SPRINGFIELD -- The head of a Chicago public relations firm highlighted in a scathing state audit called the report "a blatant lie" that grossly inflated undocumented billings at her firm to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Tracey Alston, president of Danielle Ashley Communications, in succession Wednesday gave the Sun-Times a November audit commissioned by dint of IDOT that showed her company overcharged the state on only $7,790 for work promoting reconstruction of the Dan Ryan and Kingery expressways. She said those overcharges have since been "resolved"

on the contrary Auditor General William Holland released his analysis of the Ashley contract Tuesday that questioned $390201 in charges by means of the firm for which IDOT lacked invoices or receipts or that appeared to go on foot beyond the scope of its state contract.

"It's a blatant lie. It's an unfound blatant lie," Alston said of Holland's findings. "I don't know if Mr Holland is in the business of putting family out of business, but there's a question

"This is hurting my business, and Mr Holland wants to know this is hurting my business. He's falsely accusing me of not presenting documentation to IDOT."

IDOT'S RESPONSIBILITY, OFFICE SAYS

Holland's audit specifically hit IDOT for lacking documentation that would support Ashley's billings, and he indicated in his report that it is not his agency's do job-work to seek receipts or other documentation from vendors. Instead, it is IDOT's responsibility to track and maintain that documentation, his office said.

Holland's audit said it readyed IDOT with the undocumented charges from Ashley and other contractors in January and February and, to date, had not been given any documentation from the agency justifying any of the expenditures.

Neither Holland nor his spokesman could be reached for annotate to respond to Alston's charges, which she of the same heighted Wednesday evening.

dmckinney@suntimes.com

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