Illinois GOP lawmakers want auditor spending answers

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A group of Republican lawmakers attempted to turn up the election-year heat Thursday on the state's chief fiscal monitor, demanding that Auditor General Frank Mautino answer questions about his campaign spending as a legislator.

First-term Rep. Grant Wehrli of Naperville, who faces a Democratic challenger in November, said at a state Capitol news conference that he and 19 colleagues sought answers Thursday in their third recent letter to Mautino that read, "The people of Illinois are tired of the many corruption scandals they've had to endure in recent years."

Mautino was a Democratic deputy majority leader in the House for 24 years before the Legislature, controlled by Democrats, appointed him to a 10-year term last fall as auditor general. The Spring Valley politician replaced the retiring William Holland to examine state government spending and compliance with rules and regulations.

Early this year, a citizen group called the Edgar County Watchdogs, the Springfield-based newspaper Illinois Times and the watchdog Better Government Association reported seemingly exorbitant spending by the Mautino campaign, including $214,000 on gas and repairs at a single Spring Valley service station owned by a city alderman. And the campaign paid $274,000 to a local bank beginning in 1999, including $94,000 in repayments on a loan for $26,000.

"The auditor general is the fiscal watchdog of the state, and it is imperative that he operates in a highly ethical manner and we demand that he steps forward at this point in time and clear that up," Wehrli said.

Wehrli said the group sent its first letter Feb. 1 seeking answers within 10 days. Mautino asked for more time. The group then asked for a reply by Feb. 25 but has not had one.

"We will review Rep. Wehrli's letter once we receive it and provide a prompt response to him," Mautino said Thursday in a written statement.

Mautino, a popular lawmaker seen as a mediator on tough issues, entered the House in 1991 to fill the vacancy left by the death of his father, Richard. He joined Speaker Michael Madigan's leadership team in 2009 as deputy majority leader.

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Contact Political Writer John O'Connor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/john-oconnor .