La Grange's 'Deficiencies' While Key Post Vacant

LA GRANGE, IL – It's been 13 months since La Grange has employed a finance director, but an official suggested Monday that the position could soon be filled.

In the last year, the village was late with its audit, which turned up "significant deficiencies."

At a Village Board meeting Monday, Village President Mark Kuchler said the village held its first round of interviews for finance director last week and expects to conduct more this week.

"The written applications have been fantastic. We're excited about it," he said.

In May 2025, Suzy Mika resigned as the finance director after two years, although her name lingered on the village's website for another six months.

Since Mika's departure, the village has contracted with GovHR USA to handle its finances.

With a shorthanded finance department, the village has had difficulties.

It did not complete its annual audit until nearly a year after the end of its 2024-25 budget year, missing state deadlines.

The village received a "clean" audit opinion, as nearly all public bodies do.

But the auditor, Sikich, found "significant deficiencies" in internal controls, unlike previous years.

According to the audit, the village lacked a sufficient segregation of financial duties.

"These conditions increase the risk that financial information may be incomplete or inaccurate," the auditor said.

Also, bank reconciliations were not being done on a timely basis, increasing the risk of errors and irregularities, the audit found.