And in the Governor's Office, the audit reported 42 objects were unaccounted for when compared with old inventory lists. The audit report cites both Governor George Ryan and his predecessor, Jim Edgar, for failing to conduct thorough inventories when Ryan took over last year. Neither administration could provide explanations for the lost property, according to auditors. Inadequate property control, the report says, makes it "difficult to determine who is responsible for the missing items."
In all likelihood, their disappearance can be attributed to unfinished paperwork when objects were surplused or donated to some other government agency, says Nick Pal-azzolo, a Ryan spokesman.
Staff continue to search for the furnishings, which include lamps, bookcases, a rug runner and the tea tray. In fact, 155 items valued at $84,000 were missing from the Executive Mansion and Office when the search began earlier this year. More than 100 items have been located, although one piece of art remains elusive.
A $1,200 painting entitled "View of the Locks" by an artist known only as Sylvester is among the pieces missing from the mansion. The painting was purchased in the early 1950s during Governor Adlai Stevenson's administration. People familiar with the mansion say it hasn't hung in the house since the mid-1970s. "There's no telling what has happened to it," Palazzolo says.
