Will County Gazette

The Joliet City Council at its April meeting passed an ordinance changing how the city’s inspector general reports to the city.

Joliet’s inspector general's office (IG), currently occupied by Sean Connolly, is a non-partisan and independent office that is appointed by the mayor and works for the taxpayers. The IG is responsible for conducting investigations, audits, and reviews of the city government. It handles complaints and reports of contract fraud, corrupt elected and appointed leaders, suspected employee misconduct, mismanagement, abuse, or waste of city resources, and general reviews of city programs and operations. 

Council member Sherri Reardon questioned why the city even created the position, saying, “I feel like we've spent a lot of money hiring somebody that we never had to hire in the first place, and we could have been going to the Will County state's attorney for this type of work that was necessary.” 

Mayor Bob O’Dekirk, who was presiding over his final meeting as a new mayor takes over May 1, created the position about eight years ago.

Reardon said she requested the legislative text mandating that Joliet have an IG.

“It's not even an inspector general. It's under a court, what's called an auditing official,” Reardon said. “If a unit of local government does not have an auditing official, the auditing official shall be the state's Attorney of Will County, which is the county we are in, and which the unit of government is located.”

The ordinance in question was to change the reporting requirement from just to the mayor to the entire city council. Reardon made a motion to table the item until a later meeting when the new mayor and council members would be seated, however that motion failed to pass with O’Dekirk casting the tie-breaking vote. 

Reardon said she felt that it was an unnecessary position for the city to have as it is not required to by law, as she believed prior, and the city could utilize the Will County state’s attorney for such work. 

Council member Larry Hug explained that using the state’s attorney is intended as a backup, and that having an IG dedicated to the city could significantly decrease attempts at corruption

The council passed the ordinance with O’Dekirk voicing his incredulity that Reardon would prefer a further-removed individual who has also not been cooperating with investigations involving him, as a better individual for the position. 

Council member Bettye Gavin sided with Reardon in that the position is funded by taxpayer dollars. The motion was approved with a 5-3 vote.