Statement from governor's office about 'bad apples'

[JULY 1, 2006]  CHICAGO -- Statement from Abby Ottenhoff, spokeswoman for Gov. Blagojevich, on letter released Friday by Attorney General Madigan:

"When we came into office, we began to reform a system that was difficult to change. Under immense pressure to pad the payroll, we instead cut it by more than 13,000. With that said, we did have to hire people to help run state government. Among those we hired there were some bad apples who violated the rules. The systems we put in place in our first year helped ferret out this wrongdoing. We insisted on an independent inspector general for precisely this purpose. We've acted on those IG recommendations, up to and including termination, and, where appropriate, referred them to the U.S. attorney for criminal investigation. We will continue pursuing those who would break the rules."

[News release from the governor's office]