Illinois Auditor Finds Repeated Compliance Problems at Public Health and Guardianship Agencies
July 23 examinations found persistent control weaknesses involving Illinois public-health vehicles, overtime, personnel files and voucher processing. Both agencies agreed to recommendations, but follow-up remains pending.
Two Illinois state agencies had dozens of compliance findings, many of them repeated, in examinations released July 23 by the Illinois Auditor General.
The examinations covered the two fiscal years ended June 30, 2025. The Illinois Department of Public Health had 40 findings, including 34 repeated findings, while the Guardianship and Advocacy Commission had 10 findings, including seven repeated findings. Both agencies agreed with the recommendations, but the reports say implementation will be reviewed in later examinations.
The audits document weaknesses in recordkeeping, approvals, monitoring and other internal controls. They do not, by themselves, establish fraud, theft or direct harm to residents.
IDPH audit included a limited qualified opinion
IDPH had six new findings and 34 repeated findings, compared with 39 findings in its previous examination. The report classified one finding as Category 1 and five as Category 2; the repeated-finding total is reported separately and can overlap with those categories. Category 1 findings involve material weaknesses in internal control and/or material noncompliance. Category 2 findings involve significant deficiencies in internal control and noncompliance.
Accountants qualified IDPH’s compliance report for findings 2025-001 through 2025-007. They also stated that, except for the noncompliance described in those findings, the department complied in all material respects with the requirements reviewed. The qualified opinion did not state that the entire department failed to comply.
Vehicle controls involved maintenance, records and reporting
IDPH’s state-vehicle fleet grew from 104 vehicles on June 30, 2024, to 127 on June 30, 2025. Sixty vehicles were personally assigned to employees during fiscal 2024 and 71 during fiscal 2025.
Auditors reviewed maintenance records for 30 vehicles. Seven received oil changes 136 to 8,361 miles past the allowed interval, while records for five vehicles were insufficient to determine whether oil changes were timely. Six vehicles did not receive an annual inspection during the engagement period, and maintenance records for 10 vehicles were not provided.
The testing also found problems with vehicle-use records, required employee certifications and accident reports. All 56 monthly vehicle-log and vehicle-use certification-form tests lacked a reconciliation for determining taxable fringe benefits. In 20 of those 56 tests, the records differed on the number of commuting days, producing net overstatements of reported fringe benefits totaling $234 in fiscal 2024 and $225 in fiscal 2025. Those amounts came from tested records and are not a statewide estimate of total exposure.
Among other exceptions, 14 of 40 employees tested had not submitted required annual certification forms, two submitted them 49 and 56 days late, and one did not sign the form. IDPH also filed its fiscal 2024 Individually Assigned Vehicle Report 427 days late. Two of five accident reports tested were not properly signed, and two of five were filed late; the late reports were submitted two and 156 days after the required deadline.
The vehicle-control finding has been reported since 2007. The Auditor General recommended enforcing maintenance schedules, improving documentation of personal vehicle use and fringe benefits, and monitoring certifications, vehicle assignments and accident reports. IDPH agreed.
Overtime approvals were late or exceeded limits
IDPH paid $7,547,133 for 99,019 overtime hours in fiscal 2025 and $6,840,556 for 94,099 hours in fiscal 2024. Auditors tested 60 pay periods and 48 employees who worked overtime during the two fiscal years. The tested employees incurred 443 overtime hours in the pay periods reviewed.
Three of the 48 employees tested entered 15 overtime hours into the timekeeping system one to three days after the deadline. Three employees submitted pre-approval requests totaling 14 hours one to five days after the overtime was worked. Seven employees had requests totaling 31 hours approved two to seven days after the overtime was worked or submitted, whichever was later.
Twenty-seven of the 48 employees tested also had pre-approval requests that exceeded the allowed maximum hours. Those requests ranged from 20 to 90 hours.
The overtime-control finding has been reported since 2011. The Auditor General recommended timely submission and advance approval of overtime requests, compliance with allowable limits and retention of supporting documentation. IDPH agreed.
Guardianship commission had 10 findings
The Guardianship and Advocacy Commission had three new findings and seven repeated findings, up from seven findings in its previous examination. Accountants stated that the commission complied in all material respects with the requirements described in the report; its report did not contain a qualified compliance opinion.
The commission did not maintain adequate controls over personnel files. In the tested samples, auditors found one missing Section 1 of a Form I-9, incomplete annual performance evaluations for two of 13 employees tested, one missing probationary evaluation among three tested, one missing Illinois withholding form among 16 tested employees and late initial ethics and sexual-harassment-prevention training for two of 16 employees tested.
The commission also did not process all vouchers on time. Auditors found that 272 of 2,507 general vouchers, or 11%, were approved 31 to 181 days after receipt of a proper bill or other obligating document. Those vouchers totaled $871,664. Two of 25 travel-voucher samples, totaling $1,998, were submitted by travelers one to seven days late. The voucher-control finding has been reported since 2019.
The full examination includes additional findings involving statutory compliance, workforce administration, electronic data, cybersecurity, access controls, service providers, telecommunications devices and state property. Those findings concern agency controls and compliance. The reports do not state that guardianship clients or advocacy users were individually harmed.
Follow-up will determine whether problems decline
Both agencies agreed with the Auditor General’s recommendations. The reports do not say that corrective actions are complete. The Auditor General plans to review each agency’s progress toward implementing the recommendations in future state compliance examinations.
For Illinois residents, the next accountability question is whether repeated findings decline when the agencies are examined again. Until then, the reports show persistent weaknesses in the documentation and oversight of public business at agencies responsible for public-health administration, guardianship services, legal advocacy and disability-rights work.
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