DECATUR, Ill. — A performance audit released Tuesday by the Illinois Office of the Auditor General found nothing unusual in state spending on the Discovery Partners Institute and the Illinois Innovation Network.
The audit was ordered in April 2025 by the Legislative Audit Commission, directing the auditor general's office to examine the purpose and handling of funds appropriated by the General Assembly.
State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) raised issues after the University of Illinois System pulled the plug on a construction project in Chicago known as The 78. The system opted for a different location.
The program is connected to the University of Illinois System.
“So, let me get this straight, President Killeen spent over half a decade and $50 million dollars on a project that his own Dean of Engineering noted still had no intellectual focus just sixteen days before construction started?" Sen. Rose said in a statement after the report was released. "What an utter and epic failure,” said Sen. Rose.
The Illinois Innovation Network and its primary hub, the Discovery Partners Institute, were developed to accelerate innovation, job creation and economic growth throughout the state. The network consists of 15 hubs, including hubs at public universities and one independent nonprofit hub.
Auditors identified nearly 300 payments and reviewed supporting documentation provided by the Capital Development Board and determined the payments were "adequate, accurate, appropriate and properly monitored by the board," according to the audit's findings.
Auditors also found that each payment from fiscal year 2023 through fiscal year 2025 was accountable and appeared accurately on the Illinois Office of the Comptroller's website.
Sen. Rose said U of I President Timothy Killeen will be called before the Legislative Audit Committee to review the audit and answer additional questions.
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