REPORT DIGEST

COMMISSION ON EQUITY AND INCLUSION

COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION
FOR THE EIGHTEEN MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2023

Release Date:  June 6, 2024

FINDINGS THIS AUDIT: 6

CATEGORY:  NEW -- REPEAT – TOTAL
Category 1:  0 -- 0 -- 0
Category 2:  6 -- 0 -- 6
Category 3:  0 -- 0 -- 0
TOTAL:  6 -- 0 -- 6

FINDINGS LAST AUDIT: N/A

State of Illinois, Office of the Auditor
General
FRANK J. MAUTINO, AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General, 400 West
Monroe, Suite 306, Springfield, IL
62704-9849
(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

This Report Digest and Full Report are also
available on the worldwide web at
www.auditor.illinois.gov

INTRODUCTION

This digest covers the Commission on Equity
and Inclusion’s (Commission) compliance
examination for the eighteen months ended
June 30, 2023. The Commission was created
pursuant to the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion Act (30 ILCS 574/40-5) to expand
access to State contracts for minorities,
women, persons with disabilities, and
veterans and assist the State in enhancing
the equity and inclusion throughout its
workforce. The Commission began operations
on January 1, 2022.  This is the
Commission’s first compliance examination.

SYNOPSIS

• (23-04) Commission failed to perform
monthly reconciliations of the Commission’s
records to those of the Illinois Office of
Comptroller.

• (23-06) The Commission did not comply with
various statutory mandates.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FAILURE TO PERFORM REQUIRED RECONCILIATIONS

The Commission on Equity and Inclusion
(Commission) failed to perform monthly
reconciliations of the Commission’s records
to those of the Illinois Office of
Comptroller for the following:

• Comptroller’s Monthly Reconciliation
Status Report (SB01) for Fiscal Years 2022
and 2023;
• Comptroller’s Monthly Revenue Status
Report (SB04) for Fiscal Year 2023;
• Monthly Agency Contract Report (SC14
Report) for Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023; and,
• Monthly Obligation Activity Report (SC15
Report) for Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023.
(Finding 4, page 16)

We recommended the Commission ensure
required reconciliations are timely
performed.

The Commission accepted the finding and
recommendation and stated that as a new
Commission (1/1/2022), they were unaware of
this Office of the Comptroller requirement.
The Commission also stated it has
implemented processes to ensure monthly
reconciliations are completed.

NONCOMPLIANCE WITH STATUTORY MANDATES

The Commission did not comply with various
statutory mandates.

During testing we noted the following:

•	The Commission did not request wage
earnings information from each State agency
or public institution of higher education
during the examination period. Since no data
was obtained, the Commission failed to make
the required information available to the
public on the Internet website of the
Commission and failed to submit a report to
the Governor and the General Assembly a
report on the wage earnings of employees
across the State.

•	The Commission did not provide a
report with all the required components to
the Business Enterprise Council for
Minorities, Women, and Persons with
Disabilities (BEP Council) in fiscal year
2023. The final report submitted failed to
include the following report components:
— Dollar amount and percentage of
participation by businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities.
— Names of the certified firms identified in
the utilization plan.

• The Commission did not include any reports
submitted to the General Assembly on its
internet site nor did they provide the
copies of the report to the State Government
Report Distribution Center.

• The Commission did not provide and deposit
with the State Library sufficient copies of
any of its publications issued nor did they
appoint a State Library contact.

• The Commission failed to provide the State
Comptroller or receive a waiver for any of
the monthly reports required by the State
Finance Act. (Finding 6, pages 20-23)

We recommended the Commission:

• Gather information categorized by both
race and gender, specifying the respective
wage earnings of employees of that State
agency or public institution of higher
education, post the results of the
information on the Commission’s website and
file the required report with the General
Assembly and the Governor;

• Include all required components in the
report to the BEP Council;

• Include reports submitted to the General
Assembly on the Commission’s Internet site
and provide copies of the reports to the
State Government Report Distribution Center;

• Provide and deposit with the State Library
sufficient copies of the Commission’s
publications issued and appoint a State
Library contact; and

• Provide the State Comptroller monthly
reports required by the State Finance Act or
receive a waiver.

The Commission accepted the finding and
recommendation and stated it is actively
working to correct/implement the
recommendation.

OTHER FINDINGS

The remaining findings pertain to personal
services weaknesses, noncompliance with the
State Employment Records Act, failure to
submit State Employment Plan surveys, and
weaknesses in the information technology
function.  We will review the Commission’s
progress towards the implementation of our
recommendations in our next State compliance
examination.

ACCOUNTANT’S OPINION

The accountants conducted a State compliance
examination of the Commission for the
eighteen months ended June 30, 2023, as
required by the Illinois State Auditing Act.
The accountants stated the Commission
complied, in all material respects, with the
requirements described in the report.

This State compliance examination was
conducted by Sikich CPA LLC.

JANE CLARK
Division Director

This report is transmitted in accordance
with Section 3-14 of the Illinois State
Auditing Act.

FRANK J. MAUTINO
Auditor General

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