Metro East Sun

Former state representative and current Republican candidate Dwight Kay has already gone on record about his feelings regarding Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino.

“Two years ago, I held a press conference to call for the resignation of Frank Mautino and introduced a resolution to that effect that the Democrats never let out of committee,” Kay told the Metro East Sun. “I went as far as asking the U.S. Attorney’s office from the Springfield district to investigate him. What he was doing was like money laundering in that he took campaign contributions and used the money for personal gain.”

Mautino’s now-defunct campaign committee from his time as state representative is currently under federal investigation and the Illinois State Board of Elections voted 4-4 along partisan lines on whether to fine the committee for violating campaign finance rules, according to the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI).

Mautino’s campaign committee wrote checks totaling more than $150,000 in the name of a bank and cashed them from the committee’s checking account. During the investigation, Mautino admitted that his campaign rarely kept receipts from any of the transactions and no unused cash from the campaign expenditures was ever returned.

The campaign also spent upwards of $225,000 at a local service station for gas and repairs of vehicles owned by Mautino, his family members and campaign associates, in possible violation of campaign finance laws. Illinois election code stipulates that a campaign committee can only reimburse vehicle owners on a per-mile basis for the use of their vehicles, according to IPI.

“All I can say is (House Speaker Mike) Madigan appointees stick together,” Kay said. “I think maybe he’s been fined before, but that’s a mere pittance compared to all the funds he’s taken in; none of which he has receipts or anything for to justify what he allegedly spent the money on.”

Kay, who is running against incumbent Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) in Illinois’ 112th District, believes Mautino represents everything Illinois doesn’t need at such a critical time for the state.

“We need people that don’t just go to Springfield to take a vote, but are willing to dig deep and get to the root of what needs to be done to eradicate all the corrupt behavior,” he said. “Right now, we have people going there not to represent the people of their district, but to vote in the interest of the people that are giving them all the money.”