For years, Chicago attorney Michael Shakman has kept an eye on the Illinois
Department of Transportation, which he says was filling jobs based on political
considerations.
Despite objections from the Quinn administration, a federal magistrate on
Wednesday ordered a monitor to oversee hiring at IDOT.
Shakman said the true scope of patronage at IDOT and elsewhere isn’t fully
known, and it probably will take a federally court-appointed monitor months to
uncover. Revelations – if any – are likely to come long after Election Day.
However, Shakman said patronage in state government has existed for several
administrations and should be viewed as separate from the coming election.
Critics alleged hundreds of hires were politically based during Gov. Rod
Blagojevich’s administration, while there have allegedly been roughly 500 such
hires under current Gov. Pat Quinn.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Oct/25/images/ads/current/webster_sda.png)
While exact numbers aren’t known, Shakman said political hiring has been used
for a “significant number,” employees and it will be part of the special
monitor’s duties to determine how many.
“This is a basic problem…. for several administrations,” he said. “It’s
shouldn’t be viewed as a partisan issue.”
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Oct/25/images/ads/current/graue_073014_revolving-ad.gif) In addition to being unfair to qualified job applicants, Shakman
said political hires are rarely efficient at their jobs, and having
them on the payroll is often a waste of tax dollars.
The move to appoint a special monitor comes after years of
crusading on Shakman’s part. He initially asked for a federal hiring
monitor to oversee IDOT in 2009 — a request that Quinn opposed.
The request gained momentum again last year when a Better Government
Association report revealed evidence of political hiring at IDOT.
In addition, a three-year investigation by the Office of the
Executive Inspector General that was published this year. It also
concluded hiring violations have been made by IDOT since 2003.
“This has been a long-term problem… particularly at IDOT,” Shakman
said. “The existing procedures aren’t working.”
Shakman is a longtime participant in the fight against patronage.
His court battles against the Cook County Democratic machine began
in the late 1960s and yielded the so-called Shakman decrees, which
are credited with greatly diminishing the scope of political hiring.
[This
article courtesy of
Watchdog.]
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