State & Local Reports

This quarterly report provides an overview of the operations of the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General from October 1 – December 31, 2023, and includes information required by the Municipal Code of Chicago.

The Department of Internal Auditing (DIA) has conducted an audit of the grant management process of the Fiscal Office for the period January 1, 2022- December 31, 2022. The main objective was to evaluate the grant management and funding life cycle for the largest grants received and/or awarded including processes and controls in place for grant/funding tracking, reporting, and compliance. After initial meetings with the Fiscal Office and an assessment of current processes, the objective was modified to focus on the Fiscal Office’s procedures relating to grant governance over maintenance, tracking, reporting, and compliance. DIA determined that this focus was the best use of the audit resources allocated as processes for grant management were highly decentralized, and essentially non-existent and/or inconsistent in application.Audit procedures disclosed internal control weaknesses related to: lack of centralized grant management for grants received countywide, lack of policies and procedures for all grant-related processes, lack of assurance that grant data input into the County’s Financial system (Lawson) is accurate, no utilization of the Grant Management module within Lawson, and lack of transparency regarding grant listings related to County Code.

The Department of Internal Auditing (DIA) has conducted an audit of the Sanitary Department processes and procedures relating to revenue and expenditures for the period of January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022. The main objective was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Sewer Maintenance Program as it relates to the revenue and expenditure processes of Cuyahoga County Public Works’ Sanitary-Fiscal Department. DIA audited processes relating to accounting for municipal balances, billing for sanitary work performed for municipalities, collection of payments, and reconciliation of revenue. Audit procedures disclosed internal control weaknesses related to: lack of policies and procedures, sewer district noncompliance with the Ohio Revised Code, lack of segregation of duties or timely deposit of funds, shared indirect costs not allocated to Direct Bill communities, improper tracking of revenue and expenses, inadequate support for engineering and inspection expenses, and lack of review for municipal balances.