Palmer Convinces Finance Committee To Keep Dental Audit Secret

Wednesday McHenry County Blog ran a piece entitled, “Should Misdeeds Uncovered by Internal Audits Be Made Public?

There has apparently been double billing for providing dental care to Veterans.

Both the Veterans department and the County Health Department have been billed, I understand.

Pam Palmer

Pam Palmer

McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi’s Office has all the relevant Health Department records.

No indictment has been handed down.

McHenry County Auditor Pam Palmer has conducted an internal audit that she refused to release pursuant to a Freedom of Information request.

She cited an exemption for such audits found in state law.

Thursday a resolution that would have allowed the County Board to release the audit to the public was considered.

By a vote of 3-2 the resolution was tabled and kept in committee so the County Board could not (would not have to) vote upon it.

Mike Skala

Mike Skala

Voting against transparency were

  • Mike Skala (Chairman)
  • Jim Heisler
  • Larry Smith

Vote for release of the document were

  • Yvonne Barnes
  • Nick Provenzano

Two members were absent:

  • Mary McCann
  • Chuck Wheeler

Comments

Palmer Convinces Finance Committee To Keep Dental Audit Secret — 11 Comments

  1. Skala votes against transparency…

    Grass is green…

    Water is wet…

    The sky is up…

    Print a story when Skala does something good for McHenry County.

    We won’t hold our breath!

  2. This is a direct reflection on the County Board Chairman and how HE formed the committee on committees.

    You have, arguably, three well qualified people not on Finance & Audit, who should be.

    People have to ask – who is for transparency and who is against it?

  3. Two absent!

    Why?

    They are elected to represent us and that includes ALL committee meetings!!!

    If you cannot properly represent us, resign!!

    There is a good reason to have representatives from all six districts on every committee but it only works if they all attend committee meetings!!

  4. Ask Skala about transparency or lack there of and auditor info in School District 158 when he was on the board for years and years.

    That stuff kept the papers quite busy.

    Many residents were not amused by the findings.

    To any and all small govt. groups – less minutes for the public to speak, rancor when members want to discuss important info but are stifled also might get some coverage.

    Never underestimate what can happen when people are elected.

    Before the elections you can’t get candidates to stop yakking or trying to be your sweet buddy.

    Afterward is a different story.

    The smart public needs info and won’t let games stop them from pursuing what is right as opposed to technically legal.

    Illinois is Illinois no matter what a town or county name is.

  5. So maybe the County caught the suspected fraud, not the Federal government.

    Apparently an unscrupulous provider thought no one would check with two different government payers for double billing fraud.

    There is a website dedicated to VA fraud, malpractice, crime, and such.

    http://www.vamalpractice.info

  6. Wheeler seems to be making a habit of missing meetings …..why is that????

    Skala, Heisler and Smith deserve defenestration, pronto!

  7. Could it be that the audit records are evidence of a crime under investigation, and typically prosecutors and investigators do not release evidence while they are doing their work?

  8. Despite having taken two years of Latin in Middletown High School, I had to look up the word “defenestration.”

    Great word.

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