DuPage County Board members have long requested the county clerk come to a meeting to talk finances.

The two-term clerk, who is up for re-election next year, obliged and showed up at a finance committee meeting this week. Her message, however, was not welcomed by board members.

“We simply cannot finish fiscal year 2025 on the funds allocated, which were considerably less than our request last year,” DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek told board members Tuesday. “We absolutely will not be able to fund 2026 on the proposed amount budgeted for our office.”

In August, Kaczmarek was a no-show for a budget presentation before the county board’s finance committee. Tuesday’s presentation comes two weeks after Recorder Liz Chaplin told finance committee members the county’s proposed budget for her office is not enough.

In her brief statement Tuesday, Kaczmarek pointed to state law noting the county board must provide funds for “reasonable and necessary” expenses. Her chief deputy clerk, Adam Johnson, told the board the clerk’s office faces a $250,000 to $300,000 shortfall for the current fiscal year, which ends Nov. 30.

He said the clerk’s office will not have enough money to cover remaining postage, wireless services and some maintenance fees, including for electronic poll books used during the election season, in the current fiscal year. He suggested the county could dip into its surplus funds this year to cover predicted expenses for toner and postage expenses in 2026.

Johnson’s statements drew criticism from board members who pointed to the ongoing saga over unpaid bills in the clerk’s office, lawsuits between the clerk’s office and the county and the clerk’s refusal to follow county accounting procedures, including her failure to submit a budget according to county standards.

“I don’t know where to start,” county board member Jim Zay said, saying the clerk’s office has continually “thumbed their nose” at the board. “We’ve been asking this clerk to come and speak before the county board for over four years. Now, all of a sudden, they want to come and talk to us.”

Cindy Cronin Cahill, an Elmhurst Republican who serves as vice-chair of the board’s finance committee, noted the proposed 2026 budget for the clerk’s office comes in just under $9 million — or about 17% percent higher than 2022, the last year for a gubernatorial election. The clerk requested $12.55 million for the 2026 fiscal year. Cahill also rebuffed Johnson’s suggestion that the county could dip into surplus this year to cover anticipated toner expenses saying the last time the clerk purchased toner it was not put out for bid.

Board member Paula Deacon Garcia, a Lisle Democrat running against Kaczmarek in the March primary, said that the budget Kaczmarek submitted looked more like a “wish-list” and lacked the detail other countywide elected officials submitted for their offices. She noted the finance department had to develop the clerk’s budget based on prior budget years.

Fellow board members expressed frustration over years of turmoil between the board and the clerk’s office.

“I cannot find any sympathy for the fact that they did not turn in a responsible budget,” said board member Mary FitzGerald Ozog, a Glen Ellyn Democrat.

Johnson Thursday said a meeting between the clerk’s office and the county’s finance department has not yet been scheduled.

The county’s coroner also has requested additional funding for her 2026 budget, saying she needs more money for salaries and training.

The county board is expected to approve its budget in late November.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251030/local-politics/dupage-county-board-members-balk-at-clerks-request-for-more-funding/