Kane Chair, SAO find no policy or legal violation in $54,709 p-card payments to DeVry

GENEVA – In response to a recent audit of the county’s purchasing card transactions, Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog and State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser issued a joint statement Aug. 9 that “we have determined there has been no violation of county policy or criminal law.”

Kane County Auditor Penny Wegman had recommended hiring outside counsel to investigate a $22,000 “perk” for one employee, which led to a deeper search that showed $58,211 was spent in 17 transactions over four years, most of them on a procurement card.

“The auditor’s office did not receive supporting documentation that provided the proper authority to authorize the above transactions,” the p-card audit stated.

“In light of the auditor’s findings, the county and the state’s attorney have reviewed the allegations contained in the report and have examined all relevant county policies and applicable law,” according to the statement.

“However, there is always room for improvement,” according to the joint statement. “The county will be taking this opportunity to update some of its internal policies and has already taken steps to assign such review to relevant standing committees.”

“I stand by my audit,” Wegman said.

Purchasing cards – also known as procurement or p-cards – are credit cards the county issues to elected offices and departments to use for purchases without having to go through a purchase order procedure.

The audit of procurement card transactions for fiscal 2019-20 from Dec. 1, 2019, to Nov. 20, 2020, was done because of a new administration, Wegman had said.

It showed that $22,000 was paid as a “perk to one employee” in six transactions that came from the Information Technology Department to DeVry University, according to the audit.

A review of the p-card transactions from 2016 to 2020 showed 15 payments to DeVry University totaling $54,709.

The county also made two other direct payments totaling $3,502 – which records state were for tuition – bringing the total to $58,211 that was paid to DeVry, records show.

The audit did not identify who the p-card was assigned to, nor who the employee was who benefited from the $22,000 “perk” or the other payments to DeVry.

“We appreciate the due diligence that the auditor and her staff have done on the county audit, and look forward to working with the auditor in assuring that the county’s strong financial policies are being reviewed and maintained,” the joint statement from Pierog and Mosser said.

The Kane County Chronicle has filed Freedom of Information Act requests seeking more documentation about the payments to DeVry.