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The Illinois Legislative Audit Commission on Tuesday discussed a
recent Auditor General finding for IDNR that wasn’t flattering.
“This means that while we obtained sufficient, appropriate audit
evidence, the misstatements individually or in the aggregate
were both material and pervasive to the subject matter,” said a
staff member with the Auditor General’s Office. “To such an
extent, we expressed an adverse opinion pursuant to the
codification of statements on standards for attestation
engagements pursuant to which our compliance examinations are
conducted.”
There were 37 total findings in the audit, including not having
adequate controls over historical artifacts and improper
reporting of various financial accounts.
IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie, who came on under the
Pritzker administration in 2023, noted the audit in question is
from before her time.
“Fixing recurring audit findings is a critical priority,” she
told the commission. “We are committed to ensuring transparency,
meeting the rules of compliance, and improving processes.”
Phelps Finnie said she’s confident the team now in place will
work toward cleaning up continued audit findings.
During the hearing, state Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, had a
question about some of the state’s historic sites.
“There's some talk in southern Illinois as we looked at Cahokia
Mounds and the charters for Kaskaskia and maybe trying to broker
into a federal park system in the revenue that could bring in,”
Meier said.
Phelps Finnie said the agency is open to working with the
federal government about making those locations national parks.
“When you're looking at over a billion dollars of deferred
maintenance, I don't think we're in a position to be choosy and
to be prideful and say, ‘you know, these are ours,’” she said.
“We're holding on to these if there's a better way to do it, and
the federal government can come in making a national park, we're
open to that conversation.”
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