A ruling by the Third District Appellate Court on Thursday upheld a previous decision allowing DuPage County to establish a system of accounting for elected officials that must be followed, according to a news release.
The unanimous ruling follows an appeal from DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek made in September over previous rulings on billing and bidding procedures. Kaczmarek said in a statement that she plans to appeal this ruling too.
Ruling in favor of DuPage County accounting system
The DuPage County Board said that Kaczmarek had previously refused to submit an itemized budget, provide documents to the auditor and make budget transfers, which resulted in delayed payments to vendors.
The court’s ruling affirms that DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek must follow DuPage County accounting procedures and complete budget transfers, which Kaczmarek had tried to appeal earlier this year.
“We are grateful the appellate court upheld the lower court’s ruling, reinforcing what the County and State’s Attorney have said all along,” DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy said in the press release. “We look forward to putting this matter behind us and working collaboratively with the next clerk to ensure the office understands and follows the county’s financial procedures.”
Details on previous rulings and appeals
In September 2024, the DuPage County State’s Attorney filed a complaint alleging that Kaczmarek did not follow the county’s system of accounting and financial records.
In August 2025, DuPage County Judge Bryan Chapman ruled that Kaczmarek and her staff must follow the DuPage County Board’s accounting procedures.
Last December, a second ruling denied Kaczmarek’s request for a summary judgment of two election-related contracts and said neither was exempt from the county’s bidding requirements.
Kaczmarek filed a notice of appeal in January against the rulings in August and December last year. She took her appeal to the appellate courts in September.
Ruling finds agreement with county, state laws
The appellate court’s decision on Thursday upheld the county’s right to a system of accounting and its authority to require budget transfers and financial records.
In an email statement, Kaczmarek argued that the appellate court’s ruling was “inconsistent” with Illinois law.
“Every Illinois Attorney General for over forty years has held that county boards do not have the power to interfere with independently elected county officers such as clerks and sheriffs by exercising control over how much money they can spend in specific narrow line-item categories,” Kaczmarek said. “If the county board can micromanage how much money the county clerk can spend in specific categories, then the county board, and not the county clerk, has final control over the administration of elections.”
Thursday’s Appellate Court ruling, however, reviewed previous attorney general opinions and found that they did not go against the county’s system of accounting and appropriations categories.
The court justices also held that “itemization plays an important role in government transparency. It allows taxpayers to see exactly how tax dollars are being spent. It also helps to prevent expenditures for a different purpose than the one designated by appropriation.”
Kaczmarek said her main concern is with who has authority over county funds.
“The appellate court’s ruling fails to engage forthrightly with the core dispute at the heart of the case, which is where the limit lies between the county board’s authority to appropriate funds and the county clerk’s authority to determine how those funds are spent,” Kaczmarek said. “Every county clerk, sheriff, and treasurer in the state of Illinois should be concerned that what has happened in DuPage County puts their offices at risk for micromanagement and interference from their county boards.”
Kaczmarek plans to file appeal
Before her term comes to an end this year, Kaczmarek said she plans to file another appeal of the judge’s ruling.
Kaczmarek said. “For as long as I remain the elected county clerk of DuPage County, I will continue to defend the independence of election administration against unlawful interference.”
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