 A Senate panel on Wednesday approved
Senate Bill 1, which bars future holdover appointees and acting
appointees from serving without confirmation after 30 days.
Temporary appointees will be allowed to serve until the next meeting
of the Senate.Holdover appointees are those who have finished
their term but continue to serve until someone new has been
nominated.
State Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont,
considers the measure a way of "tightening up the procedures."
"Things have gotten a little bit sloppy about following the rules
-- where the governor appoints someone and (should) submit it in a
timely fashion for approval in the Senate," said Radogno, a
co-sponsor of the legislation.
Under the Illinois Constitution, the Senate must confirm all
gubernatorial appointees within 60 session days after it receives a
letter from the governor notifying it of the selection.
However, in previous administrations, the 60 days did not start
until after the appointment had been read on the Senate floor, said
state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon.
Some of Gov. Pat Quinn's previous appointees have been serving
for up to two years without confirmation. Illinois State Police
Director Jonathon Monken was appointed in March 2009 and was among
the appointments that were considered questionable after the new
General Assembly was seated last month.
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, called Monken's
designation "controversial" because of his lack of law enforcement
experience, but Cullerton said the Legislature didn't toss the
appointment since it was one of the first appointments Quinn made
after taking over the governorship from ousted former Gov. Rod
Blagojevich.
Monken continues to serve under a temporary appointment.
Cullerton said the move is not aimed at any specific
gubernatorial appointee but is more a matter of focusing on "the
process in the Senate."
"We don't have a problem with the governor. He's going to start
filling out his cabinet," said Cullerton, who is leading the reform
effort. "It's just that we need to have this bill passed as well --
to make sure it doesn't leave a loophole in the law."
Righter said he wants to avoid what happened during Blagojevich's
administration, when some nominations were never read into Senate
record and appointees were allowed to serve for an indefinite
period.
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"I'm not singling anyone out. I want the process to work as the
process is designed to work, and I think this bill is a step forward
to making sure that happens," Righter said.
A similar measure was passed in the Senate last year but failed
in the House. Righter said he hopes to see the Senate finally take
action.
"To the extent that there is pressure applied, I'm really OK with
that. We have a system in place, and if the governor is not going to
make sure that the Senate is allowed to play its constitutional role
in advice and consent, then the Senate needs to step up to the plate
and put a little bit more pressure on him," Righter said.
In conjunction with Senate Bill 1, Cullerton also is pushing an
initiative to increase transparency in the confirmation process.
The plan will replace the current method of notification with an
electronic filing system. Appointment messages will be considered
legislation and posted on the General Assembly website.
"Gov. Quinn has been advocating for transparency for all levels
of state government throughout his entire government career," said
Annie Thompson, a spokeswoman for the governor. "The boards and
commissions are not an exception."
Quinn is expected to finalize his appointments within the coming
month.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By MELISSA LEU]
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