Ashby’s state contract suspended
Thursday, Jan 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the LETSB…
The Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board entered into a contract with Forrest Ashby on September 9, 2019 to perform consulting services related to revisions of correctional officer training protocols. Upon learning of media accounts related to his prior employment and due to the seriousness of allegations, the Board moved to suspended Mr. Ashby’s contract today, January 8, 2020 pending an independent investigation. Mr. Ashby was engaged because of his prior work and expertise in the corrections field.
Ashby is the guy whose job Mike McClain was trying to save in that now-infamous email to two top Pat Quinn executives. He has a $40 an hour contract with LETSB.
* A bit of LETSB history…
The brother of a former state representative was chosen Thursday as the next executive director of the state’s police training board, amid allegations that political influence drove the choice.
Kevin McClain, 58, of Springfield, who was named to replace Thomas Jurkanin at the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, said he believes the board selected him because of his qualifications. McClain, now chief attorney for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, previously did legal work part-time for the training board. […]
McClain’s brother, Michael McClain of Quincy, was a Democratic member of the Illinois House from 1972 to 1983 and now is a lawyer and lobbyist. Michael McClain said he did ask lawmakers and others to contact board members on behalf of his brother, though he said Kevin McClain did not ask for such help. […]
Ted Street, state president of the Fraternal Order of Police and a training board member, said Tim Mapes, chief of staff to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, called to ask about the appointment process. Mapes appeared to be promoting Kevin McClain, Street said. Street voted against McClain Thursday.
Kevin McClain was eventually replaced in 2015 by Brent Fischer, who had been sheriff of Adams County for 17 years. Quincy is the county seat.
So, it’s no surprise that Ashby, also a Quincy resident, landed there.
* From the original WBEZ story…
Ashby began working for the state in 1987. During a more than 30-year career, he bounced around from the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs to the prison system and then back to the Department of Corrections. When he retired in January 2018, his final, annual salary was $87,528.
Two months after leaving state government, Ashby landed on the Pritzker’s campaign payroll, records show. He was paid at total of $47,500.
A Pritzker campaign spokesman told WBEZ that Ashby was hired to do “faith-based outreach” downstate.
“Mr. Ashby expressed interest in working for the campaign and was recommended to the campaign by Mike McClain and faith leaders across central and southern Illinois,” Pritzker campaign spokesman Quentin Fulks said. “Mr. Ashby had a resume that the campaign would have hired without this recommendation and he went through the same vetting procedure as every other staff member.” […]
“The campaign was not aware of this email from 2012, which is nearly five years before the campaign even began, and we would have had no way to discover this email,” Fulks said. “We were only made aware of this email as a part of [a] series of questions from WBEZ.”
According to the story, Ashby also works for a church in Quincy.
- John Lee Pettimore, III - Thursday, Jan 9, 20 @ 12:16 pm:
Wow, Forrest Ashby must be one heck of a precinct captain in Quincy for him to be the recipient of such favors by Mike McClain.
- LakeviewJ - Thursday, Jan 9, 20 @ 12:46 pm:
It’s always seemed a little hinky that ILETSB is a state agency that hires a contract lobbyist.
- Ben Gazzara - Thursday, Jan 9, 20 @ 1:16 pm:
Of course he works for a church.
- PRH - Thursday, Jan 9, 20 @ 1:34 pm:
Looks like the Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board “belongs” (to use the old patronage parlance) to the Quincy crew. They kept the director’s job through both Democratic and Republican administrations.
And it’s interesting that the Ashby training contract was just issued in September, well after McClain was supposedly blacklisted from having any influence in the Pritzker administration: https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2019/12/16/21020860/madigan-mike-mcclain-blacklisted-jb-pritzker-lobbyist-comed-anne-caprara
To be fair to the administration, it’s likely that the LETSB isn’t clearing contracts with anyone on the 2nd Floor, so I doubt they knew a McClain pal was getting this deal.
That said, are there any additional FOIA requests of McClain emails pending in the governor’s office? Because the two that have been published so far have made for fascinating reading.
- Cheswick - Thursday, Jan 9, 20 @ 2:31 pm:
the ARDC is showing Kevin’s Law license address at the LETSB as of today.
- As the state turns - Thursday, Jan 9, 20 @ 3:53 pm:
This is the same Forrest Ashby that was hauling porta potties from one political event to another for then Senate President Pate Phillips in the late 90’s. Obviously he learned how to keep one hand in each parties pot so to speak. No pun intended…well maybe a little