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Contact Do you have a question? Do you need information? Please contact us through our Audit hotline reporting site to report activities that you believe are or may result in waste, fraud, abuse or non-compliance or significant violations of Will County policies, regulations or rules. Phone & Mailing Address Office of the Will County Auditor 302 N. Chicago Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 740-4609 wcauditor@willcountyillinois.com First Name Last Name Email Message Send Thank you for submitting!

Personnel Analysis

About Duffy Blackburn CPA, CFE, CISA, MBA, MAFM Kevin "Duffy" Blackburn, CPA, CISA, CFE has dedicated himself in his public service work to moving the community forward and building a strong middle class for the County - focusing on fiscal health and issues that matter to the residents including open and honest government, county projects that build value, and a government clear of fraud, waste, and abuse. Will County Auditor Kevin “Duffy” Blackburn holds professional certifications as Certified Public Accountant - CPA Certified Information Systems Auditor-CISA Certified Fraud Examiner-CFE He is a graduate of the University of Iowa in Economics and holds two Master's degrees; MBA and Accounting from the Keller Graduate School. He's received certificates from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, MIT Professional Studies, and University of Notre Dame. He's serving in his fourth term as Will County Auditor. He was awarded the Illinois County Auditor of Year for 2011 and multiple-award-winner for excellence in financial rep orting and government transparency. He has been appointed to the: Illinois Local Government Advisory Board by Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza Illinois Judicial Conference Cost of Supervision and Detention Task force by the Illinois Supreme Court Illinois CPA Society Government Executive Committee Illinois State Treasurer Audit Transition Committee by Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs He is an invited speaker for the GFOA, XBRL Government Working Group, and before the Securities and Exchange. He is a graduate lecturer in governmental accounting, I.T. auditing, and computer fraud at Benedictine University. He is a an adjunct professor at Joliet Junior College in corporate finance and consumer economics. He is an instructor, as well, at University of St. Francis teaching Audit and Accounting Information Systems. He serves as Treasurer of Senior Services of Will County , and serves on the boards of the Spanish Community Center of Joliet and Will County and the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center . H e's also proud to serve on the Board of Advisors to his father’s small manufacturing company located in Galesburg, IL. Duffy and Rachel, his wife, and their two children reside in Joliet with their dog and two cat rescues.

Will County Vendor Payments This information has been extracted from Will County's system. The reports may contain accounting adjustments or reclassifications. One vendor/merchant may be listed more than once due to multiple remittance addresses for the same vendor. Due to fields in the reporting system, the vendor's name or item description of services may be abbreviated. The reports contain information about expenditures of the General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, Debt Service Funds, and Capital Improvement Funds. The following entities are not included in the reports: Will County Forest Preserve District, Will County Public Building Commission The reports contain information which is unaudited. The reports do not contain expenditures categorized as personnel-related or salary information or private or confidential.

Meet the Staff Staff Bios Cathy Pleasant, CGAP Deputy Auditor Telephone: 815-740-8358 Ms. Pleasant is a Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP). She graduated from Loyola University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Public Accounting degree and has 25 years of audit and accounting experience. She has previously worked in a large public accounting firm and a Fortune 500 computer corporation before joining the Will County Auditor's office in 1995. During her 18-year tenure at the Will County Auditor's office, Ms. Pleasant has led forensic investigations which have resulted in convictions, serves as the County trainer for the County's computerized financial system, and administers training and access for the County's Purchasing Card Program, for which she has been a chosen speaker for several national executive training conferences. She sits on the County's Committee for the Automation of Accounting and Financial Reporting. She is an active member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the Association of Local Government Auditors. She is currently studying for the Certified Fraud Examiners certification exam. Gloria Martinez, CGAP Internal Auditor Telephone: 815-740-4656 Ms. Gloria Martinez joined the Will County Auditor’s Office as a Staff Auditor in March 2010. Ms. Martinez is Certified Governmental Auditing Professional (CGAP). She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Technical Management with an emphasis in Accounting from DeVry University. Some of her current responsibilities include auditing and analyzing the County Procurement Card purchases, bank reconciliation process and testing of receipts, assisting in posting reports to the website and training university interns. She completed an Internship at the Will County Building in the Summer of 2009 for the Treasurer’s Office and the Auditor’s Office. She has 20 years of experience as an Administrative Assistant for the Guidance Office and Principal’s Office at Joliet Township High School, Central Campus. She is an active member of the Chicago Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and studying for the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) examination. Pat Benson Claims Auditor Telephone: 815-740-4609 Ms. Benson has worked in the Will County Auditor’s Office since February 2003, beginning her tenure as an Accounting Assistant. Her current responsibilities include auditing and analyzing of claims, County wire transactions, County Procurement Card purchases; and supervising and training university interns. Before joining the Will County Auditor’s Office, Pat was employed as a Pharmacy Technician and Office Manager for an Independent Pharmacy. She is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).

Kevin "Duffy" Blackburn Will County Auditor Certified Information Systems Auditor, CISA Certified Public Accountant, CPA Certified Fraud Examiner, CFE The Will County Auditor's Office Welcome to Contact Mission and Services Duffy Blackburn, CPA, CISA, CFE Office Staff FOIA Auditor Local Internship Program History of Office (1911-Present) The mission of the Will County Auditor is to enhance and protect organizational value of the County of Will by providing risk-based objective assurance, advice, and insight . This site was developed to inform the residents of Will County of the role and responsibilities of the Will County Auditor’s Office, financial and operational transparency and accountability of Will County Government, to provide a means to report suspected fraud, waste, or abuse. The Will County Auditor wants to encourage Will County citizens and officials to participate, collaborate, and continue moving Will County forward. It is my honor to serve as the Will County Auditor. It is to the citizens of Will County to provide the best public service and perform the responsibilities of this office with the utmost efficiency and effectiveness. Sincerely, Kevin "Duffy" Blackburn CPA, CFE, CISA Will County Auditor

NEWS Will County Government: First in Nation to Publish AI-Enabled Financial Report New way to publish government financial data for transparent, instantly comparable information JOLIET, IL - Today the office of Will County Auditor Duffy Blackburn announced that Will County has published financial information in a data format that allows artificial intelligence and other software to analyze and compare the county's financial performance. Blackburn is pioneering the use of this reporting with others needing to follow suit. Conventional financial documents cannot be read by software because they do not electronically identify each piece of information. But Will County's newly-published Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for 2018 fiscal year uses data tags to specify each number and line item, including the mathematical relationships between them. "Will County is the first government in the nation to officially publish AI-enabled financial data," said Blackburn. "We are doing this because we want our financial performance to be easily comparable, and even automatically comparable, across time and against other governments'. With software automatically able to illuminate challenges and risk, we are more accountable to our citizens and financial markets." Blackburn's office has published this financial data in its raw form, available for download using a data format called eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). Blackburn is pioneering the use of this platform for governments as others need to follow suit. Florida's legislature has passed a law requiring all of its local governments to publish electronic financial reports in the same way, but the state government has not yet implemented the law. A similar law has passed in California. On the federal level, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has introduced the Financial Transparency Act, which would require all state and local government financial statements submitted as part of bond issues to be published in the same data format. "In Florida, in California, and in Congress, lawmakers are getting ready to require all state and local financial information to be AI-enabled," said Blackburn. "But in Will County, we're not waiting for lawmakers to enact a requirement. We agree that publishing our financial information as machine-readable data is the way forward, and our county government decided to lead rather than follow." On Thursday, Oct. 3, Blackburn delivered a keynote address and live tech demo at the Municipal Finance Data Forum at Northern Illinois University's Naperville Campus, sponsored by the XBRL US nonprofit organization, which creates and maintains financial data formats that are used to enable instant analysis of both private-sector and public-sector financial reports. Blackburn's keynote and demo explained the value of standardized data in financial reporting and predicted the benefits of the universal adoption of this innovation, such cost cutting for municipal bond markets and improvements to better government.

Office Information (FOIA) Illinois statute 5 ILCS 140/4 requires each public body to post specific information regarding the public body as part of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Guides to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act can be found at Illinois Attorney General - Ensuring Open and Honest Government (click on link) The functional subdivision of the auditor’s office is shown in the organizational chart is shown. The total amount of the approved FY 2022 Operating Budget(click on link) for the Will County Auditor’s office is $629,728. The Auditor’s office employs 4 full-time employees and 1 part-time temporary employee as of 12/01/2012. The auditor’s office is located at 302 N. Chicago St., Room 140, Joliet, IL 60432. The county auditor is an independently elected officer responsible for auditing claims of the county, the internal audit of county operations, and reporting to the County Board and the general public. The purpose of the county auditor is set forth by the statute at 55 ILCS 5/Div. 3-1(click on link) which states: The duties of the county auditor shall be to: (a) Audit all claims against the county, and recommend to the county board the payment or rejection of all claims presented. (b) Collect, analyze and preserve statistical and financial information with respect to the cost of operation of the various institutions and facilities maintained, operated or owned by the county. (c) Approve all orders for supplies issued by the various county officers, before the orders are to be placed with the parties to whom the same are to be given. (d) Maintain a file of all contracts entered into by the county board and all authorized county officers, for or on behalf of the county. (e) Report quarterly to the county board the entire financial operations of the county including revenues anticipated and received, expenditures estimated and paid, obligations unpaid, the condition of all funds and appropriations and other pertinent information. The county auditor shall cause to be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the county, a notice of the availability of the quarterly report for public inspection in the office of the county auditor. Such notice shall be published within 30 days of the date of the scheduled release of the report. (f) Audit the receipts of all county officers and departments presented for deposit with the county treasurer. (g) Maintain a continuous internal audit of the operations and financial records of the officers, agents or divisions of the county. The county auditor shall have access to all records, documents, and resources necessary for the discharge of this responsibility. (h) Audit the inventory of all real and personal property owned by the county under the control and management of the various officers and departments of the county. (i) Audit the documentation, records, and bases for the amounts billed to the county, as maintained by county vendors, under agreements between the county and its vendors, when those agreements provide that the amounts billed to the county are based upon actual costs incurred by the vendor, or when those agreements include the requirement that the county provide a reimbursement for out‑of‑pocket costs incurred by the vendors. The county auditor shall audit the documentation, records, and bases for the amounts required to be paid to the county under agreements with outside parties, when those amounts are based upon records and documentation generated, compiled, and maintained by the outside party. The vendors and outside parties affected by this Section shall provide to the county auditor, on a timely basis, all records and documents required by the county auditor relative to the county auditor's duties under this subsection. Requests for information and public records The auditor accepts requests to inspect or copy records via U.S. mail, courier, email, personal delivery, and fax. The request does not need to be submitted on a standard form; however, a standard form(click on link) is available. A request may be anonymous. Each public body is required by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to promptly respond to requests for public records within 5 business days, unless properly extended due to statutory reasons . The Freedom of Information Act officer for the auditor is: Cathy Pleasant, Deputy Auditor Will County Office Building 302 N. Chicago St. Joliet, Illinois 60432 (815) 740-4609 (815) 740-4319 FAX cpleasant@willcountyillinois.com Contact the Will County Auditor's Office: Phone: (815) 740-4609 Fax: (815) 740-4319 Email: wcauditor@willcountyillinois.com Business Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Will County Auditor's Office is located at: 302 N. Chicago Street Joliet, IL 60432-4059

Mission and Services Mission The mission of the Will County Auditor is to enhance and protect organizational value of the County of Will by providing risk-based objective assurance, advice, and insight . The County Auditor accomplishes its mission by maintaining integrity, objectivity, and competence to (a) bring a systematic, disciplined approach to assist the County of Will's management in the effective discharge of its responsibilities to establish an appropriate control environment with regards to of the operations, financial systems, information technology and internal accounting controls and (b) provide objective and independent information on the effectiveness and the adequacy of internal controls and governance processes. Will County Audit Approach and Professional Guidance The Office of the Will County Auditor’s guidelines and authorization is established by the Illinois Compiled Statutes in conjunction with guidance from generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) and Will County Code of Ordinances. The statute and county ordinance charges that the county auditor shall maintain a continuous internal audit of the operations and financial records of officers, agents or divisions of the county. The collection of requirements and general standards for the Auditor’s office emphasize the importance of: Independence and safeguards for objectivity of the auditor Exercise of professional judgment in the performance of work and the preparation of related reports Competence of staff; and Quality control and assurance. The audit approach is based on Ongoing review of key processes Risk levels Professional auditing standards (IIA , GFOA , AICPA , and GAO ), and legal requirements (local ordinances, state statutes, and federal and state regulations). County Auditor Statute 55 ILCS 5/Div. 3.1. Sec 3-1005 Pursuant to the Illinois Compiled Statute 55 ILCS 5/Div. 3.1. Sec. 3-1005 , specifically the County Auditor is required to : (1) Audit all claims against the County; (2) Collect, analyze and preserve statistical and financial information with respect to the cost of operation of the various institutions and facilities maintained, operated or owned by the county ; (3) Maintain a file of all contracts; (4) Audit the receipts of all county officers and departments; (5) Maintain a continuous internal audit of the operations and financial records of the officers, agents, or divisions of the county. (The county auditor shall have access to all records, documents, and resources necessary for the discharge of this responsibility.) With Will County being the fourth largest county in the state and home to the nation's largest inland port, the role of Will County Auditor’s Office is to provide Will County citizens financial and operational transparency and accountability of Will County Government ; to provide a means to report suspected fraud, waste, or abuse, and; to assist and encourage Will County citizens and officials to participate and collaborate in order to continue moving the County forward. Open Gov Portal To expand on that effort, the Will County Auditor's office have compiled online links to assist various points of information on Will County operations and finances in the open government portal .