As a state representative, Illinois auditor general Frank Mautino took no chances come election time, judging from his campaign finance disclosure forms filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
In the weeks leading up to the general election of 2010, Mautino spent $8,000 on poll watchers, plus $2,750 for precinct walkers plus an additional $2,050 for precinct workers. Quite a chunk of change, considering that Mautino was unopposed at the ballot box that fall.
It wasn’t the first time that Mautino shelled out thousands for poll watchers and precinct workers while running unopposed. In the general election of 2008, he spent $10,000 on poll watchers, even though he didn’t have an opponent, according to his campaign finance reports.
The money, all paid out in round figures, was received by Spring Valley City Bank, according to Mautino’s campaign reports. It’s not clear why the bank reportedly got money for work unrelated to banking. A source at the Illinois State Board of Elections said that campaigns must accurately identify the recipient of campaign funds in the event a recipient receives more than $150. If a recipient receives less in a reporting period, the expense need not be itemized.
A woman at the bank said that there was no one available to discuss the institution’s relationship with Mautino, which dates back more than a decade, with Mautino receiving both loans and campaign contributions, according to records at the state elections board. Mautino could not be reached for comment. He did not return a phone call last week to answer questions surrounding his campaign spending (“Questionable Campaign Spending,” Jan. 22, 2016).
Mautino’s campaign routinely reported giving money to the bank for expenses unrelated to banking, and the money often came in round figures. Since 2012, Mautino’s campaign reported giving more than $56,600 to the bank in dozens of expenditures. At least 41 of those disbursements were in round figures, according to campaign reports.
The campaign reported giving the bank money for travel expenses, parking and meeting expenses. Consider a stretch in 2014, when the campaign reported giving $750 in five round-figure expenditures to Spring Valley City Bank between May 5 and June 28 for expenses that had nothing to do with banking. According to campaign reports, the money was used for “Chicago meeting traveling expenses,” “traveling expenses,” “Chicago meeting parking expenses” and “Springfield meeting.” The records don’t indicate who attended meetings or what, specifically, was included in travel expenses.
Mautino became state auditor general last month and is now in charge of ensuring that public money is properly spent.
Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield who reviewed Mautino’s campaign reports after receiving a call from Illinois Times, said that Mautino is the only one who can explain why he would spend so much on election workers when he was running unopposed.
“If you don’t have an opponent, it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Redfield said. “He’s got money in there for canvassing as well as poll watching.”
Questions about Mautino’s spending while a legislator arose after Illinois Times earlier this month reported that he had solicited and received $15,500 in campaign contributions after the General Assembly voted to install him as auditor general for a 10-year term on Oct. 20 but before he was sworn in on Dec. 7 (“New Auditor General Kept Campaign Fund Active,” Jan. 7, 2016). State law prohibits the auditor general from engaging in political activity.
Campaign records show that Mautino continued spending campaign money even after he was sworn in as auditor general. Records show that Spring Valley City Bank on Dec. 8 received $200 for “Chicago meeting.” Records also show that the campaign spent $22.47 for postage on Dec. 22 and $95.15 for flowers on Dec. 14. Mautino also spent more than $200,000 at a Spring Valley service station, much of it in round numbers, in less than 11 years before he became auditor general. The campaign said the disbursements were for gasoline and vehicle repairs.
Redfield said that Mautino’s campaign spending underscores weaknesses in Illinois’ campaign spending laws.
“I don’t know that Mr. Mautino is better or worse than anyone else, but it does highlight how wide-open our system is,” Redfield said. “You don’t get as much information as you really need to figure things out. It (the state campaign finance law) is, absolutely, written in ways you could drive a truck through.
“Rather than being a set of rules with a few loopholes, it’s one big giant loophole with a few rules.”
Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jan 21-27, 2016.
