I believe there must be a significant change in the way the Kankakee County Board conducts business. Its current practice keeps its spending decisions hidden from the taxpayers and even many board members. Even while spending $19 million in federal ARPA funds, the spending from the county general fund increased $2 million, causing another increase in local property taxes.

After taking considerable time, I found the audit performed by the outside accounting firm on the County Clerk website. As part of the audit, they looked to ensure that county funds were safeguarded and spent appropriately. The firm found a deficiency with the county’s internal controls. They described the issue in a schedule and consider it to be a significant deficiency.

I will post some the audit report on Facebook. We need change on the County Board to ensure transparency to the public on how our tax dollars are spent. I ask for your vote [District 14] on Nov. 5, or you can vote early at the Kankakee County Clerk’s Office, 189 E Court St.

<strong>Gary Ciaccio</strong>

Kankakee