70 ILCS 3615/7.01

(70 ILCS 3615/7.01)

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

Sec. 7.01. Chief Internal Auditor.

(a) The Board of the Authority shall appoint a Chief Internal Auditor, who shall report directly to the Board. The Chief Internal Auditor shall:

(1) have earned a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education;

(2) be a certified internal auditor, certified public accountant with at least 5 years of auditing experience, or an auditor with 5 years of auditing experience; and

(3) have not been convicted of any felony under the laws of this State, another State, or the United States.

The term of the Chief Internal Auditor shall be 5 years. The initial appointment shall be made within 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly. A Chief Internal Auditor may be reappointed to one or more subsequent terms. A Chief Internal Auditor may only be removed for cause. Cause for removal includes incompetence, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, and violation of the prohibitions of subsection (d). A vacancy occurring during a term shall be filled with a 5-year appointment.

(b) The Chief Internal Auditor appointed by the Board of the Authority shall have jurisdiction over the Commuter Rail Division, the Suburban Bus Division, the Chicago Transit Authority, and all officers and employees of, and vendors and others doing business with, the Authority and the Service Boards. The Chief Internal Auditor has jurisdiction over the Authority and the Service Boards to make post audits and investigations authorized by or under this Act.

(c) The Chief Internal Auditor shall:

(1) direct the internal audit functions and activities of the Authority, including conducting operational, financial, compliance, performance, information technology, and special audits to determine the adequacy of the Authority's systems of internal control and ensure compliance with Authority and State requirements;

(2) prepare audit reports and assess program goals, including making recommendations leading to compliance, reduced operating costs, improved services, and greater general efficiency and effectiveness in existing Authority operations;

(3) be responsible for the preparation of an annual audit plan for submission to, and subject to the approval of, the Board of the Authority;

(4) follow-up on findings in internal and external audit reports to determine if appropriate remedial action has been taken;

(5) coordinate external audit request and report responses to be completed by Authority management;

(6) immediately refer possible violations of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act to the appropriate Executive Inspector General; and

(7) perform other duties as required by law or ordinance.

(d) The Chief Internal Auditor or any deputy internal auditor may not:

(1) become a candidate for any elective public office;

(2) hold any other public office, by appointment or otherwise, except for appointments on governmental advisory boards or study commissions or as otherwise expressly authorized by law;

(3) hold any other employment;

(4) be actively involved in the affairs of any political party;

(5) actively participate in any political campaign for any public office created by the Constitution or by any statute of the State;

(6) actively participate in any campaign relating to a referendum or public question concerning the Constitution, the government of the State or any local or private agency audited by the Authority's Chief Internal Auditor during the preceding 4 years;

(7) hold any legal, equitable, creditor, or debt interest in any partnership, firm, or other entity which contracts with the Authority during the Chief Internal Auditor's or the deputy internal auditor's term or tenure;

(8) have any direct or indirect financial or economic interest in the transactions of the Authority audited by the Chief Internal Auditor during the Chief Internal Auditor's or the deputy internal auditor's term or tenure; except that written disclosure of any such interest to the Board of the Authority and formal disqualification from participation in any post audit involving that transaction may, with the approval of the Board of the Authority, constitute compliance with this paragraph if the interest is either insubstantial or results directly from an interest held before becoming Chief Internal Auditor or deputy internal auditor;

(9) conduct or supervise a post audit of any outside agency or vendor for which they were responsible or by which they were employed or with which they contracted during the preceding 4 years; and

(10) make or report publicly any charges of nonfeasance or malfeasance in the office of any public official or illegal conduct of any person unless they know of reasonable grounds, based on accepted auditing and accounting standards, for the charges.

(e) The Chief Internal Auditor may hire employees as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the Chief Internal Auditor's duties, including Deputy Internal Auditors. The Chief Internal Auditor may determine the duties of all employees and may delegate the Chief Internal Auditor's power and authority to deputy internal auditors.

(f) The Chief Internal Auditor may contract with certified public accountants licensed in Illinois, qualified management consultants, attorneys licensed in this State, and other persons or firms necessary to carry out the Chief Internal Auditor's duties. The Chief Internal Auditor may designate any person with whom the Chief Internal Auditor contracts as a special assistant auditor for the purpose of conducting a post audit or investigation under the Chief Internal Auditor's supervision. The Chief Internal Auditor may delegate the Chief Internal Auditor's powers and authority respecting post audits and investigations to special assistant auditors other than the power of subpoena, but any delegation of authority to administer oaths or take depositions must be made in writing and limited to a particular audit or investigation.

(g) The Chief Internal Auditor shall conduct a financial audit, a compliance audit, or other attestation engagement, as is appropriate to the Authority's operations under generally accepted government auditing standards, of each Authority agency at least once during every biennium. The general direction and supervision of the financial audit program may be delegated only to an individual who is a certified public accountant and a payroll employee under the control of the Chief Internal Auditor. In the conduct of financial audits, compliance audits, and other attestation engagements, the Chief Internal Auditor may inquire into and report upon matters properly within the scope of a performance audit, provided that the inquiry shall be limited to matters arising during the ordinary course of the financial audit.

(h) The Chief Internal Auditor shall conduct a performance audit of an agency of the Authority when directed by the Board of the Authority. The directive may:

(1) require the Chief Internal Auditor to examine and report on specific management efficiencies or cost-effectiveness proposals specified therein;

(2) in the case of a program audit, set forth specific program objectives, responsibilities, or duties or specify the program performance standards or program evaluation standards to be the basis of the program audit;

(3) be directed at particular procedures or functions established by statute, ordinance, administrative rule, or precedent; and

(4) require an examination and report upon specific proposals relating to Authority programs specified in the directive.

(i) The Chief Internal Auditor may initiate and conduct a special audit whenever the Chief Internal Auditor determines it to be in the public interest.

(j) The Chief Internal Auditor may initiate and conduct an economy and efficiency audit of an agency or program of the Authority whenever the findings of a post audit indicate that an economy and efficiency audit is advisable or in the public interest, if the Chief Internal Auditor has given the Board of the Authority at least 30 days prior notice of the Chief Internal Auditor's intention to conduct the audit and the Board of the Authority has not disapproved of that audit.

(k) The Chief Internal Auditor may, at any time, make an informal inquiry of any agency of the Authority concerning its obligation, receipt, expenditure, or use of Authority funds or other public funds, but an internal inquiry may not be in the nature of an investigation or post audit.

(l) The Chief Internal Auditor may adopt rules establishing post audit standards consistent with attestation standards and auditing standards issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), related AICPA Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements, and in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards current at the time the audit is commenced.

(m) The Authority and the Service Boards, their officers, and their employees shall promptly comply with, and aid and assist the Chief Internal Auditor in the exercise of the Chief Internal Auditor's powers and duties under this Section.

At the request of the Chief Internal Auditor, each agency of the Authority shall, without delay, make available to the Chief Internal Auditor or the Chief Internal Auditor's designated representative any record or information requested and shall provide for examination or copying all records, accounts, papers, reports, vouchers, correspondence, books, and other documentation in the custody of that agency, including information stored in electronic data processing systems, which is related to or within the scope of any audit or investigation under this Section.

The Chief Internal Auditor shall report to the Board of the Authority each instance in which an agency of the Authority fails to cooperate promptly and fully as required by this Section.

The Chief Internal Auditor may institute and maintain any action or proceeding to secure compliance with this Section.

(n) Upon completion of any audit, the Chief Internal Auditor shall issue an audit report that shall include: a precise statement of the scope of the audit or review; a statement of the material findings resulting from the audit; a statement of the underlying cause, evaluative criteria used, and the current and prospective significance thereof; and a statement of explanation or rebuttal that may have been submitted by the agency audited relevant to the audit findings included in the report.

As part of this report the Chief Internal Auditor shall prepare a signed digest of the significant matters of the report and, as may be applicable, a concise statement of:

(1) any actions taken or contemplated by persons or agencies after the completion of the audit but before the release of the report, which bear on matters in the report;

(2) any actions the Chief Internal Auditor considers necessary or desirable; and

(3) any other information the Chief Internal Auditor deems useful to the Board of the Authority in order to understand or act on any matters presented in the audit.

All audit reports shall be maintained in the Office of the Chief Internal Auditor as a public record, except to the extent that information contained in the report is made confidential or privileged by law.

If the post audit of an agency of the Authority discloses an apparent violation of a penal statute or an apparent instance of misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance, by any person, relating to the obligation, expenditure, receipt, or use of public funds, the Chief Internal Auditor shall immediately make a written report to the Board of the Authority stating that to be the case and setting forth the underlying facts that have led to that conclusion.

(o) By March 1, each year, the Chief Internal Auditor shall submit to the Board of the Authority an annual report summarizing all audits, investigations, and special studies made under this Section during the last preceding calendar year. The Chief Internal Auditor shall prepare and distribute other reports as may be required by the Board of the Authority.

(p) If records or information are classified as confidential under law, then the records or information shall be disclosed to the Office of the Chief Internal Auditor as necessary and to the extent required for the performance of an authorized post audit. Federal tax information shall only be provided in accordance with federal law and regulations applicable to the safeguarding of federal tax information. Confidential records or information disclosed to the Office of the Chief Internal Auditor shall be subject to the same legal confidentiality and protective restrictions in the Office of the Chief Internal Auditor as the records and information have in the hands of the official authorized custodian. Any penalties applicable to the officially authorized custodian or the custodian's employees for the violation of any confidentiality or protective restrictions applicable to the records or information shall also apply to the officers, employees, contractors, and agents of the Office of the Chief Internal Auditor.

The Office of the Chief Internal Auditor may not publish any confidential information or records in any report, including data and statistics, if the information as published is directly or indirectly matchable to any individual.

Inside the Office of the Chief Internal Auditor, confidential records or information may be used only for official purposes. Any officer, employee, contractor, or agent of the Office of the Chief Internal Auditor who violates any legal confidentiality or protective restriction governing any records or information shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor unless a greater penalty is otherwise provided by law.

(Source: P.A. 104-457, eff. 6-1-26.)