Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts

City: Springfield

County: Sangamon

State: Illinois

The Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts traced its ancestry to Auditor of Public Accounts for the Northwest Territory. The Illinois Constitution of 1818 gave the General Assembly power to appoint an auditor of public accounts. On March 24, 1819, the General Assembly passed a law creating the office and defining its duties. The statute charged the Auditor with the duties of: keeping and maintaining the state's fiscal accounts with the federal government, other states, and individuals; auditing all accounts of executive officers and legislators of the state paid out of the treasury; authorizing payment, through warrants and certifications, into and out of state funds; receiving the proceeds of all taxes and public monies coming to the state, and directing the attorney general or circuit attorneys to pursue all delinquents for the payment of public monies accruing to the state. The General Assembly further defined the Auditor's duties and method of election in 1831 and 1833. The Auditor's office was located in Vandalia until 1837, when the capital moved to Springfield.

"An Act defining the duties of the Auditor and Treasurer," 24 March 1819, Laws of Illinois (1819), 240-43; "An Act to Consolidate the Acts relative to the Auditor and Treasurer and Election of Attorney General," 2 March 1833, Laws of Illinois (1839), 84-87.