* The Liberty Justice Center outlined the civil case against the campaign committee of former state Rep. and current Auditor General Frank Mautino…
1) Mautino’s campaign committee made more than $225,000 in payments to Happy’s Super Service Station in Spring Valley, Ill. between 1999 and 2015. These payments were for gas and repairs of vehicles privately owned by Mautino’s family and friends. Direct payments for gas and repairs of privately owned vehicles by campaign committees are illegal under Illinois law. Individuals who use privately owned vehicles for campaign purposes may only be reimbursed based on actual mileage.
2) Mautino’s campaign committee reported that it also made nearly $200,000 in “expenditures” to Spring Valley City Bank, but the committee’s former treasurer has admitted these actually were cash withdrawals from the committee’s checking account that were spent elsewhere. The campaign committee never reported which vendors or individuals actually received the money.
The Center has been involved in the case (Cooke v. Illinois State Board of Elections) since 2016. Mautino’s campaign committee appealed an adverse appellate court ruling and the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on it today.
* The Court limited its ruling to decreeing that campaign committees must only reimburse for mileage…
By its plain language, section 9-8.10(a)(9) does not permit committees to make expenditures for gas and repairs to vehicles that are not owned or leased by the committee. For such vehicles, a committee may only make expenditures for actual mileage reimbursement. Because the Committee made expenditures for gas and repairs for vehicles it neither owned nor leased, the Committee violated section 9- 8.10(a)(9), and the Board’s finding to the contrary was clearly erroneous and is reversed. … In light of our conclusion that the Committee violated section 9-8.10(a)(9), we remand the cause to the Board for a determination of whether the Committee’s violation thereof was knowing pursuant to section 9-8.10(b).
However, the campaign says it has a letter from the Illinois State Board of Elections informing it that the gas and repair payments were permissible. It would be tough for the Board to now say the committee knowingly violated the law.
* Section 9-8.10(a)(2) of the state elections law prohibits a political committee from making any expenditures “Clearly in excess of the fair market value of the services, materials, facilities, or other things of value received in exchange.” But the Supremes ruled today that Mautino’s accusers could not provide any facts or documentation to prove their allegations about the gas station and the bank…
Section 9-8.10(a)(2) regulates only the amount or price of an expenditure. Based on insufficient evidence, Cooke did not demonstrate that the Committee violated section 9-8.10(a)(2). Therefore, we affirm the Board’s decision declining to find a violation of section 9-8.10(a)(2).
They also dismissed the specific fair market value argument, so click here to read the rest.
Anyway, this looks like a win for Mautino.
…Adding… From Mautino…
“We are pleased with the decision today by the Illinois Supreme Court and look forward to finalizing the matter.”
- Just Me 2 - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 10:48 am:
Cash withdrawals, eh? Sounds like walking around money. Nothing to see here, move along please.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 10:50 am:
=== Anyway, this looks like a win for Mautino and the second loss of the day for the Illinois Policy Institute.===
Boy, someone needs to do a wellness check on Grant Wehrli too…
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 10:53 am:
=== Sounds like walking around money===
Legal.
- JS Mill - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 11:07 am:
=Boy, someone needs to do a wellness check on Grant Wehrli too…=
Thanks everybody, OW will be here all week, don’t forget to tip your waitress (banned punctuation).”
Priceless OW, glad I wasn’t drinking coffee when I read that.
To the post- the liberty patriot freedom ‘merica justice league (did I forget any jingoistic terms?) and the IPI are quite the losing combo these days. Can we take a short position on them or is that too obvious?
- Just Me 2 - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 11:37 am:
===Legal.===
So is a secretly drawn gerrymandered map using sophisticated software and advanced data analytics where politicians literally chose their voters. Totally legal.
- Annonin' - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 11:49 am:
Mr/Ms JustMe2
Just a quick reminder. State and Federal Courts will require the remap plan comply with the state and federal Voting Rights Act. The mish mash you refer to does not play a role here.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 11:55 am:
===State and Federal Courts will require the remap plan comply with the state and federal Voting Rights Act.===
If Dems wanted to push back on the maps, asking if the Raunerites agree with following the VRA would be a great place to start… in all the “searching for” fodder, the discussion to drawing a map that meets the legal parameters is lost.
- Pot calling kettle - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 12:44 pm:
==But the Supremes ruled today that Mautino’s accusers could not provide any facts or documentation to prove their allegations about the gas station and the bank==
At the time this whole thing started, I found it interesting that Cooke, et. al., waited until Mautino’s committee had been dissolved, the office cleared, and, presumably, all but the most recent records disposed of. They came in with claims of mis-spent money that could be neither proved nor disproved due to a lack of records. (The committee’s finance reports had been filed and publicly posted following the same procedures for decades, and the Rauner folks had gone over those records with a fine-toothed comb in 2014 and said nothing during that very close (and nasty) race.)
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 12:47 pm:
=== using sophisticated software and advanced data analytics===
While I appreciate where this is coming from, the GOP tried to design the Census in such a fashion to limit participation from populations they felt would result in a count that was more beneficial to democratic representation.
You should also take a gander at what happened with districts in other states in 2012. It’s difficult to take pearl clutching from the GOP on this issue seriously, especially since their strategy here is to delay until there is a literal coin flip so that they have a 50/50 chance of gerrymandering the map to try create a map with as may districts favoring the GOP as possible.
The GOP is just grumpy they’re not getting to draw the maps they want in Illinois. Lets not pretend it comes from a place of some deep attachment to the spirit of Democracy.
They can’t even denounce the 01/06 insurrection as an attack on our democratic process or treat their members who voted against legitimate and legal election results as the seditious muppets they are.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 1:31 pm:
Aw. This is… fun?
“@GrantWehrli - Somebody say Mautino?
Illinois Supreme Court affirms that our now State Auditor misspent $250,000 worth of campaign funds. #SoIllinois”
Wehrli has lots of time to tweet. Losing your seat that held in it the town your family incorporated… lots and lots of time to tweet.
Fact is… Mautino is still Auditor, Wehrli is still outside looking in.
- n-t-c - Thursday, May 20, 21 @ 2:29 pm:
=== You should also take a gander at what happened ===
=== with districts in other states in 2012. It’s ===
=== difficult to take pearl clutching from the GOP on ===
=== this issue seriously, […] The GOP is just ===
=== grumpy they’re not getting to draw the maps they ===
=== want in Illinois. ===
The notion that Illinois Dems should unilaterally disarm and give up map-drawing authority to an independent commission is ridiculous. On the other hand, if the Republicans were willing to agree to a nationwide compact where independent commissions will draw the maps in all states, that might make sense. But it will never happen because the Republicans would be giving up control over more maps.