Shannon Teresi appointed as McHenry County auditor

Shannon Teresi has been appointed McHenry County auditor.

Nominated by McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks to fill the position of the retired Pam Palmer, Teresi took the job after County Board members voted, 20-1, to approve her appointment with no discussion. Don Kopsell was the sole “no” vote.

“I want to thank the County Board and Chairman Jack Franks for supporting me in this role,” Teresi told the board after her appointment. “I am just so excited to get to work and make McHenry County an example of good government.”

Teresi, who has worked in the office since 2010, has been leading the office since Palmer retired in January. She is a certified public accountant, certified internal auditor and certified fraud examiner.

“I think she’s a great fit,” Franks said. “She was worth the wait.”

Teresi started her career in the auditor’s office 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 from Northern Illinois University in 2007.

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

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.

The County Board approved a proposal, 20-1, Tuesday night 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. Jeffrey Thorsen voted “no.”

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