SE Illinois News

Republican candidate Darren Bailey thinks Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino represents everything that’s wrong with Springfield government.

“I think he is part of the establishment that has put this state in the dire straits we now find it in,” Bailey told the SE Illinois News. “We’ve got to clean house. He stands for all the wrong things and doesn’t need to be in the post he holds.”

Bailey is challenging Democrat Cynthia Given in the 109th District in November’s general election. His opinion is one that seems to be shared by many after it was found that Mautino's campaign committee more than $200,000 at a single gas station for gas and repairs for vehicles owned by him and associates. 

Campaign finance laws state that a campaign committee can only reimburse vehicle owners on a per-mile basis for the use of their vehicles, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.

More recently, the Illinois State Board of Elections voted 4-4 down partisan lines to fine Mautino's campaign after it was revealed that his campaign committee wrote checks totaling at least $150,000 in the name of a bank and cashed them from the committee’s checking account without keeping many receipts.

“In Springfield, we don’t put responsible people in charge, only those looking to expand their careers,” Bailey said. “The lack of backbone of our lawmakers is probably the biggest reason Illinois is in such bad shape.”

Bailey said the solution seems clear.

“We need men and women willing to stand up and call a spade a spade in terms of what our government needs to be focused on,” he said. “Here in Southern Illinois, down on the farm if you can’t do the job and be competent, you’re let go. In Springfield, you’re rewarded for that. If Frank Mautino isn’t smart enough to resign and walk away we need to be helping to show him the door.”