Rep. Batinick stated, “We have given him plenty of time to
respond, and he has chosen not to, which makes it hard to believe that nothing
improper occurred. As the Auditor General, he has to be held to the highest
standard, and this is why we cannot stop with our request.”
“Our first letter to Auditor General Mautino was sent on
February 1st. He requested a bit more time to which we willingly
agreed. At the end of February, he told us we could expect an answer within
weeks. But now we’re in the month of May, and these questions are still
festering because he simply won’t address them,” said State Representative
Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville). “If there’s nothing improper, as he asserts, then
why won’t he simply answer the questions so he and we can put this issue behind
us?”
State Senator Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) had raised
concerns in February when the Ottawa Times and the Arlington Heights Daily
Herald newspapers wrote about questions surrounding campaign account
transactions when Mautino served as a State Representative.
“The Times reported that the State Board of Elections was
seeking clarification from then-Representative Frank Mautino about $259,000 he
paid to a Spring Valley bank since 1999. A Daily Herald editorial was also
calling for some answers. A letter was sent to Auditor General Mautino asking
for timely answers to the questions that were raised,” Oberweis said. “I was
the only member of the Legislative Audit Commission to vote against
recommending then-Representative Mautino’s appointment to the Auditor General
position, even though we all knew the ‘Illinois fix’ was in for Madigan's guy.
We had interviewed another very highly qualified candidate for the
position who I believed should have been recommended as well.”
“Now that it’s been more than three months since our first
official request for information was sent to Auditor General Mautino concerning
the irregularities in his campaign records, I think it’s reasonable he provide
some answers. After this much time and multiple requests, he owes it to the
residents of Illinois,” said Representative Sheri Jesiel (R-Winthrop
Harbor).
Lawmakers today also sent Auditor General Mautino a third
letter requesting an immediate resolution to the issue.
“The Auditor General’s office is vital to the review of all
state spending and is essential in protecting the taxpayers’ money from waste
and abuse,” Rep. Wehrli said. “Until Auditor General Mautino provides answers
to questions about highly questionable spending and accounting that continue to
surround him, I will have no confidence in any audit conducted under his leadership.”