This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the Aurora area in the Nov. 5 general election.
The race for Kane County auditor this fall is between incumbent Penny Wegman, a Democrat, and Republican Gretchen Butler.
The general election is set for Nov. 5.
Wegman, 47, of Elgin, is seeking her second term as auditor and said challenges include dealing with “outdated county policies, changes in the county involving purchasing and staffing an office that is able to provide appropriate return on investment.”
“Outdated policies – we absolutely have outdated policies that are not relevant with the type of technology that we’ve been going through and the changes that have occurred since the pandemic,” she said.
There are also issues regarding possible changes in purchasing, Wegman said.
“We’ve been trying to implement new policies and there has been a lot of resistance to change in that,” she said. “We get the sense of – we’ve always done it this way and why do we need to change?”
Regarding staffing challenges, Wegman said that “the cost for employees has gone up and the budget is a little bit more restrictive.”
“We’re trying to make sure we only hire and utilize staff that is going to give a sufficient return on what we’re paying,” she said.
If reelected, Wegman said her goals in a second term would include “increasing transparency in the office here in the county, continue reviewing the internal controls and also continuing to conduct audits within the office that we have the statutory authority to do.”
Transparency, she said, “is an everyday action that means increasing the amount of information available to the residents of Kane County and is an ongoing process.”
Internal controls “means reviewing the financial policy, the travel policy and making sure the way the county is operating is the way the county should be operating,” she said.
Audits, Wegman said, involve “making sure we’re not outsourcing any audits that we have to statutorily complete in our office – all small, medium, and large ones.”
Butler, 49, of St. Charles, said this is her first time running for auditor and that challenges in the job include “looking at seeing where you can cut money and expenses.”
“I’m always up for a challenge. I think there is a way to try to figure that out,” she said.
Butler also notes the political challenges anyone faces regardless of party.
“I’m running as a Republican, so there is a party involved, but I think it’s important in this role that it’s non-partisan. I think it’s going to be difficult – whether Republican or Democrat – there are going to be challenges,” she said. “Will people trust me? Do they feel I’m going to be transparent? I think that’s a challenge even thought it’s a non-partisan role. There’s still that kind of aura.”
If elected, Butler said “some audits are currently being outsourced, and I’d like to dig deep as to why they are being done externally” as well as work on increasing transparency and offering non-partisan leadership.
“I want to bring all small- and medium-sized transition audits into the office. I believe those are being outsourced,” she said.
Non-partisan leadership, Butler said, “means bringing leadership to the office and working across party lines.”
“I also want to offer non-partisan leadership to county officials and county departments, and lastly educate the public on what’s going on with their dollars,” she said.
Butler said she wants “to make myself available to explain further and encourage further transparency.”
“I want to increase transparency and making things clearer. Right now, I see things as being really vague,” she said. “I think right now it’s challenging and making things clear can be hard because the auditor is given the information and it’s the auditor’s job to put that out to the public. It’s challenging working with different departments that are only giving you certain information and trying to make it clearer to the public.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
