Kankakee Times

Accountability has been high on Jake Lee's list since becoming Kankakee County’s auditor a little more than 100 days ago.

“We are looking for efficiencies," he told the Kankakee Times. "Not just in the auditor's office, but looking for efficiencies in all of the county, which is one of the charges that we have by state statute."

Lee said his focus has been on getting the county into compliance with statutes.

| Jake Lee Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/1629521843983619/photos/a.1629700810632389.1073741825.1629521843983619/1658161091119694/?type=3&theater

“There are a lot of areas where we have neglected to follow state statutes," he said. "So, we are developing systems and programs and so forth to get us into compliance.”

In his quarterly report, Lee indicated that those issues include Statute 55 ILCS 5/3-1006, which appoints the auditor as the general accountant of the county; 55 ILCS 5/6-31012, which covers transparency of the audit report; and 55 ILCS 5/6-31005, which outlines the process of auditing the funds managed by county officials.

Lee said he has managed to get some of his goals accomplished already, including the credit card policy.

“We actually have a section in the credit card policy that every cardholder is required to sign that they have read and understand the policy," he said. "So, if there arises a situation where we have to enforce that policy, no one can claim ignorance.” 

He also said that transparency is high on his list.

“We have put some new reports on the auditor’s website," Lee said. "The quarterly report is posted. We have some nice charts and graphs in that report.” 

It all come down to good stewardship of taxpayers' dollars, he said.

“We have stopped doing a lot of the frivolous activities of stuffing envelopes and things like that so we can build our audit program," Lee said. "My goal is to get where we do three major and three minor audits at a minimum each year, along with all of our ongoing activities. Another thing I would like to see us accomplish is where we are able to perform our statutory duties. If we can accomplish that, I think we can get this office and the county government as a whole back on solid footing, and we can build confidence with the voters that we are doing the right thing: We are here working in their best interest. That to me is a successful four-year term.”