Job Description of the Illinois Comptroller
The comptroller is the state's chief fiscal officer and a member of the executive branch of the Illinois government. According the the Article V, Section 17 of the 1970 Illinois Constitution, the comptroller "shall maintain the state's central fiscal accounts, and order payments into and out of the funds held by the treasurer." By law, the comptroller also oversees certain cemeteries, funeral homes and crematories in Illinois. Comptroller candidates run on a statewide basis, and the winner earns a four-year term.
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Deposits
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The comptroller keeps the official record of payments into state accounts. While the Illinois treasurer invests the state funds, only the comptroller can authorize deposits into those accounts. There are nearly 700 different Illinois state government funds, so keeping track of deposits is complicated. The comptroller's office operates the Statewide Accounting Management System (SAMS) to track payments into and out of these various state funds.
Payments
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The comptroller keeps the official record of all state expenditures and writes the state's checks, which are called warrants. The Illinois budget grants spending authority to state agencies. It outlines how much money agencies can spend on specific items, such as grants or supplies. When they want to spend some of that money, state agencies prepare vouchers. These are requests for payments to vendors. Before the comptroller can write the check, he must review the voucher and supporting documents to make sure the request for payment is in order. The comptroller must also be sure there is enough money in the appropriate fund before he issues the warrant.
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Reports
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The comptroller issues a variety of reports on the state's fiscal condition. These include an annual appropriations report, an annual report on the state's bonded indebtedness, the comprehensive annual financial report, the detailed annual report, a fee imposition report, a monitored bond report, a monthly bond report, a public accountability report, a receivables report, a tax expenditure report and a traditional budgetary financial report. Constituents can download any of these reports from the comptroller's website. The comptroller also issues a variety of accounting bulletins and runs regular reports on the Statewide Accounting Management System.
Contracts
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The comptroller keeps track of state contracts for goods and services. The comptroller's website offers a searchable database with information on contracts and vendors. In 2007, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes created Open Book, a separate website that combines this state contract information with semiannual campaign contribution data from the Illinois State Board of Elections. In a statement, Hynes said he hoped the website "enhances public confidence in state government" by making it easier for citizens to "follow the money."
Cemeteries
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By law, all cemeteries must register with the Illinois comptroller's office. Any cemetery, funeral home or other business that sells preneed funeral goods or services must also obtain a license from the comptroller's office. The comptroller oversees these licensed businesses to ensure that the money from the preneed contracts is placed in trust, as required by law. The office conducts prelicensing background checks on these businesses, reviews annual reports and can order periodic audits. State law also grants the Illinois comptroller power to license and oversee crematories operating in Illinois.
Local Government
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According to the Illinois comptroller's official website, the office also serves "as the state's watchdog on financial status of local governments." The comptroller maintains a registry of all units of local government in Illinois (8,472 of them as of 2010), analyzes each unit's annual financial reports and provides training and other assistance to help local governments meet their fiscal obligations and stay accountable to taxpayers.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit state seal of illinois image by Jan Ebling from Fotolia.com
