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Candidates for Kane County auditor face off at forum

Incumbent Kane County Auditor Penny Wegman, a Democrat, faced off against her Republican opponent Gretchen Butler on Monday, Sept. 30, during a candidate forum cohosted by local Leagues of Women Voters.

Butler cited her 25 years of business experience — some of that owning a hardware store and running all the financials.

“I feel like I’m qualified for this position,” she said, adding she would provide “nonpartisan leadership that crosses party lines.”

In seeking a second term, Wegman cited her experience as county auditor since 2020 and having earned a master’s degree in business administration in 2016.

As a past Kane County Board member, Wegman said she “gained knowledge and experience of county codes, policies and state statutes” and an understanding of how the county board operates.

“Today, we have increased access to the online county checkbook, developed an internship program, identified and helped the county board close policy gaps and created a purchase card audit process that increased transparency and increased revenue,” Wegman said.

Purchase cards are county credit cards issued to department heads.

Her office this year received the Innovator Award from the International Association of Government Officials.

“We have accomplished a lot in the last four years, but we are not done yet,” Wegman said.

Wegman said of the three primary responsibilities of the auditor, “We audit all claims against the county.

“That’s a huge one for us, takes up most of our time. We are the holder of all the contracts in the county, and we do the quarterly reports.”

Butler said the most important thing was “giving transparency to all expenses” and the county budget.

She said it's also important to ensure that everything is accurate on the website and the portal and that “audits are done in a timely manner.”

As to goals in the next term, Wegman said her office would continue looking at internal controls, increase transparency, do all audits, update training and “consistently diving deeper into purchases and contracts.”

Butler said she would look at all the policies and procedures, doing audits and streamlining the efficiencies, looking for areas that could be improved and “providing nonpartisan leadership.”

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