After a lengthy audit and review process, vital Corporation for Public Broadcasting [CPB] funding has been distributed to Peoria’s PBS station as it recovers from hundreds of thousands of dollars of losses from alleged financial mismanagement.
WTVP president and CEO Jenn Gordon said the federal audit wrapped up last fall and the following review process included developing a corrective action plan and strategy for the station moving forward.
“The bulk of our corrective action plan had to do with accounting and bookkeeping and transparency and best practices, and really ensuring that the CPB had faith that we were going to abide by all of their requirements, which they have a lot of requirements for stations who are given good standing to receive this grant,” said Gordon.
Gordon called this a “milestone week,” as about $1.6 million in combined CBP funding for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years finally reached WTVP accounts.
The funding breaks down into $930,000 for the 2024 fiscal year and $685,000 for the 2025 fiscal year. Gordon said those figures represent 100% of the fiscal year ‘24 funding and about 70% of the fiscal year ‘25 funding — with the remaining 30% still to be distributed.
The CPB originally froze funding to WTVP in December 2023, following the resignation and subsequent death by suicide of former CEO Lesley Matuszak. A police report obtained by WCBU in 2024 shows the Peoria Police Department had evidence to support charging Matuszak with forgery and embezzlement prior to her death.
A lawsuit pending in Peoria County courts, filed by WTVP’s insurer, Cincinnati Insurance Company, said losses from the alleged fraud totaled upwards of $375,000. In addition to the estate of Lesley Matuszak, the lawsuit names former WTVP Director of Finance and Human Resources Linda McLaughlin as a defendant.
After slashing budgets by 30%, laying off nine employees, bringing on a new CEO, overhauling the board of directors and suspending the publication of Peoria magazine, the station underwent over a year of audits from the CPB.
Now, Gordon said the station is ready to move forward from its “gap strategy” while waiting on the federal funding. She said borrowing out of the station's endowment and some large donor gifts helped ease the process.
“It really is remarkable for any organization to manage 16 months of operations without what comes out to about 30% of their budget from one source not being present,” said Gordon. “So part of what we’re doing now is to ensure that we can, again, kind of look at all of our different resources and make sure that we’re prioritizing the station’s needs that have kind of been on hold.”
Those needs include equipment that needs updating, improvements to station facilities and increased efforts to stabilize the station and continue to serve the community after months of running on a lean budget.
“We’re so appreciative that the community has stayed with us through these 16 months and for the last two years, and we’re just really excited to be able to definitively close this chapter and focus our energies moving forward on our mission and continuing to make an impact here in Central Illinois,” said Gordon.
With the receipt of the funds, Gordon said WTVP’s local audit firm is working to complete the fiscal year ‘24 audit and expects it to be posted in the next month.
“We’re excited to be moving closer to being on track with a regular rhythm of financial posting and reporting and in transparency, because we’ve gotten through all of the cleanup work that needed to happen,” she said.
