Bob Grogan has been three times elected as Auditor of DuPage County, the second largest county in Illinois with a population of almost one million people. He served as Auditor from 2008 to 2020. He has been an innovator and advocate of transparency and government accountability. Within weeks of taking office, he made DuPage the first county in the State of Illinois to put its checkbook online. He also established an Audit Hotline to give citizens an effective way to help fight government waste and corruption and a Transparency Portal enabling one-stop shop citizens looking for data.
Bob has had findings that resulted in three convictions by the State’s Attorney, a recent federal indictment of an elected official for kickbacks, and numerous firings of county employees for misdeeds.
He previously served as the President of the Illinois County Auditors Association, where he frequently taught continuing professional education to his fellow county auditors. Bob also served on the Board of the Illinois Association of County Officials.
Bob is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Prior to being elected Auditor, he worked in public accounting, auditing pensions, non-profits and local governments. Since 2020, he has continued to work in government accounting. Bob is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). This provides him with a distinct set of skills to find where, how and why fraud occurs. This knowledge will help prevent and deter fraud and abuse in government. Before Bob’s accounting career, he worked in the banking industry.
Community Service and Involvement
Bob previously served as the President of the United Way of the DuPage Area. As the organization’s first President, he oversaw the merger of 6 separate 501(c)3’s into a single more efficient organization, cutting expenses by more than 30%. This new charity, upon its creation was the largest suburban Chicago United Way and also had the lowest overhead cost structure. He directed a budget of $3 million and addressed the needs of 29 communities, with a population of 800,000, by funding over 45 health and human service agencies. He was later awarded the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago’s first Vision and Leadership Award for efforts in developing regional organization and creating a new process to allocate funds. Prior to becoming President, Bob served as the Treasurer of the United Way of South DuPage.
He also served as Treasurer of the Hinsdale Central Foundation and Yomechas Indian Guides. He is a former member of the District 58 Foundation Board. Bob served as a member of the College of DuPage Accounting Department Advisory Board where he assisted in advising the college on its accounting curriculum. He also served as a Board Member of the Des Plaines Valley Council of Boys Scouts of America and chaired its Audit Committee.
Previously, Bob volunteered as an ESL Teacher where he instructed adults with limited English language skills in vocabulary and grammar. Shortly after college, Bob was a volunteer Pop Warner Football Coach.
Grassroots Commitment
Bob has served as a Republican Precinct Committeeman in the DuPage Republican Party for the last 22 years and was elected in 2018 to the Republican State Central Committee representing the 6th District. He was Chairman of Downers Grove Township Republican Organization, which is the largest Republican Township in the state. He has lead new committeeman training throughout the state, where he instructs committeemen on walking precincts and other party duties. Previously, Bob has served as Treasurer for both the Federation of Illinois Young Republicans and the DuPage Young Republicans.
Civic Background
Previously, Bob served as a Commissioner of the DuPage County Zoning Board of Appeals, a Staff Assistant to Congressman Harris Fawell, Secretary of the Clarendon Blackhawk Mosquito Abatement District Board and as a Board Member of the DuPage Regional Planning Commission.
Proud Member
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
- Illinois CPA Society
Personal
Bob and his wife Beth have three children and live in Downers Grove. He received his Bachelor of Arts, with majors in Economics and Political Science from Miami University (Ohio) and received an Advanced Accounting Certificate from College of DuPage. Bob enjoys travel and has backpacked through over 50 countries.