Auditor General Finds Security Breaches with Revenue Department's Handling of Tax Returns

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 29, 2011 3:10PM

A report released yesterday by Illinois Auditor General William Holland found security breaches in how the Illinois Department of Revenue handled tax returns. (The report is available online in PDF format here.)

Here are some of the breaches Holland's office discovered:

• Full- and part-time employees handling tax returns were allowed to carry personal cell phones equipped with cameras.
• Tax records found open on desks, shelving areas and tables in areas where visitors had access and, in one instance, stored in an open bin in a readily accessible hallway within a tax-processing area.
• Uncashed taxpayer checks turned up in the desk drawers of employees who no longer worked for the Department of Revenue.
• A lack of background checks on workers in the Revenue Department.

Holland told the Sun-Times, "(W)hen you have so many people with so much access to so many records, it’s only a matter of time until something bad happens" like identity theft or a lack of adequate tax collection. The report doesn't come at an ideal time for Revenue Department director Brian Hamer, a Rod Blagojevich appointee held over by Pat Quinn who failed to receive confirmation from the State Senate during their spring session.

Holland's report also criticizes the awarding of a 10-year, $2 billion contract to a company to manage thee Illinois Lottery. Northstar Lottery Group was awarded the contract even as two competing companies proposals were being considered by an evaluation committee established by acting Lottery Superintendent Jodie Winnet. Holland's report also questions the fees paid to a consulting firm hired to guide the selection process that ultimately led to Northstar being awarded the contract.