DuPage County Board wants report on what went wrong with cannabis tax
Nearly three years after officials discovered an “egregious error” that cost the county millions in cannabis tax revenue, DuPage County Board members are still awaiting answers on how it happened.
Board members expected answers at Tuesday’s meeting but once again were put off. A report from the auditor’s office examining the delayed implementation of the cannabis tax remained in draft form. DuPage County Auditor Bill White Tuesday said he needed time to proofread the draft before forwarding it to the county clerk and county administrator for their review.
“The entities being audited have a right to review and respond before it’s published,” White said.
White declined to discuss his findings, saying he would release his report on July 9 — after allowing sufficient time for the county clerk and county administrator to respond. He added the report will be released even if the county clerk and county administrator decline to respond to the findings.
In 2019, county officials passed an ordinance implementing a 3% retail tax on all sales of recreational cannabis in municipal areas of the county. The ordinance directed the county clerk to send a certified copy of the ordinance to the Illinois Department of Revenue so the new tax, which would have taken effect in July 2020, could be collected.
But in the fall of 2021, county officials learned the paperwork was never filed, and the tax was never collected.
The auditor was directed to investigate the matter, but a report never came.
White said he began his investigation but shelved it in 2023, saying he believed at that time the issue was “water under the bridge” and that it would be “best to look forward and there was not any advantage to the county to rehash the events.”
County board members on Tuesday peppered White with questions about the reasons for the delay in this audit and quarterly audits.
White, who was elected to the office in 2020, acknowledged his office has not prepared a quarterly report since the fourth quarter of 2020.
“I’m kind of at a loss for words,” DuPage County Board member Jim Zay said. “You’re the auditor. Your main job is to audit.”
Zay and others suggested if quarterly reports had been available, perhaps the cannabis tax fiasco could have been discovered sooner or if there are issues with other revenues, such as the county’s video gambling tax.
“You’re the check and balance,” Zay said. “That’s why you’re there.”
White on Tuesday offered the same explanation he gave in May when county board members last questioned him.
He noted that other matters, including billing issues with the county clerk’s office, took precedence.
He added that quarterly reports have been completed manually, requiring many hours to finish. He is requesting money in his upcoming budget to purchase software so that quarterly reports can be completed more efficiently.
“We had a king-size bed of obligations and a queen-size sheet of resources,” he said.
However, White did acknowledge that the reports “definitely fell through the cracks” and that his office remains focused on preparing the last three years’ worth of reports by the end of July.