Republican House candidate Jillian Rose Bernas points to the ongoing saga of Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino as a prime example of how Springfield has morphed in something it was never intended to be.
“The Frank Mautino story is a perfect example of the arrogance that Springfield breeds and the attitude of superiority common among members of (House Speaker Mike) Madigan’s inner circle that consider themselves untouchable,” Bernas told the North Cook News. “We will continue to see Springfield working against us if we continue to elect the same people. I am running against an entrenched politician to stand up to this arrogance in Springfield.”
Mautino’s now-defunct campaign committee from his time as state representative has come under scrutiny by the Illinois State Board of Elections over potential campaign finance violations. Mautino refused to meet with the board during the investigation. The board ultimately voted 4-4 down partisan lines whether to fine his campaign.
Auditor General Frank Mautino
The board launched its probe after it was uncovered that his campaign committee wrote checks amassing $150,000 in the name of a bank and cashed them from the committee’s checking account. Few receipts were kept from any of the transactions and none of the unused cash from the expenditures was ever returned to the campaign.
Mautino is also accused of running up a tab of approximately $225,000 at a local gas station for gas and repairs of vehicles owned by him, his family members and close associates. The payments violate campaign finance laws that stipulate a campaign can only reimburse vehicle owners on a per-mile basis for vehicle usage.
“This is the height of hypocrisy,” Bernas said. “Mautino is Illinois’ auditor general responsible for making sure state funds are spent legally, while currently under federal criminal investigation for questionable campaign expenditures over his 24 years as state representative.”
Bernas is running against incumbent Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg) in the 56th House District. She believes that Mautino and Mussman are both career politicians.
“Mautino was a state representative, promoted to deputy majority leader and appointed auditor general by all his friends in the Illinois House, including my opponent,” she said. “He now is under a federal criminal investigation and pleads the Fifth Amendment when questioned about his spending, but the Illinois State Board of Elections cannot decide whether to penalize him or not. This is a clear example of lawmakers and board members in positions of authority in Illinois supporting their friends instead of doing what is right.”
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