditor’s office in 2010 as an internal auditor, and she was promoted in 2016 to financial reporting manager and chief deputy auditor. Teresi received her master’s degree in accounting in 2007 from Northern Illinois University.

“An auditor’s main focus should be auditing and being a watchdog for the taxpayers,” said Teresi, who grew up in Marengo and lives in Crystal Lake with her husband and two children. “I am looking forward to serving as county auditor and implementing the changes coming before the County Board.”

The county’s financial responsibilities are split between the county administration – which is in charge of the county budget, payroll, purchasing and managing contracts – and the auditor’s office, which handles accounting and management of the county’s financial reporting system.

State law gives elected auditors in counties with a population of fewer than 275,000 people the responsibility of acting as the county’s accountant and controlling financial reporting.

McHenry County exceeded that population with the 2010 U.S. Census.

A proposal now will go before the County Board to shift the functions of accounting and financial reporting from the auditor’s office to the Finance Division of County Administration, which will allow the office to spend more time auditing and investigating waste, fraud and abuse.

That would bring the office more in line with the responsibilities granted to it by state law, Franks said.

The County Board chairman characterized his nomination as a “win all around.”

“The taxpayers will get an experienced professional with a sharp eye for detail in Shannon Teresi,” Franks said in a statement. “Her office will be able to focus more exclusively on a watchdog role with the handing off of some responsibilities that should have been transferred to county administration years ago.”

Franks will bring Teresi’s nomination to the County Board for a vote at its April 17 meeting.

The board also will vote on a resolution formalizing the proposed changes to the office.

Teresi will run in the November election to fill the remaining two years of Palmer’s term.