College of DuPage President Ann Rondeau mistakenly announced during the Aug. 18 Board of Trustees meeting that the Illinois Auditor General’s report had been received and was ready to be looked over by the board. However, after much persistence by fellow board members to see the report in the days following, Chairwoman Deanne Mazzochi revealed that no final report exists..

“President Rondeau’s statement was an error; we do not have a final report from the auditor general’s office,” Mazzochi said during the board’s Aug. 29 meeting.

Rondeau then stated in an email she expects the office of the auditor general to release the finalized report within the following months.

“I hope they release it within the fourth quarter of this year,” she said. “The auditor general is in complete control of their report; I do not know their internal processes.”  Until the changes are finalized, the draft of the audit will not be discussed or distributed amongst the trustees.

“We are all under confidentiality obligations during the pendency of that report,” Mazzochi said.

The Auditor General is required by the Illinois State Auditing Act to conduct a financial examination of every state agency. Occurring at least once every two years, the audits inform the public and the state of the agency’s spending habits. The auditor general also evaluate the agency’s compliance with the state and federal rules and regulations.

Trustee Dianne McGuire brought the issue to light by addressing Rondeau and Mazzochi during the public comments portion of the Aug. 29 board meeting. After multiple different requests throughout the week following the Aug. 18 meeting, McGuire came to the realization that she would not get her hands on the report.

“How can I perform my responsibilities as a trustee, if I am not provided with the information to do my job?” she asked Rondeau. “I had hoped that this kind of behavior was behind us and that the Clean Slate members would live by their election promises to be accountable and transparent. That report exists; it’s here on this campus. Some of you have seen it and some of us have not.”

Mazzochi responded by reiterating the fact that there is no actual report.

“I am aware that people have been requesting materials as a consequence of President Rondeau’s erroneous statement. However, nobody is keeping you from seeing any final report.”