North Cook News

Reacting to the news that Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino is facing a federal investigation over questionable campaign spending, the Republican state Senate candidate for District 28 blasted members of the Illinois legislature who voted to appoint him to the office in the first place, particularly his opponent, Sen. Laura Murphy. 

"Frank Mautino is the ultimate establishment machine politician who was appointed by the state legislature to a ten year term as Auditor General, in spite of some very questionable spending of campaign cash,"  Mel Thillens wrote on his campaign website. 

A spokesman for Mautino revealed on Thursday that the U.S. Attorney's Office was investigating the Democrat from Spring Valley over hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable campaign spending during his 24 years in the Illinois House as a representative for District 76. 

The questionable spending included more than $200,000 spent at Happy’s Super Service in Spring Valley on gas and vehicle repairs over an 11-year period; $30,000 in travel reimbursement requests paid for by taxpayers to cover trips involving legislative duties and service on audit commissions; $271,417 in state agency payments to Mautino Distribution Company, which is owned by his family; $33,000 paid to a restaurant owned by his wife's family; and $273,973 from his campaign fund paid to a local bank,

The questionable spending was first reported by the Edgar County Watchdogs only three weeks after Mautino assumed the auditor general’s office in January.

"I called his appointment a problem in January, after my opponent voted for it," Thillens said on his website. "In March I called for an investigation, while my opponent was silent. Now, the Chicago Tribune reports there is a federal investigation which could lead to his resignation and indictment. My opponent? Crickets."