Auditor General Frank Mautino shall be fined, imprisoned, or both –

Springfield, IL (ECWd) –

Yes, the Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino, “shall” be fined not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment in a penal institution other than the penitentiary not to exceed one year or both fine and imprisonment for knowingly filing a Statement of Economic Interest (SEI), that is not true, correct and complete.

“I declare that this Statement of Economic Interests (including any accompanying schedules and statements) has been examined by me and to the best of my knowledge and belief is a true, correct and complete statement of my economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. I understand that the penalty for willfully filing a false or incomplete statement shall be a fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment in a penal institution other than the penitentiary not to exceed one year, or both fine and imprisonment.”

Mautino filed his Statement of Economic Interest document March 27, 2016, as the Illinois Auditor General and listed “none” on all 8 points.  It is clear, “none” is not a true, correct, or an accurate response to item #7 and we doubt he can claim he didn’t knowingly make this erroneous filing.

“7. List the name of any unit of government that employed the person making the statement during the preceding calendar year other than the unit or units of government in relation to which the person is required to file.”

Mautino was a State Representative of the General Assembly, which is, in fact, a unit of government of which he was employed for 24 years.  That employment included the preceding calendar year applicable to this SEI and Mautino failed to properly document that fact, thus subjecting himself to the very penalties outlined by law, of which his signature acknowledges those penalties.

I agree that this failure to properly report has no financial impact to the state or his personal life, however, the bigger concern is the fact we see once again see he has failed to follow the law. This is another indicator of his inability to pay attention to detail, a function that is a must as the States Auditor General.

Who will enforce the laws on our books against the Auditor General?  In light of all the slogans created in protest of everything imaginable in this country, we at the Edgar County Watchdogs would like to establish one more slogan in the form of a question that we suspect most in our entire country will agree with.

Do laws matter?

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