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Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
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Federal investigation is ongoing Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino cooperating with federal authorities By Terri Simon tsimon@bcrnews.com
SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. Attorney’s Office is investigating the campaign spending of Frank Mautino, formerly an Illinois Representative from Spring Valley who was appointed Illinois’ auditor general in 2015. Media, some public officials and at least one private citizen around the state are calling into question money
Mautino spent, primarily from his campaign committee dubbed, “Committee for Frank J. Mautino.” Also in question are campaign donations Mautino allegedly received and spent during his transition from Illinois Representative to Illinois Auditor General. The investigation focuses on campaign spending of more than $200,000 to a service station in Spring Valley throughout a period of more
than 10 years. Most of the expenses to this service station were listed as gasoline/ camp. (campaign) vehicle repair and were drawn on the Committee for Frank J. Mautino account. The federal investigation is coupled with another inquiry on the same issue by the Illinois State Board of Elections. The Illinois State Board of Elections’ initial inquiry has now been narrowed to include just the
$200,000 to the Spring Valley service station and other expenses paid to a Spring Valley bank. “They were initially looking at a number of issues, but now they have narrowed it to two,” said Ryan Keith, a spokesperson for Mautino. “They’ve asked for more clarity, and Frank has until July 1 to produce that verification, which he is working on now.” The Illinois State Board of
Elections does not outline what campaign donations can be used for, however, it does list a variety of items that can’t be paid for by campaign funds. Primarily, the issue in question is: Did Mautino appropriately spend campaign contributions, and were those contributions reported in a correct manner? Keith confirmed the federal investigation and said
Mautino is cooperating fully, however since it is an ongoing investigation, he was unable to comment further. The Illinois Times newspaper, Springfield, reported a federal grand jury issued subpoenas to some of Mautino’s former campaign workers. Calls for verification from the Bureau County Republican to the U.S. Attorney’s office were not returned.
Investigation Page 3
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BCR photo/Eric Engel
rinceton Police Investigator John Shofner (from left), P Operations Lt. Scott Underwood and Chief Tom Root are three Princeton Police officers who have enjoyed riding motorcycles since they were young.
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Respecting the ride
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Experienced motorcyclists share safety information By Eric Engel eengel@bcrnews.com
Red, sweet and yummy ...
BCR photo/Lyle Ganther
Telly Sanders (left), 4, and his brother, Fox Sanders, 6, of Tiskilwa enjoy some fresh strawberries at Saturday’s Strawberry and Art Festival in Tiskilwa held on the grounds of the Museum on Main. Children could also color or have their face painted. Artisans also displayed their works.
PRINCETON — As the calendar pages bring us to summer, motorcycle riders are out in full force. Two riders who have spent 50 years spinning their tires shared their enthusiasm for riding and their safety advice for all motorists on the road, whether using two wheels or four. Princeton Police Department investigator John Shofner jumped on a little Honda C100 when he was 10 years old and ripped across the dirty surface of the earth around Wyanet. By the time he
was 16, he was racing short tracks, half-mile tracks and scramble tracks all across the state, learning from an ex-professional dirt track rider form Peoria. “Dirt track racing back then was bigger than motocross, and if you didn’t get first or second in a heat you, just didn’t make the main race,” Shofner said, stating there would be heats of 10 riders with 40 or 50 total racers competing. “I moved up from small bikes to bigger bikes — which I feel is the right way to do it — and there were a lot of very good guys who raced motorcycles in this area.”
Ride Page 4
A temporary fix
eengel@bcrnews.com
On May 12, Illinois State Rep. David Leitch (R-Peo-
ria) supported legislation to provide $700 million in emergency stopgap funding to human services agencies in Illinois suffering from the
effects of the lacking Fiscal Year 2016 state budget. According to a press release, SB 2038 overwhelmingly passed the Illinois
House on May 12. The Senate bill provides a dedicated emergency funding source, mostly from the Commitment to Human Services
Year XX No. XX One Section - XX Pages
(815) 915-8748 © Bureau County Republican
Fund — which contains unspent money — that was set up as part of the temporary income tax hike in 2010. The approximately $700
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Emergency stopgap funding will help state agencies ... but only temporarily By Eric Engel
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million in funding will be directed to human services programs that are
Funding Page 4
Economical lab services and diagnostic testing, including digital x-rays, are also offered on-site. These services are available to anyone, regardless of your doctor’s practice or hospital affiliation.
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