Mel Thillens, Republican candidate for the District 28 state Senate seat, recently wrote a post on Facebook regarding Streator resident David Cooke's case against Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino.
"My opponent appointed Auditor General Frank Mautino, who has a terribly suspicious pattern of campaign spending," Thillens' post said, referring to state Sen. Laura Murphy's vote in favor of Mautino's appointment. Ten Republicans were the only legislators in the state House to vote against Mautino's appointment.
"Now it is costing a private citizen, a retiree... from central Illinois, hundreds of thousands of dollars to seek the truth in front of the Illinois Election Board. The political machine costs all of us every day. This is the most obvious example," Thillens wrote.
District 28 state Senate candidate Mel Thillens took to Facebook to speak out about his opponent's support of controversial Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino.
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Last December, the General Assembly approved the appointment of Mautino to the position of auditor general for a 10-year term. Since that time, Mautino's campaign spending from his tenure in the Assembly has come under fire, generating a federal investigation with a grand jury and subpoenas issued to campaign workers.
At the state level, Cooke filed a complaint with the Illinois State Board of Elections, with which Mautino has refused to cooperate during its own inquiry. A date for a public hearing is expected to be set soon on the matter.
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