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The [Friday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Gov. Pat Quinn failed to rein in patronage abuses at the state transportation agency after replacing now-imprisoned Rod Blagojevich, and Quinn’s directors repeatedly hired politically connected workers in violation of the rules, the state’s top ethics investigator found,” the Tribune reports.
“Hundreds of people were hired into a special ‘staff assistant’ position without having to go through strict personnel procedures under rules designed to keep politics out of most state hiring, according to a confidential report by Executive Inspector General Ricardo Meza obtained by the Tribune.”
I wonder if Bruce Rauner will wear his Wranglers to his inauguration.


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“The duration and pervasiveness of IDOT’s improper acts have undoubtedly denied countless qualified candidates the opportunity to lawfully obtain state employment on the basis of merit,” the report said.
It would be like if a qualified candidate was denied admission to an elite high school because someone else’s daddy clouted in his kid instead. Only on a larger scale.
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“One of the transportation secretaries named in the report, Ann Schneider, resigned this summer following disclosures that her stepdaughter secured an IDOT job while she held a high-ranking agency post.”
There’s never an egg-timer around when you need one.
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“Schneider and predecessor Gary Hannig, also a Quinn appointee, both told investigators they were unaware that their agency was systematically going around hiring rules designed to keep politics out of most hiring decisions, and both said they didn’t have full knowledge of the rules, the report said.”
Oh, the Daley defense. Later they’ll simply not even remember working there.
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Look, anyone who isn’t familiar with the rules of hiring in government jobs in this state and city – or who doesn’t take the time to familiarize themselves – is either incompetent or just awoke from a lifelong coma.
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“Meza found no evidence that Quinn’s office knew about the abuses and further noted that investigators could not demonstrate ‘any clear intent’ by transportation officials to circumvent the so-called Rutan hiring rules that ban political considerations in most personnel matters.
“But the report found that IDOT officials under Quinn repeatedly used the ‘special assistant’ position to hire relatives and allies of politicians – from top Democratic leaders of the state General Assembly to county Democratic chairmen, from Chicago aldermen to members of Congress.”
Who’s being naive now, Meza?
Mirror, Mirror
“Rauner, Quinn Tag Each Other As Phony On Term Limits.”
Finally, both candidates tell the truth.
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The Week In Juvenile Justice
The outrage is in your face.
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* Manhattan Project Had More Than 1,500 Leaks.
* SNL Secrets: Hillary, Palin & The Sketch Obama Killed.
* Obama Violated The Law By Not Informing Congress Of Prisoner Swap.
And not for the first time. Nobody cares.
* Top Aide To Michigan Governor Claimed Two Home Tax Exemptions – One In Cook County.
* Redflex Lobbying Baltimore For Traffic Camera Contract.
LOL.
* CNN Falsely Calls Ferguson’s Captain Johnson A Gang Member For Fraternity Sign.
This is CNN.
* Judge Gives Illinois Man 5 Years For Throwing Courtroom Chair.
That must’ve been some chair.
* Bank of America’s $16 Billion Mortgage Settlement Less Painful Than It Looks.
“The American public is expecting the Justice Department to hold the banks accountable for its misdeeds in the mortgage meltdown,” said Phineas Baxandall, an analyst with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy organization. “But these tax write-offs shift the burden back onto taxpayers and send the wrong message by treating parts of the settlement as an ordinary business expense.”
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Posted on August 22, 2014