One of the administrative charges against former CMS personnel chief Dawn DeFraties and her assistant Michael Casey is that they sped up the applications process for people with political connections. There does seem to be evidence for that, even if their attorney denies it…
Some state job applications were handled speedily while others waited months to be processed, a witness said Tuesday in a hearing for two state workers who were fired after being accused of rigging the hiring process.
However…
But the same witness, Don Motley of the Department of Central Management Services, testified under cross-examination that there’s no rule specifying the order in which applications must be recorded after they’ve been evaluated. […]
In fact, he said, it’s common for applications for some jobs to be graded and recorded immediately when an agency wants to hire someone for that position.
So, one of the reasons they were fired was for breaking a rule that doesn’t exist and for doing something that is apparently common practice. Perfect. [Emphasis added]
Then there’s this…
Attorneys for the state also questioned Motley about more than 180 job applications that they contend were never entered into the computer system at all. Among the charges against DeFraties and Casey is that when a connected applicant failed an employment test, the information was not put into the system.
Motley said he searched state computers for the names provided by attorneys for the state but found no evidence that information for them was entered.
But…
[DeFraties/Casey attorney Carl] Draper argued that the method Motley used to search for the applications was vulnerable to error.
Without the details, I can’t tell you which side is more credible here. But if Draper can show that the search was, indeed, in error, then woe is the state’s case.
Meanwhile…
The state’s executive inspector general says he supports publicly releasing some of his findings, something the law currently doesn’t allow. […]
Under current law, the office cannot disclose information from its files and reports. The office investigates complaints of fraud, waste, abuse and misconduct by employees in agencies under Governor Rod Blagojevich’s control. […]
In the annual report, the inspector general’s office said it found evidence to back up 64 complaints out of the 1,278 it received. The office also referred six cases to federal prosecutors for possible legal action.
Also, at least 13 state employees resigned, were discharged or are in the process of being fired.
* More here and here.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 9:06 am:
Blagojevich has had over four years to work this out. What is the purpose of the Office of Inspector General when they do their work? How are they supposed to report their procedures? It seems that we have discovered that even after four years, this hasn’t been thought through. Why?
Frankly, the information released to the public yesterday is damn useless. It does not meet the spirit or intentions behind the creation of this office. What good is it? This is reform?
There is a way to protect the privacy of those who have been investigated and cleared. There is also a way to protect the privacy of those who have been investigated and fired. Has anyone over there tried to do this?
What we have now is the worst of both world. We get meaningless numbers that leave more questions unanswered than before. Four years later, and Rod Blagojevich’s much touted office for reform comes across half-baked, poorly executed, sloppy and deliberately misleading.
Fix it or get rid of it!
- Why hide anything - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 9:28 am:
Just open it all up, investigations, audits, reports, if it is not unfounded by the investigator, this is government we are talking about.
- Cassandra - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 10:16 am:
This seems like an awfully low rate of substantiated reports. Maybe the EIG’s office is another state agency which is performing minimal screening in order to justify the maxiumum number of patronage jobs at the EIG. If that is the case, a number of state employees and agencies are undergoing unnecessary investigations, which are by their nature disruptive and expensive.
We need more information on national rates of substantiation by EIG’s or similar investigative bodies. That will give us a better idea of whether the EIG should be investigated. Somebody has to watch the watchers after all. Or whether they are just incompetent or politically compromised–certainly likely, under Blago.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 10:28 am:
Cassandra, I think the stats are probably spot on. Whenever I’ve asked here that people report corruption, almost everything they submit is not corruption, just complaints about their work situations.
- i d - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 12:02 pm:
I knew someone that used to be in charge of the application process at CMS and I was told that they did have rules. They said that apps were time stamped when received and processed from beginning to end by that date. Of course, I have no actual proof of that the rule was followed.
- Disgusted - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 12:24 pm:
Rich: People who know about real corruption will not report it because they are required to give their names. If you want some real information, make it anonymous everywhere by encouraging people to send it in type-written anonymous form. Computers can be scanned.
One of the most blatant examples of corruption lies with the use of state funds to pay for what amounted to campaign literature for the governor.
When the purchasing dept. of your agency tells its accountants not to question the payments they are approving for such printing, there’s a problem.
- WARDOG - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 3:30 pm:
Defrates and Casey probably didn’t see most of the “favored applications” being they were sent from the governors office to , at that time, Sam Flood or Joe Cini, Joe Handley, Roberson or Brian Daly or Monk. Of course, most of these people you don’t hear much about anymore–do you. It is corruptin run amuck.
- anon #1 - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 5:14 pm:
I agree with ‘Disgusted’ 100%. Why report it when you will be searched out and fired on some trumped up charge. Look at the guy in District 9 who made acquisitions a couple of years ago against the current administration. He was fired from his Civil Engineering position in January. Yet he was recognized for doing an outstanding job about 4-5 years ago and got the Engineer of the Year for his district. Blatant corruption and disregard for the rules are prevalent in some agencies. For instance, one of our top ‘appointed’ managers leaves the building (while still on the department time clock) on a regular basis to go work at his personal business. This person has also given state positions to people who work in his personal business.
- One_Mcmad - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 5:21 pm:
Dawn Defraties and Michael Casey will soon have their jobs reinstated. I wish the two of them much success in recovering all of their losses.
The States Executive Inspector General’s will soon be releasing copies of reports. It’s only about time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now what about the other offices of Executive Inspector General for the other constitutional offices.
I’ve noticed that many news paper articles are referring to the Governor’s Office of Executive Inspector General as Illinois Executive Inspector General.
Clarification is needed. While this is what Governor Blagojevich had proposed in the interim, other constitutional officers objects and now you have an Executive Inspector General for each constitutional office.
There should be one Executive Inspector General (Illinois Executive Inspector General) for the Governor (as the Chief Executive Officer) and each constitutional officer should have an Inspector General.
Where are the reports for the other constitutional officers Inspector Generals?
- Anon. - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 5:22 pm:
I also agree with Disgusted. Procurement employees can’t question contracts and payments without risking their jobs. They will be fired or transfered.
- Anon Again - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 5:57 pm:
Anon-If laws are getting broken report it to P fitz or the FBI if not shut up you lost the election get over it if you had this sense of morality when your boys were in charge they would still be there i am getting tired of these baseless alegations if true report it to the people who will do something and quit whinning
- Concerned Voter - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 7:48 pm:
Anyone happen to catch the 10 pm news on channel 7 last night? Paul Meincke did a report on the state Executive Ethics Commission and what they have or in this case have not been able to do during their existence, if link is not okay, please remove it, http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=special_coverage&id=5031676 . I don’t fault those on this commmission, as some of them are the ones making comments that they haven’t been able to do much of anything and want to. It’s even more interesting to find out that this commission has a $400,000 a year budget, gee for a state in a fiscal crisis, you’d think they would want to get a little return on the investment. A qoute from the end of the report, “But one of its missions is to make recommendations on ethics reform — not easy to do when you can’t track the violations.”
- Papa Legba - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 10:36 pm:
Anon Again -
Your comment is off base and rude. Get a clue about the subject at hand or shut up.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 10:38 pm:
CV, that story is linked above.
- Anon Again - Wednesday, Feb 14, 07 @ 10:48 pm:
papa-why offbase it is a fact we have had nothing but baseless undocumented accusations and if something is really going on illegal i will guarantee you that the FBI and p fitz will protect those who go to them with the information on this corruption enough is enough wheres the beef and rude this is my observation you whiny Rs cant get the point quit crying and make these accusations real or what i think is really true no basis- case dismissed- your baseless accusations will never win you another election the voters want facts-scratch that i dont want to give you good advice.
- State of Farce - Thursday, Feb 15, 07 @ 3:03 am:
Rich - Is there a way to report corruption to you? Anonymously? It has to be anonymous. No one is going to speak up about the many, many DAILY instances of employee abuse of taxpayers money if they risk their careers or reputation doing it. Who wants to be drug through the media mud? There are so many instances…you have no idea, truly!