Four finalists remain in the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission’s search to replace retiring Auditor General William Holland.

The Commission has been actively searching for candidates since Holland announced his intent to retire. An LAC Search Subcommittee reviewed a total of 14 applications, conducted background checks, and last week interviewed seven candidates before narrowing to four finalists. The four candidates include:

Frank Mautino of Spring Valley. State Representative Mautino serves as Deputy Majority Leader in the Illinois House and chief negotiator on major legislative issues.

Mary Modelski, CIA, CISA, CGAP, of Walnut Creek, Calif. Modelski, a Hoffman Estates native, is a Division Chief for Internal Audit for Alameda County, California.

Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook. State Representative Nekritz is an Assistant Majority Leader in the Illinois House and an attorney. 

Attorney Larry Sanders of Marion. Sanders is the General Counsel of the Rend Lake Conservancy District. He served as senior partner of Sanders & Sanders, where he represented many southern Illinois school districts.

“The Auditor General serves as our partner in our effort to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in State government,” said LAC Co-Chair State Senator Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington). “This is why it’s so important that we find the best candidates for the positon.”

The Audit Commission will make its recommendation to the General Assembly from the remaining candidate pool. The Legislature has the final authority to choose the Auditor General and statute requires that the successful candidate be selected by a three-fifths majority vote in both the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate.

The Auditor General is a constitutional officer charged with the audit of public funds of the State. In addition, the Auditor General performs investigations and efficiency, management, and program audits at the direction of the Legislature or the Legislative Audit Commission. State law requires that each State agency be audited every two years.

“Our next Auditor General will have a tough act to follow, as current Auditor General Bill Holland has built an impeccable reputation as a steward of taxpayer dollars,” said LAC Co-Chair State Representative Bob Rita (D-Blue Island).

Bill Holland has served as Auditor General since 1992. In June he announced that he will retire on December 31, 2015. The Audit Commission announced the search for a replacement soon after via press release and also placed notices in several online publications to attract individuals with experience in auditing, accounting, administration, law, or state government. Ads ran in four daily newspapers and a total of 14 individuals applied for the position.

–Four finalists in running for Auditor General post–