By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD – Money for the Illinois Auditor General’s Office is being considered at the statehouse, and the one senator who voted in committee against approving the current auditor general says he needs to go.

While lawmakers hash out details of how much to fund Auditor General Frank Mautino’s office for the coming fiscal year, Mautino continues to be under federal investigation and a state elections board inquiry.

The legislature approved Mautino as the auditor general in 2015. He began the job at the beginning of 2016. Questions about campaign spending popped up shortly thereafter.

Mautino has declared his right against self incrimination in response to official inquiries into hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars spent at a bank and service station in his then-state legislative district.

Republican Sen. Jim Oberweis, who voted in committee against approving Mautino in 2015, said Mautino needs to step down because of “suspicious activities” around his campaign spending.

“And yet he continues to operate and get away with it,” Oberweis said. “This is the guy who is supposed to be supervising the other agencies? How do you have a guy that is under suspicion himself supervising other agencies? Only in Illinois does this kind of crap happen.”

Oberweis said it’s entirely up to Democrat majorities to act on several measures calling on Mautino to step down.

“Obviously, he’s [Speaker Michael] Madigan’s henchman and he has been all along so as long as Madigan is protecting him, it’s difficult to force things further, but we’re going to continue to try,” he said.

Several attempts filed both last year and this year to remove Mautino have gone nowhere.

The auditor general’s office is requesting more than $32 million for the coming fiscal year that begins June 1.