By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Board of Elections must revisit allegations that Illinois’ head governmental investigator misused nearly a half a million dollars in campaign funds during his time as a state lawmaker.
A state appellate court ruled Tuesday that the elections board needs to decide if payments made by Mautino’s campaign committee over 16 of his 24 years as a state representative were legitimate. Mautino’s campaign committee was accused of improperly spending $225,000 at a Spring Valley repair shop on supposed repairs to his and his friends’ private vehicles. The court also ordered the board to rule on whether nearly $200,000 in expenditures Mautino’s campaign committee reported making to Spring Valley City Bank were legal.
The board initially told the plaintiff, Streator resident David Cooke, to forward his case to prosecutors because they have broader powers to investigate the allegations of improper use of campaign funds.
The Fourth District Appellate Court disagreed, saying that the election authority was the proper venue to address Cooke’s complaint.
“We find Cooke’s [election code] claims, if proved, would establish additional violations separate and apart from the Board’s other findings,” the panel wrote.
Mautino’s campaign was fined $5,000 in May for failing to report information during a probe into the spending.
A verdict from the board could mean more fines, but because the campaign committee is defunct, it’s unlikely to pay them.
Cooke is represented by the Liberty Justice Center. Jeffrey Schwab, the center’s senior attorney, said taxpayers need to know if Mautino broke the law.
“Our client alleges that Mautino’s campaign committee spent campaign money illegally over a period of 16 years while he was a state representative, and it’s crucial that we reach a resolution on this matter. The job of the Illinois auditor general is to ensure the state spends taxpayer money properly, and taxpayers need to know whether Auditor General Mautino broke the law before taking statewide office,” Schwab said. “Illinois has a long history of public corruption, and that’s why this case matters so much. No elected official is above the law – and if there was wrongdoing, Auditor General Mautino must be held accountable.”
Cooke filed the case in 2016. The Liberty Justice Center has been representing him for free since September of that year.
Several lawmakers have since called for Mautino to step down, saying that his investigations into government would be tainted by his own case. He’s also under federal investigation regarding the same charges.
