The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has not sent a criminal
case to Madigan's office for two years, according to a Chicago
Tribune story, which cited interviews, state records and memos. By
contrast, in 2003, the IEPA sent nearly 30 cases to the attorney
general's office.
The report said members of the ousted governor's administration
refused to work with Madigan's office due to political feuding.
IEPA director Doug Scott, who was appointed by Blagojevich in
2005 and kept in the position by Gov. Pat Quinn, acknowledged the
lack of criminal complaints.
"There were some issues between us and the attorney general, and
that skewed those numbers," Scott said.
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But he said many cases have been improved without formal
enforcement action with the attorney general's office, saying his
agency is required to conduct informal negotiations with polluters.
Through a spokeswoman, Madigan said Sunday the lack of referrals
made it difficult for her office to "protect public health and the
environment."
"We need an IEPA that is diligent and proactive and works with us
to fully enforce the law," she said. "Unfortunately, for the last
several years, IEPA hit a record low in the number of environmental
enforcement cases that the agency referred to us for prosecution,
including referring zero cases involving criminal violations of the
law."
A message left for a Blagojevich publicist Sunday was not
immediately returned.
Blagojevich, who was arrested Dec. 9, faces federal charges,
including allegations he schemed to profit from President Barack
Obama's former U.S. Senate seat and tried to extort campaign money
from companies seeking state business. He has denied any wrongdoing
related to the charges.
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Quinn became governor in January after Blagojevich was impeached and
removed from office.
On Sunday, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes called on Quinn to fire
the IEPA director in light of the Tribune report.
Hynes, who is making a bid for governor, said the story
illustrates "political feuds that forestalled environmental damage
investigations."
In a statement, Hynes said the Tribune report "reminds us all
that the Blagojevich culture of politically driven decisions still
has a foothold in Pat Quinn's administration, and Illinois families
are the clear victim."
Quinn spokeswoman Marlena Jentz said Quinn has no plans to fire
Scott.
At a Sunday news conference on drinking water contamination
legislation, Quinn, who has indicated he will run for a full term,
praised Scott, saying the director has done an "outstanding job."
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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redistributed.
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