By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network
STREATOR – It’s been David vs. Goliath in the case of Streator resident David Cooke vs. Auditor General Frank Mautino.
Cooke’s complaint regarding questionable campaign expenses when Mautino was a state lawmaker was found to have merit. The Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE) denied Mautino’s motion to put the case on hold. With the next phase giving him subpoena power, Cooke requested a 30-day extension to respond to Mautino’s second request to put the public hearing on hold.
“I need to at least try to get legal help, so it’s not this huge law firm against, basically, a lay citizen,” Cooke said. “I’m not an attorney.”
Mautino is represented by Hinshaw and Culbertson, which employs 525 attorneys in 25 offices around the globe.
Questions linger about campaign expenses from when Mautino was a state lawmaker.
The elections board will take up Cooke’s extension request Monday, as well as another request from Mautino to stay the looming public hearing.
While there is a federal criminal investigation into the matter, Cooke said people are under the impression that the state elections board is also investigating.
“That is absolutely not true,” Cooke said.
“There’s no state resources going toward this investigation,” Cooke said. “It’s all on my dime.”
State Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, said the state elections board should be doing more.
“They should be investigating this because this case smells bad, and they know it,” Ives said.
ISBE General Counsel Ken Menzel confirmed that there is no elections board probe underway.
