Endorsement: Terry Hunt for Kane County auditor

Two-term Kane County Auditor Terry Hunt faces a stiff challenge in his bid for reelection this year from Democrat Penny Wegman, a first-term county board member from Elgin with a record of public service and solid understanding of local government.

Hunt, a Republican from Big Rock, has largely served residents well in his role as the county's independent financial watchdog. He's been particularly impressive in his commitment to transparency, launching an online platform providing the public with easy access to the county's financial data, though we note there is room for improvement, especially in providing salary information for specific employees.

Wegman has been critical of the amount of time Hunt spends in the office, as well as his work as chairman of the county Coronavirus Relief Fund Task Force, which she labels an "epic failure." The latter complaints are not unfounded. The panel was created to determine how the county should spend $93 million in federal COVID-19 relief, but dissolved a couple of months later after county board members said it failed to bring forth actionable recommendations.

However, while that may speak poorly to Hunt's leadership of the task force, we won't make the leap that it reflects upon his work as auditor. In that regard, there's little evidence Hunt has been anything but a competent and effective county auditor.

We endorse Hunt.