By PAUL DAILING - pdailing@kcchronicle.com

Kane County Finance Director Cheryl Pattelli has received a Certificate for Achievement in Excellence from the nonprofit Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The award was for Pattelli's comprehensive annual financial report, which the association said demonstrated “a spirit of full disclosure.”

“We have worked extremely hard to make Kane County a leader when it comes to financial reporting and accountability, and it is satisfying to have those efforts recognized by an organization with the stature of the GFOA,” Pattelli said in a news release. “We now look forward to further strengthening what is already a model system.”

The association is a nonprofit professional group serving about 16,000 government finance professionals.

County Board member Tom Van Cleave, R-Batavia, has completed the United Counties Council of Illinois/University of Illinois Leadership Academy program.

The course was designed to assist local government officials to become better leaders in their communities and to execute best-practice procedures. The program was designed for both elected and appointed officials.