Gaps in Accounting of Jeans Day Fund

Chicago - Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown says she's showing where the money raised went from a controversial jeans day program, but questions remain.

FOX Chicago News and the Better Government Association have been trying to get a look at the jeans day documents for nearly three weeks.

Our investigation upped the pressure on the Circuit Court clerk, who promised full disclosure Friday . We got anything but.

Brown showed plenty of numbers, pictures, canceled checks and scribbled envelopes, but her explanation of the controversial jeans day practice raises more questions than it answers.

"The accounting department keeps a very accurate accounting for how jeans day money is collected and distributed," Brown said.

For years, Brown has been holding special jeans days, when employees can dress in denim if they fork over a couple bucks in cash. Brown says all the money goes to employee parties and charitable causes.

Employee Marie Norred got jeans day money after she was burned out of her home.

“I was able to re-establish a household with the money collected and I’d like to thank Dorothy Brown and everyone who participated,” Norred said.

Nevertheless, there are numerous problems buried in the documents. For starters, there appear to be more jeans day events than the clerk can account for.

In August last year cash was collected for Hispanic Heritage Month, but it wasn't listed on any of Brown's records, nor could she say how the money was spent.

"I’m sure we have that,” Brown said.

And despite this promise by her comptroller who handles the fund, Wasiu Fashina, promising they “deposit no longer than the following day,” we found several instances when jeans day cash didn't get to the bank for days or even weeks.

"This is a joke. This is not full disclosure. This is not accountability,” said Andy Shaw, of the Better Government Association.

We also found three separate companies that received jeans day money in 2009 for providing services for employee events who then turned around and gave Brown a campaign contribution.

A wedding planning company called exquisite touch got $8,000 from the jeans fund to help set up last summer's employee picnic, and they gave Brown's political fund $2,000.

When the clerk got married a week after the picnic, Exquisite Touch was the company she used to at her own wedding.

"Money to someone who did her wedding, who then gives monies back to her, this does not pass the smell test. This is not full disclosure. This is not setting the record straight. This is muddying the waters," Shaw said.

Brown said there were 22 official jeans days in 2009, but then admitted that number could be much higher because individual offices were allowed to hold their own jeans days and jeans weeks as well.