Horses long gone, barn door finally closed
Thursday, Jan 18, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
The governor is proposing a new, computerized hiring system This one, unlike the last three, is supposed to guard against fraud.
The Blagojevich administration acknowledged Wednesday that clout could play a role in the hiring of some state workers.
Paul Campbell, director of the state’s main government services agency, said the state’s current hiring system allows for too much human intervention, which could lead to the hiring of people based on political connections.
“It’s not 100 percent blind now,†Campbell told reporters at a press conference in Chicago.
…And more:
Deputy Gov. Sheila Nix and Paul Campbell, director of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, unveiled details about the electronic, Web-based model the administration hopes to have in place by the end of this year. They said it would phase out a largely paper-based state hiring system that has come under fire for alleged abuses.
The proposed system would cover 49,527 jobs within the governor’s administration that under the U.S. Supreme Court’s “Rutan” decision, cannot be filled for political reasons, CMS spokesman Justin DeJong said. Job-seekers would submit applications via the Internet.
“If a legislator wants to recommend a constituent, all they can do is refer the constituent to a computer,” Nix said at a Chicago news conference. “(Applicants) can go through the process. It really removes any possibility of anyone weighing in on those Rutan-covered positions.”
Notice how they’re trying to pass blame to others, including legislators. The old systems were theirs, and they’re the ones who gamed it for their people. Anyway, the State Journal-Register editorializes in favor of the new program, calling it a “step in the right direction.”
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 9:50 am:
The reason we are seeing web-based computer systems is because it is the best way of doing work in the 21st Century. Every progressive organization, and even those unprogressive organizations have been doing this for over a decade. Big deal. It has nothing to do with corruption, or the elimination of it. The article makes these people look silly. I hope they really don’t believe what they have been quoted as saying.
The longer these people stay in office, the dumber they think voters are, don’t they?
- Cassandra - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 10:09 am:
So how is this supposed to change things?
Oh, the computer will be doing the hiring!
If we ever-gullible Illinois voters believe that, the Blago, Nix and pals must really be laughing.
- Willie Stark - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 10:58 am:
So, for the past four years, the Blagojevich administration ran rough-shot over the hiring practices at all of the Illinois’s state agencies.
Now they’ve dreamt up this gem, after they’ve screwed hundreds of qualified, honest, hardworking state employees out of their respective jobs. Plus they’ve created and given hundreds if not over a thousand jobs to individuals who are far from qualified.
In addition, now they are going to spend more of the taxpayers money to computerize the hiring process. Which I’m certain, they will find a way to manipulate to serve their underhanded purposes.
Doesn’t anyone care about the hundreds of individuals who got SCREWED by this administration?!?!?!?
The whole thing stinks and seems to be an admission of guilt…….
- Squideshi - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 11:02 am:
As I have said before, you really can’t trust anything this administration says, because they’ve gone back on their word in the past; and you can’t really verify anything either, because they just don’t comply with FOIA requests when they don’t want to. No one should be surprised.
- I.D.O.T. Bleachers - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 11:08 am:
Above the law and arrogance sum up this despicable administration.
Wake up ILLINOIS!
- He makes Ryan look like a saint!!! - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 11:18 am:
The system will work until the NAME is used. Once the name is used its over. Or there will be some code that will be imputed. They will find ways around it.
- Illinois Tollway Guy - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 11:27 am:
Computerized hiring system -
I hope it has at least these two questions:
1.) Do you think you would be able to find the restroom without to much difficulty?
2.) Have you ever operated a copier machine?
- DOWNSTATE - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 11:32 am:
Does this have anything to do with there is still investigations going on and a possibility of indictments?
- Anon. - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 12:25 pm:
Knowing the interview procedures as it relates to Rutan covered positions, I can tell you that this system is still flawed. What one doesn’t know that when you are interviewing for a state job, your application nor your resume can be taken into consideration. It is how you answer the interview questions. There are supposed to be two interviewers present for the interview process. The interviewers can only ask the question to the candidate. If the candidate falls short on answering the question, for example, a three part question is answered by the candidate in only two parts, the interviewer cannot “lead.” The candidate’s score is lowered because he/she didn’t answer the entire question. When the interviewer has their “eye” on someone, they “lead” meaning, they will tell the candidate “you answered the question on your experience with Excel and Access, but forgot to mention experience with PowerPoint.” The candidate is then allowed to expand and therefore, the entire question has been answered and their score is not lowered. Until there are honest agency interviewers, this process will continue to be a political playground. Why waste taxpayer dollars to hire a vendor for this new program - this is just a smoke screen.
- Gregor - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 12:46 pm:
But isn’t this all academic since we’re still in a governor-ordered hiring freeze, reducing those excess, wasteful, do-nothing government workers?
1. This does not excuse the horrendous abuses that have happened up till now, including this week’s story of the IDOT chief personally hiring a do-nothing traffic-signal watcher, the evasion of veteran’s preference rules, relocation of jobs and allocation of make-work placeholder jobs for party hacks and relatives of donors in DNR and elsewhere. The feds are coming for you still, Blago, and they are not bringing birthday cards for Amy. Why you didn’t can or at least censure Martin this week for his latest stunt is beyond comprehension.
2.Faith in the all-knowing, incorruptible and mysterious computer is misplaced. Electronic voting machine fraud, anyone? If the same hacks administrate the new system, all it does is hide the paper trail a little better, and give administration people a disembodied shill to point to if questioned. Moreover, the contracting for creating the system will itself undoubtedly be rigged to favor Blago contributors, mark my words.
3. Let’s have the computer cross-reference applicant names to IBOE donor lists and disqualify any applicants that think they can buy a job.
4. What about the existing job posting web-based systems run by Department of Employment Security? Why isn’t that being used? It currently (supposedly) does much of what the newly-promised system does.
All in all, the sentiment for this effort is right, but the reasons it is being implemented have little to do with honesty or integrity or ethics, and thepeople implementing it are the LAST ones we should trust to do it right.
- Jackie Treehorn - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 1:06 pm:
Wonder how all of Blago’s high priced hacks would fair on this new computer system?
Oh! I forgot who’s running it.
- Lovie's Leather - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 1:10 pm:
“But the computer systems will be much more efficient at hiring… we can cross-match your file with your voting record… It says here that you picked up democratic ballots for the last 30 years… oh you picked up a republican ballot in 1976, I am sorry, there is just no position for you here….”
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 1:11 pm:
Any bets on who gets the contract to develop the fancy whiz-bang computer system? Bet it rhymes with “Schmeloiite.”
- Properly Greased - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 1:53 pm:
Ah yes, “Our Brave New World”……
The mighty computer will solve all our problems, especially corruption and no ethics.
Blago better hurry up and sell Illinois while it’s still worth something.
- independent downstater - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 2:51 pm:
Hee Hee
- Year of minefields and trapdoors - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 4:25 pm:
To: Illinois Tollway Guy
Add one more question, “If you were instructed to march off a cliff, would you?”
- cermak_rd - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 5:13 pm:
No, I don’t feel much pity for the hundreds of people screwed out of their jobs. Just look at the Maytag employees, the Lucent employees, the Motorola employees in the early 2ks… Plenty of people lose their job for reasons having nothing to do with performance, I don’t see why state employees should be sacrosanct.
On the other hand, unless the computer is going to process the resumes, conduct the interviews and determine whether to hire or not, this solution is a non-solution. Now, they could make the computer only deliver resumes that match the qualifications for the job to the hiring folks, but even that would quickly be gamed as insiders would tell their friends the secret words needed on the resumes.
Perhaps a cleaning of the house at the middle and upper manager levels, hiring in their place only honest, clean people? Unfortunately Diogenes is still looking for 1 such person in IL, so I can’t imagine finding enough to staff the IL state gov.
- One_Mcmad - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 5:41 pm:
So the Governor’s office is in the mood for admissions.
That’s a good start but there is a lot more admitting to do on the part of the Office of the Governor
- Huh? - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 6:33 pm:
Was the computer system developed by in-house staff or was it done by consultant? If done by a consultant, how much was the contranct worth and how much did the consultant contribute to public official a? Regardless of who wrote the software, how rigerious was the testing?
- Anon - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 7:54 pm:
When interviewing for promotions with the state:
Experience/applications/resumes do not count. Only the 20 minute interview process counts.
When interviewing for technical positions, years ago the bosses in the departments involved were allowed to sit on panels and give input. Now only admin managers and political appointees sit on the panels. Yes the old ways could lead to abuses. Tell us how the new ways are better. Name one “real business” that would determine promotions in this manner. Anyone can look good in a 20 minute interview. Far fewer can actually do the job. Yet the process is called “blind”, and therefore politically correct.
- Holdingontomywallet - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 8:19 pm:
More smoke and mirrors. They trot another idea in front of the media without any details. They hope “average Joe” will think they are cleaning things up and sad to say, they are probably right.
- Willie Stark - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 8:53 pm:
To: cermak_rd - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 5:13 pm:
Most, if not all Maytag, Lucent and Motorola employees were given sweet severance packages, buyout packages and had farewell parties thrown for them. They left there place of employment with dignity and a financial cushion.
Whereas, when the state employees were told they were gone,they were further humiliated by being
escorted out of their respective state facilities like they were criminals.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 9:37 pm:
Lots of people commenting here today who: 1) didn’t read the articles; and 2) don’t know a thing about the state’s personnel code
- IDOT Engineer - Thursday, Jan 18, 07 @ 9:56 pm:
Gregor is correct in that the “hiring freeze” is key. It makes no difference what sort of scheme is concocted. So long as every cabinet agency hire must be approved individually by the Governor’s Office, the abuses will continue to occur, and could even get worse. Our experience has been that the most egregious hiring transactions are those which originate or are directed from downtown, not at the Hanley Building on Dirksen Parkway. Although no one has any illusions about Tim Martin’s integrity (or lack thereof), many of us believe there might be a chance for competent people to be hired or promoted at IDOT if all hires were not micromanaged by the pencil necks downtown.
- Disgusted - Friday, Jan 19, 07 @ 12:24 am:
This new program changes nothing. The job descriptions will still be written to qualify the person they want to hire. The new employees orientation classes in Spfld and Chgo are full all the time and there is a freeze? Also, agency directors are doing personnel interviews when the agencies they run have nothing to do with personnel matters. So guess what happens to people from these agencies when they apply for the listed jobs? - they go to the bottom of the pile because the interviewers don’t want to have to replace their own people. So much for equal opportunity for advancement. It doesn’t matter what the political persuasion, crooked is as crooked does.
- Tessa - Friday, Jan 19, 07 @ 6:01 am:
This sounds nice, but in the end, each hire still ends up going through the Gov’s office. The hiring freeze hasn’t been lifted and he has final say on each hire that takes place. So no computer system is going to change the simple fact that the Gov’s office is making the final decision on the hiring of state employees. In order to get permission to hire staff, each local agency/center has to get permission by submitting an e-par to CMS, and after that is approved, then they can post for the position. After the posting comes down and people have applied for the position, then they can interview people or hire from the list of approved candidates, but every hire goes through the big guys office. Hires can take months. It’s truly ridiculous how many months go by before an empty position is filled.
- Diego - Friday, Jan 19, 07 @ 7:50 am:
Tessa and Anon 12:25 are dead on.
The article also says they “hope to have the program in place by the end of the year.” To these guys that’s long range planning. Its just a headline…. It’ll never happen and, if it does, it won’t work.