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Monday, June 05, 2006

Law - "Before" and "After" charts of Illinois state hiring practices

The Chicago Sun-Times offers another fascinating look today at Illinois Gov. Blagojevich’s hiring practices, before and after a federal hiring probe was initiated. Some quotes:

Shortly after federal investigators launched a probe into Gov. Blagojevich's hiring practices, his administration overhauled the way it awards state jobs, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

The changes, detailed in documents obtained by the newspaper, drastically scaled back the hiring duties of the governor's personnel office and chief of staff. They took effect in January of this year -- about two months after the feds peppered the governor's office and three state agencies with subpoenas for job placement records.

Disclosure of the changes comes as Blagojevich fights accusations that job candidates' political connections, not their qualifications, played roles in hiring decisions in possible violation of the law. No one in the governor's office has been charged with any crime, and the feds have declined to comment about the hiring probe.

Recall this ILB entry from May 18th, also quoting the Sun-Times, which reported that:
At his first press conference as governor, Rod Blagojevich announced he was bringing in a clout-busting lawyer to help take politics out of state hiring.

But now the governor doesn't want her talking about what she did.

His lawyers are keeping attorney Mary Lee Leahy from answering questions about whether 17 state employees were bounced in 2004 because of their political ties. * * *

Blagojevich trumpeted Leahy's role with his administration in January 2003. A press release described her as "renowned for her work specializing in ethics and personnel issues" and said she was under contract "to revise state hiring rules and to find unnecessary and unqualified personnel."

Leahy was the lead attorney in the historic Rutan decision of the early 1990s that clamped down on state patronage. The decision established a small percentage of state jobs in which politics can factor into hiring decisions -- especially for high-level administrative posts -- but made most jobs immune from political influence.

Today's story includes links and summaries to the "before" and "after" hiring charts:
HOW HIRING WORKED

Flow charts obtained by the Sun-Times and verified by Gov. Blagojevich’s office detail his hiring system and changes to it. The following are summaries:

Original system (October 2003)

  • Job request made.
  • Request reviewed by governor’s personnel office, a Blagojevich deputy chief of staff and governor’s budget office.
  • “Personnel Action Request” (PAR) committee discusses request behind closed doors at weekly meeting.
  • If approved, governor’s office reviews job posting.
  • If approved, governor’s personnel office posts job and enters candidate information.
  • Governor’s chief of staff performs “final review of transaction, candidate and salary.” Candidate’s name to be “hidden” if job is protected by Rutan court decree.
  • Job offered.
Click here to view the original chart

Revised system (Jan. 9, 2006)

  • Job request made; agency director reviews to see if position is Rutan protected.
  • Request reviewed by a Blagojevich deputy chief of staff and budget office. (Governor’s personnel office no longer reviews request. PAR committee review discontinued, according to governor’s office.)
  • If approved, agency’s personnel office (not the governor’s) posts job and enters candidate information.
  • Governor’s chief of staff performs final review of candidate only if position is Rutan exempt. Otherwise, review is performed by budget office.
  • Job offered.
Click here to view the revised chart

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 5, 2006 07:54 AM
Posted to General Law Related