 Quinn'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."
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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]
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