Tuesday, August 24, 2010
 
sponsored by

Quinn's chief of staff resigns amid probe

Send a link to a friend

[August 24, 2010]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Gov. Pat Quinn announced that he was replacing his office watchdog the same day this month that he was briefed about an ethics probe of a senior aide who then quit this weekend.

InsuranceQuinn's office denied Monday that the decision not to reappoint James Wright as executive inspector general was in retaliation for Wright's investigation of Jerry Stermer, former chief of staff for the governor.

Stermer resigned Sunday after a probe of his admission that he had "inadvertently" used his state e-mail account to send three messages, including to Quinn's campaign, that he said Wright determined were prohibited under state ethics rules.

Quinn had announced that he was replacing Wright on Aug. 13, the same day Quinn's office said the governor was briefed on Wright's report and recommendations involving Stermer.

The governor's office said it had been looking for a new executive inspector general since last summer and recently named former federal prosecutor Ricardo Meza to the post.

"The replacement was not in response to this or any other specific (Office of Executive Inspector General) report, and these events are in no way connected," the governor's office said in a statement.

Wright was a holdover inherited from the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich when Quinn took over as governor in January 2009. Quinn's office said Wright's term expired in 2008, although he was still on the job.

Quinn's Republican opponent for governor, state Sen. Bill Brady, was quick to pounce.

"Today's revelation suggests that on the very day Pat Quinn was confronted with evidence by the inspector general of an ethics violation, Pat Quinn put his political interests before citizens yet again and fired the inspector general himself," Brady campaign manager Jerry Clarke said in a statement. "This disturbing report leads to a myriad of questions that the citizens of Illinois deserve to have answered."

[to top of second column]

A confidential report written by Wright and obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times said Stermer e-mailed Quinn's campaign and engaged in "prohibited political activity."

In one e-mail, Stermer responded to Quinn's former campaign media firm about a pre-emptive response to Quinn's Democratic primary rival Dan Hynes that Quinn was a "tax and spender," according to the Sun-Times.

Wright encouraged the Illinois attorney general to file a complaint against Stermer before the state Executive Ethics Commission, according to the report.

Wright's office refused to comment on the report Monday, but he issued a statement saying he was uncertain about why Quinn replaced him.

"It is unfortunate, however, that Quinn referred to putting 'his own' person in this very important nonpolitical position. To say that necessarily calls into question the independence of the office," said Wright, whose last official day is Sept. 3.

Stermer said he quit to avoid being a distraction for Quinn.

"I am holding myself accountable for a mistake I alone made," he said in a statement. "I do not want to be a distraction for the governor, the work of his administration and -- most importantly -- for the people of Illinois."

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor