Auditor General Frank Mautino implicated by Federal Special Master Report to the Federal Courts

Illinois (ECWd) –

Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino was cherry picked to hold a 10-year government position that has the oversite investigative power to include subpoena power in the State of Illinois like none other, next to the Attorney General.  He is not an auditor by trade so the question has always been, why Mautino?

What better way to protect the kingdom than appoint a guy like Mautino to be the top Watchdog of our State Agencies.  It is truly putting the fox in the hen house, except in this case, there is no need to worry about fences, traps, or any other predator snooping in your chicken coop because it is all controlled and managed by the political elite.

Yesterday’s Federal filing of the Fifth report of the Speical Master in the Shakman case sheds significant light as to why Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino must immediately resign.

The Shakman case was brought to the federal courts in 1969 against the Democratic Organization of Cook County. Although that case was closed in 1969, there are still continued updates to the courts as it relates to patronage hirings and the most recent report names Illinois Auditor Frank Mautino Seventeen times.  He appears to be in good company as Mike Madigan’s name also appears seventeen times.

From the report, its clear, former State Representative Frank Mautino used his close ties to then Governor Quinn to be a party to patronage hiring.  That action alone deems him unfit to hold any office in our opinion, let alone the office of Auditor General of this state.

• A June 30, 2010 internal IDOT email regarding [Staff Asst. 13] stated, “Govs office called about [Staff Asst. 13] have Frank [Mautino] call if u can.”
• [Staff Asst. 13], who was sponsored by State Representative Frank Mautino. [Staff Asst. 13] was initially hired as a 60-Day Emergency Hire and then became a full-time TMII on August 2, 2010.

“Additionally, many Staff Assistants had connections to or were sponsored by legislators, elected officials, and politicians. Kayla Crowther (State Rep. Frank Mautino)”

“Amy Grivetti-Pikul (State Sen. Patrick Welch; State Rep. Frank Mautino) [hired in 2003];”

[Staff Asst. 13] was sponsored by Illinois State Representative Frank Mautino, and the Governor’s Office helped her obtain a Rutan-exempt Staff Assistant position at IDOT. June and July 2010 emails revealed discussions between the Governor’s Office and Representative Mautino about [Staff Asst. 13]. After [Staff Asst. 13] was appointed to Rutan-covered temporary positions at IDOT from January to July 2010, she was hired as a Rutan-exempt TM II Staff Assistant on August 2, 2010. She subsequently moved into a Rutan-covered position, for which she was the sole candidate interviewed. [Staff Asst. 13]’s background was as an administrative assistant at a bank for four months and as a server at restaurants during college. As a TM II Staff Assistant, [Staff Asst. 13]’s duties included: working as an administrative assistant, completing financial reports, making spreadsheets, assembling personnel documents, and responding to constituent services requests.

Illinois State Representative Frank Mautino sponsored [Staff Asst. 46], and the Governor’s Office helped [Staff Asst. 46] secure a Rutan-exempt Staff Assistant position at IDOT. The Governor’s Office communicated with Representative Mautino about [Staff Asst. 46]’s ePAR for a Staff Assistant position in December 2010. Hansen Anderson pushed for the ePAR to be approved quickly and referred to it as “time sensitive.” [Staff Asst. 46]’s ePAR was for a Staff Assistant position in IDOT District 1; however, the District 1 Administrative Manager did not have [Staff Asst. 46]’s resume prior to his hire and did not know where to place [Staff Asst. 46]. [Staff Asst. 46] started as a Rutan-exempt TM III Staff Assistant at IDOT on January 5, 2011. [Staff Asst. 46]’s background was working for a trucking company as an operations manager, a line leader, a route driver, and warehouse supervisor. (See Chronology at 12/17/10, 12/28/10, 1/3/11). Per his TM III Staff Assistant evaluations, [Staff Asst. 46]’s duties included: monitoring service contracts and expenditures for equipment repairs, compiling budget reports and records, maintaining inventory records, entering data, processing purchases, and tracking vehicle mileage.

So not only was Mautino a party to patronage hiring, he had no problem with them getting positions that they were not qualified to hold, much like himself in his current position. “Ghost rider, the pattern is clear”; Our laws have little value because our top public servants ignore them and we have no one holding them accountable in this Kingdom known as Illinois.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Mautino stated: “I was very selective in allowing my name to be used or giving a letter of reference for them. They had to fit the job.”  May we suggest comparing that quote to the actual report, which makes it clear these people did not fit the job they obtained, which points to Mautino not being honest.

Outside of 10 State Representatives that voted against the Mautino appointment, our General Assembly failed the citizens of this state.  Mautino, according to the report, had a clear involvement in patronage hiring practices. Add that to the ongoing case involving a check-cashing scheme with his campaign money you would think at some point a majority of our elected State Representatives would be demanding they take action to immediately remove Frank Mautino.  Not to mention this state does not need an Auditor General who violates our Freedom of Information laws and has now invoked his Fifth Amendment rights, as it appears his campaign spending habits may well be a criminal act, which is currently being investigated by the US Attorney’s office.

Mautino’s shaded past and current actions prove he will always operate in his best interest, not the best interest of the state.  Only in Illinois can we have an Auditor General that has pled the fifth as it relates to his campaign spending, admitted to violating the Freedom of Information Act by withholding public records, and now, being named in a Federal Report to the courts as an active participate to patronage hiring in this state.

Yes, only in Illinois could such a person keep their job.

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