March 29, 2024
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Mautino and the state board of elections

Hearing was held to determine if campaign figures needed to be amended

CHICAGO/SPRINGFIELD — Just a little more than a month after former Illinois State Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) took off his legislative hat and put on the one that named him Illinois Auditor General in January 2016, controversy has surrounded Mautino and his campaign financial reports.

Primarily, the issue in question is: Did Mautino appropriately spend campaign contributions and were those contributions reported in a correct manner?

In a hearing in Chicago on Thursday, the crux of the meeting was to speak to the Illinois State Board of Elections' Phil Krasny, the hearing examiner, to determine if figures Mautino's campaign committee submitted needed to be amended. The hearing had no bearing on how and why the money was spent, rather how it was publicly disclosed with the board of elections.

Also present at the meeting was attorney Jeff Schwab of the Liberty Justice Center, who represented David Cooke of Streator, who filed the complaint against Mautino in 2016, and Sergio Acosta, an attorney who represents Mautino's campaign committee. Mautino was not present at the hearing.

The figures in question focus primarily on dollars Mautino spent, primarily from his campaign committee dubbed Committee for Frank J. Mautino. Specifically in question are also campaign donations Mautino allegedly received and spent during his transition from Illinois Representative to Illinois Auditor General.

Mautino, who became a state representative in 1991, was sworn in as the Illinois Auditor General early in December 2015, but he didn't take his seat until Jan. 1, 2016. A spokesperson for Mautino said the longtime Illinois representative closed his campaign committee at the end of December 2015.

Much of the hearing focused on testimony previously given by the treasurer of the Committee for Frank J. Mautino, Patty Maunu.

Items among the questionable spending include more than $200,000 spent from Mautino's campaign fund at Happy's Super Service Station in Spring Valley throughout the course of more than 10 years, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. Most of the expenses to Happy's were listed as gasoline/camp. (campaign) vehicle repair and were drawn on the Committee for Frank J. Mautino account. Mautino had a personal account at Happy's as well. Other spending in question was for checks written and cashed at Spring Valley City Bank.

The issue brought forth was whether the expenses were properly recorded, not just in the days between when Mautino was ending his state representative career and moving on to the Illinois Auditor General seat, but also throughout his entire career as a state rep.

The Illinois State Board of Elections does not outline what campaign donations can be used for, however, it does list a variety of items that can't be paid for by campaign funds.

No decisions were made at the hearing. The next meeting of the Illinois State Board of Elections is set for May 15.

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