La Grange Delinquent With Late Audit: State

LA GRANGE, IL – The state lists La Grange as delinquent with its annual audit, with the village 4½ months behind in submitting one.

Under state law, a town gets 180 days to turn in an audit after a budget year ends, which was April 30 in La Grange.

That period ended in late October, but the Illinois Comptroller's Office gave the village a 60-day extension, which ended Dec. 26. It's been 47 days since then.

In response to a Patch inquiry, Village Manager Jack Knight said the late audit was because of two personnel vacancies. The village's finance department has been shorthanded since last spring.

While a private firm performs an audit, it needs the cooperation of village staff.

"The audit is on schedule to be completed by the end of this month," Knight said in an email.

In an interview Wednesday, the comptroller's spokesman, Abdon Pallasch, said his office works with towns to get their audits done. If a town is unresponsive, the agency may levy fines or force an audit, he said.

Pallasch said the village has been given a delinquency notice and that it is expected to become compliant by Feb. 28.

The delinquency is an unusual position for La Grange. For decades, the village has received annual budget awards from a trade group for government finance officials.

The late audit has gone unmentioned by officials during Village Board meetings.

It was left to resident Al Foreman to discuss it during the public comments part of Monday's board meeting. He said the lateness cannot be repeated.

"It's concerning that you have not provided timely, transparent, comprehensive financial reporting to the residents of La Grange," Foreman said. "The Board must take action to improve this unacceptable situation. Poor financial hygiene risks public confidence and adversely affects the village's creditworthiness as you consider any future borrowings."

The last La Grange audit was for the budget year that ended nearly 22 months ago.

The La Grange park and library districts, with budget years ending April 30, completed their audits on Aug. 21 and Oct. 14, respectively.