Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley
A bipartisan legislative panel will recommend a fellow lawmaker as Illinois’ next auditor general.
The panel met today in Springfield and narrowed a field of four candidates down to one: longtime Democratic Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley. Mautino topped 13 other candidates, including another Democratic representative and a Republican favorite from out of state.
Current Illinois Auditor General William “Bill” Holland announced earlier this year that he would retire at the end of his term, which finishes Dec. 31. He spent 23 years in the office, earning a reputation for independence and setting a high bar to clear for his replacement.
The Legislative Audit Commission, a bipartisan panel of state legislators which reviews state audits and pursues remedial actions, met in Springfield today to consider four finalists: Mautino, state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook; Mary Modelski, division chief of internal audits for Alameda County, California; and Marion attorney Larry Sanders, general counsel of the Rend Lake Conservancy District.
Mautino’s recommendation exposed rifts among panel members about whether a partisan elected official can transition to an office that demands independence, as well as how much power the auditor general ought to have with regard to correcting the faults exposed in audits.
Mautino did not return a call seeking comment prior to the meeting.
The unusual meeting got off to a fitful start, with seven of the 12 panel members attending the meeting over telephone, and the two co-chairmen of the panel stepping out of the meeting for a half hour to discuss procedures. At several points during the wait and later during the discussion, Republican senators Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, and Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, suggested that “the fix is in” regarding whom the panel would nominate.
“We’re just going to rubber stamp it,” Righter said. “We may not know we’re doing it, but we’re going to.”
Once the meeting started in earnest, co-chairman Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, explained that the panel could recommend zero candidates, a single candidate or multiple candidates. Each candidate receiving eight affirmative votes would be recommended to the full Illinois General Assembly, he said. Eight votes constitutes a three-fifths majority of the panel. Co-chairman Rep. Robert Rita, D-Blue Island, urged the panel to select only one candidate to recommend to the full legislature.
Barickman asked the panel whether any member moved to recommend Sanders. No member did. Barickman asked the same question regarding Nekritz. Again, no member made a motion.
Barickman and Rita then stepped into the hall again, followed by the three remaining panel members in physical attendance, each of who seemed puzzled by the interruption. The group returned about three minutes later.
At that point, Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, nominated Mautino, citing his previous record of service as co-chairman of the Legislative Audit Commission and his years in the Illinois General Assembly. Currie and other members of the panel, both Republican and Democratic, lauded Mautino’s knowledge of government, independence and willingness to question leaders of both parties.
Before the panel could vote on Currie’s motion to recommend Mautino, however, Righter and Oberweis suggested that the panel should recommend both Mautino and Modelski, the government auditor from California. Oberweis moved to amend Currie’s motion by adding Modelski, but Oberweis’ amendment failed on a vote of 5-7. Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, originally passed on the vote, but switched to a “No” vote on Oberweis’ amendment after it became clear it would not pass.
The panel then voted 11-1 to recommend Mautino to the full legislature, with Oberweis providing the lone “No” vote. Immediately following the vote on Mautino, Oberweis made a motion to recommend Modelski.
Righter called Modelski “eminently qualified,” adding that “the only thing she lacks is political connections.”
Currie responded by saying she takes “strong exception” to the notion that Modelski only lacks political connections. Currie said Modelski’s experience with auditing is mostly financial – not evaluating programs, as the Illinois auditor general must do. She also said Modelski hasn’t managed an office as large as the auditor general’s staff, and her experience as a certified public accountant dealt more with information technology.
“It has nothing to do with a lack of clout,” Currie said.
Oberweis suggested that Modelski would “shake up” the legislature regarding audit findings, adding that he believes the auditor general ought to have more authority to remedy problems revealed in audits. Righter responded that while he supports Modelski’s nomination, he doesn’t believe the auditor general should have policy-making power, which he said is reserved for the legislature and the governor.
The panel voted 5-7 against recommending Modelski. Speaking before the hearing, Modelski told Illinois Times that she could not comment on her candidacy.
Contact Patrick Yeagle at pyeagle@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Oct 1-7, 2015.
