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Sunday, November 13, 2005
Law - Illinois Governor faces merit hiring questions
Kentucky has an ongoing investigation into alleged merit hiring violations by its Governor (see most recent ILB entry here from 11/11/05). Chicago has "a long-standing court decree restricting patronage hiring at City Hall" (see ILB entry here).
Today the Chicago Tribune has an investigative report about the Illinois' Governor's hiring practices, headlined "Questions mount on state hiring." It begins:
On his first full day as Illinois' new governor, Rod Blagojevich dramatically displayed his reform agenda by firing dozens of his predecessor's allies and ordering a freeze on state hiring."I intend to use every power I have and my discretion as governor to eliminate unqualified, unnecessary and overpaid individuals wherever I find them in state government," the Democrat declared in January 2003.
The symbolism of Executive Order 1 was an electric way of telling Illinois voters that the cronyism associated with Republican George Ryan was over. But the job freeze had another effect: concentrating personnel decisions within Blagojevich's office, which has to sign off on agency hires and promotions.
Now, a federal criminal grand jury probe, at least two investigations by Blagojevich's inspector general and a host of complaints by ex-state workers are raising questions about the governor's vow that qualifications, not politics, determine who gets a state job.
A Tribune examination of job placements in agencies that have been under investigation found a system that has allowed the Democratic governor's allies to secure high-paying, high profile positions despite questionable experience. * * *
Blagojevich's hiring system has resulted in at least three men with no law-enforcement experience--a factory supervisor, a car-parts manager and a farmer--getting jobs as assistant prison wardens. In one case, a former Blagojevich campaign worker with a history of drunken driving arrests even got a job in traffic safety. * * *
Since at least March, federal prosecutors have been conducting an investigation into alleged hiring irregularities involving two top Blagojevich hiring officials and a top personnel officer at the state's child-welfare agency, documents reviewed by the Tribune show.
Prosecutors also have used subpoenas to demand hiring records from the Departments of Children and Family Services, Transportation and Corrections and from the governor's office, dating to March 2002, when Blagojevich won the Democratic primary for governor.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 13, 2005 12:28 PM
Posted to General Law Related