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RESOLUTION CENSURING DUPAGE COUNTY CLERK JEAN KACZMAREK
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WHEREAS, the DuPage County Board is entrusted with upholding fiscal responsibility and transparency on behalf of nearly one million residents; and
WHEREAS, every elected official has a duty to act as a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars, follow the law, and cooperate fully with oversight authorities to preserve public trust; and
WHEREAS, DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek has willfully refused to comply with the County Board’s established system of accounting, obstructed lawful financial oversight, and violated state mandates governing public bidding and fiscal transparency; and
WHEREAS, under 55 ILCS 5/5-1022, all Countywide elected officials with control of internal operations, which includes the DuPage County Clerk, must publicly solicit competitive bids for contracts greater than $30,000 to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and to secure the greatest possible value from the lowest responsible bidder, as a safeguard against favoritism and abuse of discretion; and
WHEREAS, under 55 ILCS 5/3-1005, the DuPage County Auditor is explicitly charged with maintaining a complete and accurate record of all contracts entered by the County Board and its authorized officers, ensuring transparency and legal compliance in the expenditure of public funds; and
WHEREAS, the Illinois Attorney General has affirmed that the Auditor’s authority under 55 ILCS 5/3-1005 extends to auditing and reviewing the operating expenses of the County Clerk; and
WHEREAS, despite multiple formal requests, the DuPage County Auditor has not received essential financial documentation, including contracts and invoices, for certain goods and services procured by the Clerk’s Office, obstructing lawful oversight and violating basic standards of public accountability; and
WHEREAS, Clerk Jean Kaczmarek’s persistent defiance of the DuPage County Auditor’s lawful requests for documentation has impeded the Auditor’s ability to perform his statutory duties and has disrupted County operations; and
WHEREAS, as a direct result of Clerk Jean Kaczmarek’s continued refusals to comply, vendors serving her office have gone unpaid or experienced significant delays in payment, jeopardizing the County’s credibility with service providers and exposing taxpayers to reputational and financial risk; and
WHEREAS, the DuPage County State’s Attorney has been compelled to initiate litigation against Clerk Jean Kaczmarek, resulting in the accumulation of nearly $200,000 in legal fees - borne by taxpayers - solely due to her refusal to follow the law; and
WHEREAS, these fees continue to grow while Clerk Jean Kaczmarek remains noncompliant, showing a blatant disregard for fiscal prudence and state statute; and
WHEREAS, Clerk Jean Kaczmarek has repeatedly failed to follow standard County budgeting practices, including submitting a timely and responsible budget proposal for her office, and she has declined or refused to meet with Finance staff to discuss her office’s finances, undermining the collaborative budgeting process and impeding effective financial planning for the County as a whole; and
WHEREAS, Clerk Jean Kaczmarek recently acknowledged a significant shortfall in her office’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget that will result in her office running out of funds, while Clerk Jean Kaczmarek authorized hundreds of thousands of dollars in unbudgeted salary increases, forcing the Board to confront the consequences of her reckless financial management; and
WHEREAS, Clerk Jean Kaczmarek’s actions have pushed her office to the brink of exhausting its budget for critical operating needs; and
WHEREAS, for years, County Board members have publicly raised alarms about Clerk Jean Kaczmarek’s procurement processes for election-related equipment; and
WHEREAS, this pattern of financial mismanagement, refusal to follow established procedures, and disregard for basic planning has now moved beyond internal dysfunction; and
WHEREAS, 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.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the DuPage County Board does hereby formally and publicly censure DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek for her refusal to comply with County fiscal policies, her disregard of Illinois competitive bidding laws, her obstruction of lawful oversight, and her reckless mismanagement of the Clerk’s Office, all of which have disrupted County operations, wasted taxpayer dollars, and brought discredit to the Office of the Clerk and DuPage County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DuPage County Board directs the County Clerk to record this censure resolution in the official minutes of the DuPage County Board meeting, in full and without alteration, as a matter of public record and institutional accountability.
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Enacted and approved this 25th of November, 2025 at Wheaton, Illinois.
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DEBORAH A. CONROY, CHAIR
DU PAGE COUNTY BOARD
Attest: ___________________________________
JEAN KACZMAREK, COUNTY CLERK