The DuPage County Board voted this week to censure DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek for repeatedly refusing to comply with the board’s established system of accounting and obstructing lawful financial oversight, board members said.
Board member Cindy Cronin Cahill, who sponsored the resolution at the board’s Tuesday meeting, said in a news release that board members did not take the action lightly.
“We brought this censure forward because Jean Kaczmarek’s ongoing refusal to follow basic financial rules and cooperate with oversight has put taxpayer dollars at risk,” Cronin Cahill said. “The County Board has a responsibility on behalf of the taxpayers to stand up and call out this unacceptable behavior.”
The board approved the resolution by a 15-1 vote. Member Dawn DeSart voted against it, member Michael Childress abstained and member Melissa Martinez was absent.
“Clerk Jean Kaczmarek is placing personal obstinance above public duty, and her continued conduct reflects not a single mistake, but an ongoing pattern of negligence, defiance and poor judgment that has wasted taxpayer dollars, damaged the county’s reputation and undermined public trust in county government,” the resolution reads.
According to the board’s news release, the clerk has failed to adhere to county accounting principles. Many purchases she has made lack essential financial documentation such as contracts or invoices, according to board members. This has resulted in vendor payments being delayed.
The county has filed a lawsuit against Kaczmarek resulting in nearly $200,000 in legal fees, the board said.
Board members are also concerned that the clerk has raised salaries in her office by more than 40% over the last five years.
Kaczmarek has consistently declined to meet with county finance staff to discuss her office’s finances, her office has a significant shortfall in the 2025 fiscal year budget and the clerk refuses to perform budget transfers to ensure vendors can be paid, the release said.
According to county documents, the clerk’s office is under investigation by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for failing to seek bids for contracts.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
