Former Lauzen employee slams his expertise, treatment of her

A former employee under Kane County Treasurer Chris Lauzen lambasted him at Wednesday’s Finance Committee meeting, saying he lacks basic computer skills and withholds information from the Finance Department.

Candida Cain, formerly the Director of Financial Operations, began working for Lauzen in May 2023, after a 17-year employee in the same position, Carrollyn Brady, resigned.

“I am a certified public accountant with 20 years experience in banking,” Cain said during the public comment period of the meeting. “Having worked in the Treasurer’s Office until last Friday, I am here to provide insight into its operations for the benefit of the Finance Committee.”

On May 9, Cain said, “Treasurer Lauzen’s lack of computer skills was evident when he could not approve a $24 million online transfer to Byline Bank.”

“He could not log on to a computer or download apps to his phone, which led to the bank allowing me to handle the approval in his place,” Cain said.

The same day, Vectors Asset Management LLC provided feedback that realized gains or losses were not included in the investment income, Cain said.

“When I asked Treasurer Lauzen, he told me to leave it in investment income anyway,” Cain said.

A month later, on June 7, Lauzen asked her for all her log in IDs and passwords, she said.

“I refused, because sharing them poses a security risk,” Cain said.

He asked for them again on June 10, she said, and she explained again why she could not hand them over.

‘Contempt in his voice’

“Oct. 9, 2024, when I was alone with Treasurer Lauzen, he spoke to me with contempt in his voice for having to reply to an email from the accounting manager of finance,” Cain said.

“He caused me to suffer emotional distress,” she said. “As a result, I no longer felt comfortable being in his office alone with him. I could not tolerate any more mental abuse.”

On Oct. 21, Lauzen called her about an email from the Finance Department, she said, prompting him to criticize the employees there.

“He stated that the people working in Finance are bad because of how they recognize revenue, i.e., the revenue must be available,” Cain said. “But according to GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) rules, the finance staff is correct.”

The Treasurer’s Office maintains a record of the reconciliation procedures, she said.

“However, as of Friday (Nov. 22), five months of bank (reconciliations) were incorrectly stored on the M drive, not on the shared drive where they belong,” Cain said. “This deviation from office procedures without justification raises concerns about transparency and adherence to established procedures. When I began working at the county, Treasurer Lauzen tried to block the finance office from obtaining bank statements. But I did not know why.”

Cain said the Treasurer’s Office provides bank reconciliations for the finance office to ensure accuracy and accountability in the county’s financial records.

When Cain shared her concern to Lauzen about denying access to financial records, she said, “the Treasurer raised his voice, saying it was unacceptable for his assistant to have such concerns.”

“The reaction was unexpected and raised further concerns about transparency,” Cain said. “More recently, the Treasurer mysteriously stated that he had ‘given up on me.’ This comment was puzzling and left me unsure of his expectations. I hope my insights will be valuable to the Finance Committee.”

In a telephone interview after the meeting, Cain said, “I did the best job I could.”

Cain said she will continue in her career and already has an interview lined up on Monday.

‘I made a mistake when I hired her’

In an email, Lauzen wrote that he fired Cain on Friday, Nov. 22.

“It is now obvious to me that I made a mistake when I hired her,” Lauzen’s email stated.

When there were concerns about her work, he said, he gave her a written six-month performance improvement plan.

Then on Nov. 11, Lauzen wrote that he gave her a 30-day notice that her at-will employment was being terminated. On Nov. 23, he sent her a notice that her wages and benefits would accrue through Dec. 6.

“On 11-27-24, Ms. Cain chose to make an unusual public statement at the monthly Kane County Finance Committee meeting airing her grievances,” Lauzen’s email stated.

In his email, Lauzen denied saying he had “given up” on her, spoke to her with contempt, and justified that he wanted her log in ID and password because he is “ultimately responsible for everything that occurs in the Treasurer’s Office, both good and bad, I need to know what is going on around me.”

As to his lack of computer skills, Lauzen said he depends on his staff and the IT department to assist.

“There is no conceit on my part that my data processing skills are in any way exemplary,” Lauzen wrote. “I’m not shy to ask for help.”

Lauzen also wrote that the Treasurer’s Office does not have to follow Government Accounting Standard Board rules regarding revenue. It also does not have statutory responsibility or authority to produce or present the county’s financial statements.

“The Accounting Department does. Therefore, we have nothing to do with the applicability of any GASB regulations,” Lauzen wrote.

According to its website, www.gasb.org, the Government Accounting Standard Board establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for state and local governments that follow generally accepted accounting principles.

According to the county’s wage records, Cain earned $46,423.06 in 2023, but that was at the half-year point.

Cain, of Gilberts, ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for state representative in the 2022 primary against Arin Thrower, who then lost to incumbent Suzanne Ness, D-Crystal Lake. In 2023, Cain lost a bid to serve on the Algonquin District 300 school board.

Cain also cofounded a government watchdog group run by the Illinois Policy Institute, in which she continues to participate.

When Brady left last year, her salary was listed as $103,830. Lauzen agreed to pay her $46,000 in a severance agreement.

Regarding the issues between Lauzen and the Finance Department, Finance Committee Chairman Dale Berman, D-North Aurora, chalked it up to a communication problem between the Treasurer and Finance Department Executive Director Kathleen Hopkinson.

“On one side, he’s given her enough information to do her job ... and I think her feeling is there is some information – some things – that are left out,” Berman said. “I do not feel there is any financial problem. I think that it’s just a lack of communication.”

Lauzen was elected Treasurer in 2022 after serving two terms as County Board Chairman.