125 Comments - A Citizen - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 12:53 pm: Well the Speaker certainly is no shrinking violet. Fumigation on steroids, indeed! - RobRoy - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 12:57 pm: Madigan’s bill takes it back to Ryan appointees too, whoever is left anyway. He also said 3,000 give or take. - South Side Pride - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 12:59 pm: Wow….. I applaud Speaker Madigan for his effort in restoring integrity on these boards. I think it is the best move to wipe the slate clean and get new people or even the same people (as long as they vetted in regards to experience, etc.) in those positions. - wordslinger - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:00 pm: Some cards are finally being played. - OneMan - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:01 pm: Wow, So where do I send a resume for an appointment as a Republican to something - Tom Joad - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:03 pm: Good luck getting DeLeo to agree to let this bill out of Rules committee. He has run the Exec Appointments Commmittee for years and has many of his guys in these positions. - The Doc - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:03 pm: I applaud the effort, and at first glance consider this to be good legislation, but can’t help but feel like it’s a diversionary tactic from more meaningful reform efforts, the most important of which is the redistricting process. - Concerned Observer - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:05 pm: I don’t agree with the Ryan part…doesn’t that just open up the ability for Dems to appoint more Dems? - Commonsense in Illinois - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:05 pm: Kind of wondering how the 30 or so people fired by Governor Blagojevich and sued in court feel about this? Is turnabout fair play here? - Marianne North - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:06 pm: That means Carol Adams would go and she would take her chauffeur and personal assistant Teyonda Wirtz with her. Under a different administrator (and why is this job called “Secretary” instead of “Director”?) DHS would hopefully return to a higher standard of professionalism, better training methods and exhibit greater responsibility in spending taxpayers’ dollars. - wndycty - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:06 pm: So is the implication that everyone Rod appointed is corrupt? WOW! - Anonymous Coward - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:09 pm: Fitting quote from “Apollo 13″: Gene Kranz: Let’s look at this thing from a… um, from a standpoint of status. What do we got on the spacecraft that’s good?? [long pause] Sy Liebergot: I’ll get back to you, Gene. - The Horse - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:10 pm: As an appointee to a State Board (an unpaid position), I think it is nuts. Since State Boards require a quorum of “seats” (instead of appointees) it is hard enough to get the state’s business done. As things stand we need most of our appointees to be present to barely have a quorum. The regulatory process is slow enough as it is. This would only make it worse. - You Go Boy - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:12 pm: One good, solid flush and the air will freshen… til the next batch of hacks comes along (sooner or later) - first hand - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:14 pm: It is the Governor’s responsibility! Either he does it or he doesn’t. So is there going to be a bill to override everything the legislature wants that they can’t get by asking? More so, this is a Constitutional Officer’s responsibility. So if the Secretary of State, Comptroller or Treasurer isn’t in agreement, they’ll just create a bill to override them? How childish. Make the public/people make the Officer responsible. - thursdays are cool - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:15 pm: VETO. - aqui, alli, alla - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:17 pm: Daddy is trying to make Quinn look bad, which makes Lisa look good. - Phineas J. Whoopee - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:18 pm: This is really just a shot fired across the bow of Pat Quinn to help in the upcoming reform commission fight. His best hope is that she becomes one of the Supremes because she will be formidable to say the least. Between her and her father, it is a devistating one-two punch. - Chad - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:20 pm: Great news. Of course not all of these appointees are corrupt, but the operation of these boards has either been unsupervised, or intentionally designed to overreach with political influence. We need a refreshing change from the manner in which these boards operate, and there is no better way than to change membership. Take the U of I for example. That board has become micro-managing, and has inserted itself politically into university operations far beyond anything seen before. Just take a look at the answers of that institution in reply to Rose’s approps questions. - Boscobud - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:21 pm: The Madigan Machine is in full swing. - The Horse - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:24 pm: get real. throwing the baby out with the bath water is never a good idea. Have a problem with corruption or overreaching … than relieve them. Otherwise lets move forward. years of board & commission appointments span administrations for a purpose. Firing / Relieving all who have been appointed in the past 16 years just creates a clean slate for lisa and her dad to fill - Joe the Barber - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:25 pm: This is a corruption buster that will help reduce the budget deficit by millions. - Blah, blah, blah - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:26 pm: The only problem is that it doesn’t go far enough. They also need to target Chief of Staffs and people in charge of Personnel/Human Resources. That’s where a lot of the true patronage bosses made their home. - Rich Miller - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:29 pm: ===They also need to target=== Check the synopsis. I think those people are in there. - first hand - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:30 pm: I agree we need change, but we need to hold the Officer accountable to make the change. Starting bills like this is one is like child’s play/small threat. It’s either do what I say or else. It’s not always about what one person wants to see happen right away or else. The better thing to do would be to take it to the public. Already we are seeing the effects of one family possibly having way too much power! - Illini Alum - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:30 pm: Chad, where could one find those answers to Rose’s approps quesions? - ILPundit - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:32 pm: Blah, blah, blah Read the bill. It covers all of them and more. Essentially, every SPSA and quite a few PSAs will lose their jobs - montrose - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:32 pm: I get why he is doing this and agree in spirit, but dump 3,000 people in two months? The logistics of rehiring all those positions that need people in them makes my head hurt. Plus, as someone else mentioned, the work of many commissions would come to a screeching halt. I completely agree that Quinn should be moving faster on cleaning house, but there needs to be a happy medium between Quinn’s pace and Madigan’s. Let’s hope this is just a tool to get Quinn to reach that happy medium. - El Conquistador - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:33 pm: The blanket inclusion of term and exempt positions could cut pretty deep into some agencies. A number of agencies could be effectively paralyzed while leadership down to the bureau level is sorted out. Yes, cleansing needs to be done, but this might be a bit too severe. - MOON - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:33 pm: RICH Help us out with this issue. The way I read it, the Gov. has the right to re-appoint any or all of the people affected by this proposal so long as they are approved by the Senate, when needed, is that correct? - One of the 35 - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:33 pm: With state appointees, just as with any occupation, there are some good ones and some bad ones. Each appointee should be evaluated on his or her own individual merits. I understand the desire to wipe the slate clean but that is no more fair then it was when Blago fired the 35 on January 13, 2003. - Pot calling kettle - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:34 pm: This could actually increase the deficit since no one will be in charge of anything for a long time. Imagine how long it will take to fully vet and replace 3000 positions, many of which are supervisory. In the meantime, who runs the show? None of the interims will have any real authority. I appreciate the sentiment, but this is surgery with a chainsaw. - Anonymiss - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:37 pm: Wow, Speaker Dadigan is not messing around with 2010. :D - Anon - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:38 pm: I notice the Illinois Arts Council isn’t listed…or did I miss it? - Phineas J. Whoopee - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:38 pm: If the Speaker really has the Governor and the Senate President aboard this really is a stunner. All I can say is, Wow! “There’s a 60-day transition process in the bill” Is this the period where people could plead their case. There has to be some good apples. - sick - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:41 pm: Chief of Staff and Personnel directors are usually Rutan Exempt - but I say we should go even further and get rid of all employees with excessive disciplinary action and all employees with bad evaluations. Heck let just fire all the state employees. Tell them they have to switch jobs with the Wal-mart workers. Give the Wal-mart workers a chance to earn a good wage and get benefits and make the state employees see what real crap work is like! Keep it coming baby! - Anon - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:41 pm: and the Illinois Humanities Council. ’cause it’s not a board or commission but a council??? - Sir Reel - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:42 pm: I’m screwed. My employement didn’t begin between those two dates (iii), but my term appointment was renewed between those two dates (iv). So professional term appointments (iv), and yes there’s a few of us around, are fired, but professional double-exempt employees (iii), appointed but not a 4-year term, aren’t. - Confused Citizen - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:49 pm: What is double-exempt? Is it like double secret probation at Animal House - Mike an Ike - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:51 pm: Who will run the show!You ask. The same people that’s been running it.The regular employees.Most of the appointed ones are golfing or out to lunch. - ILPundit - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:53 pm: This is disasterously bad public policy. Regardless of reappointment ability, every board appointee and Rutan exempt hire in state government would have to have termination paperwork processed and filed. And reappointment paperwork (applications, CMS grading, EPARs, etc) re-completed, in under 60 days. This legislation will essentially make firing and hiring the sole activity of state government agencies for two months minimum — and they probably still won’t be able to make it. Literally every available resource will be tasked to the effort. This is the perfect example of policy driven by press strategy. It was bad enough when it was Blago’s strategy. It’s really disappointing to see the Speaker playing the same sick game. - montrose - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:53 pm: “Wow, Speaker Dadigan is not messing around with 2010.” Maybe it is just me, but the default setting of attributing all every move by Madigan as designed to help Lisa is a getting to be a bit much. At the end of the day, he cares about his power, not Lisa’s. Her ambitions may be factoring into some decisions, but I think we need to take a deep breath on this blanket theory. - Objective Dem - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:55 pm: This is truly a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater and a stupid waste of time. This will effectively shut down government for an extended period of time. If I understand it correctly, state government will effectively be without executives and key HR staff until the Gov appoints them and the Senate confirms them. How long will that take? And remember that the people who know how to do the paperwork to make this happen won’t be there. I’m disappointed in Madigan. I always thought of him as a chess player. This is the same as threatening to knock over all the pieces. - Macbeth - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 1:56 pm: A waste. Folks will be rehired within the two months. Isn’t this simply to make Quinn accountable? If he rehires, they’re his appointees — not Blagojevich. It’s election commercial fodder. Disappointing, and a waste of state resources. - He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:01 pm: PSA’s are not appointed to terms. Basically the way I read it is all SPSA’s, At Will and Dept directors, deputy Dir and Assist Directors/Assoc Directors. - Yeah Riiiight - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:04 pm: Believe it when it happens. The dome is filled with fodder for newsies but little or zero ACTION. - Niles Township - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:06 pm: Mr. Madigan does it again…he has changed the subject. His bill is now the “reform” piece of conversation on the news, and lo and behold Mikey gets his say who gets a number of those spots. - Jerry - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:07 pm: Many of these appointees are a waste of state resources. - tubbfan - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:11 pm: I don’t think this is throwing the baby out with the bathwater, nor would it slow down all the work of these bodies. Many Boards/Commissions include appointments from the Speaker, Senate President and both minority leaders. There would be enough people still in place to keep the ball rolling. - Cassandra - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:11 pm: Great idea. But why didn’t Quinn have the guts to do it himself. How many of these folks require legislative action to be fired. Don’t our fearless legislators have enough to do trying to figure out a budget. Now they will have to deal with a deluge of calls and campaign contributions from former Blago hires trying to keep their cushy state jobs. - Amy - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:12 pm: madigan is usually crafty. this looks reckless. he doesn’t want to accelerate the pace of change, he wants his daughter as governor. this is transparent. does LIsa have ex Blago people on her payroll? - phocion - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:12 pm: Kind of an extreme step just to get rid of Filan. - Chad - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:13 pm: Illini Alum: Check out the reporting in the News-Gazette from last week. - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:15 pm: Is it practical for Quinn to vet enough appointees to fill the positions? - Skirmisher - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:17 pm: It is about time. There may have been a few worth while appointees from the Blag administration, but I never had any dealings with any of them while I was in state government. If there are good ones swept out by this housecleaning, they can be re-hired. - Anon Again - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:17 pm: If thats what it takes to giet rid of Mike stout i am in - Yeah Riiiight - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:17 pm: I wouldn’t be surprised to see Quinn keep Filan. As dumb as that may seem. - Secret Square - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:20 pm: Confused: As I understand it, “double-exempt” means the position is exempt from Rutan protections for two reasons. One reason being that it’s a high-level policy-making position; I forget what the other reason is. - Objective Dem - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:26 pm: I missed the statement about a 60 day transition, so it won’t shut down government as I projected. I don’t think Boards and Commissions can or should take action if the Governor’s appointees are not present. There is a reason to have the checks and balances in many cases. - Macbeth - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:27 pm: Quinn won’t vet every position. This is a quick — and effective — way to get rid of a select few. The rest will be rehired back. It also offers cover, I assume. If everybody political is subjected to the rule, then no one political can claim the process was unfair. - MOON - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:34 pm: YEAH RIIIGHT Filan is a gone. He will never be confirmed by the senate! - TT - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:37 pm: =The rest will be rehired back.= Do you really think so? If Quinn is serious about running for reelection, then replacing a lot of Rod’s appointees might be “political suicide”. Obviously some of these people will be brought back. But if Quinn is serious, he might have to replace a whole lot of them or he might have to reap the political consequences… This is unfortunate because a lot of good, qualified people are going to be hurt… not to mention, that’s around 3,000 people to add to the unemployed statistics…. - Cassandra - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:38 pm: I think Macbeth is right. It doesn’t mean they’ll all stay gone. They would probably have to go through some kind of process to justify their rehiring but is wrong with that. And significant number probably don’t need to be replaced, meaning agencies interested in cutting costs a chance to actually do that, with cover. - dupage dan - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:50 pm: Niles Township is right. This is a distraction. Talk of limiting terms on state leadership is ignored, possible problems with Madigans Army are forgotten, the list is long. This kind of action smacks of the out of the ball park stuff RodB did. Like demanding free rides for seniors during the transit “crisis”. No one was asking for it and it becomes the only thing talked about. Maybe the wrong Chicago Dem was removed. Maybe we shouldn’t stop w/RB. - VanillaMan - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:53 pm: Think about this for a second… Madigan doesn’t want much to do with the Collins Report, which targets the Legislative branch, but wants to clear out the Executive branch? OH! COME ON! And the reason he is doing it is because Quinn isn’t moving fast enough in Michael J. Madigan’s opinion? YEAH, RIGHT! I have a better idea! How about letting the guy in charge of the Executive branch fumigate his area, and the guy in charge of the Legislative branch fumigate his area? Do we need another civil war? Quinn followed the reform track as it has been practiced in the past. He created a blue ribbon committee and then used it’s report to browbeat Madigan. Now Madigan is returning the favor with this step. While it may be a good idea, (that’s debatable), it is Draconian, (not good), in it’s “off with their heads” approach, and it is being proposed by the wrong person, (very bad). What is Madigan going to do next? Fill all the slots with people he now approves of? How much campaign contributions will they get with this new “gold rush” of political appointees? Before we allow another political seat to go on the bidding process in Illinois - how about reforming the corrupted process as it now exists? How about passing some ethics reform to prevent Madigan’s plan from becoming a new scandal? How about focusing on one thing at a time, in order to do this right? - Anonymous - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 2:56 pm: I think the one fly in the ointment is the 60 day period is too short. 3000 people are not all reviewed at once by one central place and hired at once. In the first wave, you hire the Directors, then they hire their senior staff, then they hire their subordinates. Getting all the waves done within 60 days is darn near impossible. And since its the staffs who actually work with the boards who usually know where the expertise out their to serve is, they may be needed/useful to the GO in filling the boards. And the boards themselves often need training regarding the work of the board. If the staff to the board isn’t in place until 60 days, who is going to train the boards. Love it or hate it, you must acknowledge that the bureaucracy of state government is not simple, so simple solutions are seldom good policy. - Anon Again - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:02 pm: Ouch how’s it feel Gov Quinn you will be the next victim of the madigans good luck running in 2010 - Fire Ron Guenther - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:06 pm: This is the article discussing UI administrators appearing before the House committee: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2009/05/03/university_administrators_field_questions_from_state_lawmakers - first hand - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:06 pm: How come he didn’t present a reform bill as fast as this one? I agree Vanilla, don’t mess with the Legislative Branch, just the Executive. Typical Madigans. - Captain Flume - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:09 pm: I wonder if this will get bottled up in Rules, or get assigned to Transportation and Motor Vehicles? - Joe in the Know - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:10 pm: Anon 2:56: You fail to realize a few key issues here. One, the governor has been in office for over three months, more than enough time to get his bearings on who should stay and who should go. Second, 60 days may be a short time but it’s a little shy of the time a governor-elect would get to clean out the same directors and such appointed by a predecessor, especially an opposing party governor-elect. They would clear out the previous admin’s staff right quick. Lastly, many of these board appointees are at the centerpoint of the “Blagojevich Enterprise”, read: pay to play. With terms that run multiple years, this is the best way to clear our the deadwood and stain of the previous administration. This is not to say all the appointees were up to no good, it just gives the governor the power to move quickly on their replacement. Quinn himself has said that sunshine is the best disinfectant. Well, let’s just say that the Speaker opened the drapes a bit. - Anon - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:15 pm: This state is beginning to resemble The Second Coming Coming by WB Yeats. Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. - ILPundit - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:15 pm: There are 2 types of “Rutan-exempt” positions. This legislation terminates both. The vast majority of Rutan-exempt positions are also subject to the Illinois Personnel Code (the single-exempt positions). These positions are subject to absolute Veterans Preference in hiring. What this means is that roughly 2/3 of the people who stand to lose their jobs under this legislation have no realistic point of a re-appointment unless they also happen to be a veteran. The policy/management implications of forcibly removing that much institutional experience by fiat is unbelievable. - Hoping For Rational Thought - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:17 pm: I understand getting rid of Filan and the like but all Rutan exempt is extreme. There are many hard-working people who have been promoted into SPSA’s after years of good work at the state and now they have to get fired and hope to be rehired even if they legitimately earned there job? Not right every Rutan exmept position is a political hire. Sure there are some that should go but many honest hard-working people get hurt with this “nuke’em all” approach. - Mike Ins - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:18 pm: I could be wrong, but sheesh, the criminal court system would be hopelessly backed up… every state’s attorney hired since 1999? WOW. - vitaman - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:21 pm: Just so you know how dumb this is, all Crime Lab Directors and all of their Springfield upper administration would be terminated. Nothing will be done while people look for jobs while they are on the button. This is a really really stupid waste of resources since most will be rehired but nothing will get done. These are not political hires but professional forensic scientists. Dumb - scoot - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:27 pm: Fire Away!!!!!! - Why Stop There - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:33 pm: Heck why not remove the board appointees allowed/made by the Speaker and the President of the Senate I mean after all they had to be willing partners to go along with the Gov appointees on these boards. - Rich Miller - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:34 pm: === every state’s attorney hired since 1999?=== State’s attorneys are elected. - Jake from Bellwood - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:34 pm: Separation of powers, anyone? anyone? - Rich Miller - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:36 pm: ===Separation of powers, anyone?=== Quinn would have to sign the bill. lol - Mike Ins - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:36 pm: Rich - I am sorry, I meant assistant state’s attorneys, public defenders, etc. I did not mean the top level, I meant the men and women 2 years out of law school prosecuting the traffic and drug and all those types of offenses. I may still be incorrect about their status but I know they are not union and did not take the CMS exam for job, so exempt I believe? - Rush to Judgment (legislation) - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:39 pm: This is so much like ALL legislators. See a problem and throw a bill at it. Didn’t President Cullerton in committee keep the Repubs from getting a chance to a special election for Burris on the argument that this would be unconstitutional? Any support from the Senate on this? My recollection is that there was some reference to court decisions that would protect the term appoitnees and even members of the cabinet. Where are the lawyers going to be on this? All over it dragging this out throught the courts for a year or so I would guess. Just my humble opinion. What we need to see is real leadership with people willing to do the right thing. That starts with Quinn, Madigan, Cullerton and others showing a rational change from power brokering. I do not see such leadership with this. Just another new political fight. - Angry Chicagoan - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:41 pm: This is a bit of a blunt instrument, eh? Sort of like the early days of Stalin’s purges, except that we don’t really have anywhere to exile them within our borders. Seriously, Speaker Madigan, this is a stunt, and you know it. Focus on actual wrongdoing, and get rid of those. Let’s have some due process. - Cosmic Charlie - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:41 pm: Brilliant. Quinn dragged his feet right in to this one. Quinn can re-appoint or hire any or all of these people so why are so many people up in arms? Maybe he can even do it at a reduced salary so the State can save some money. Quinn now will actually have to govern not just make pronouncements as they occur to him. This is not ‘baby with the bathwater’ as some have said. This is removing a cancerous growth. You have to get rid of some good tissue to make sure you get rid of all of the bad. - Easy - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:43 pm: Maybe he and Cross should talk more, because Cross was trying to fumigate yesterday but madigan wouldn’t call his bill for a vote. - WOW - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:47 pm: The bill just got out of House Rules and sent to Executive comm. - Anonymous - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:49 pm: I find it very suspect that the Speaker’s bill to fire everyone does not include his wife’s Illinois Arts Council?????? - Arthur Andersen - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:49 pm: Mike, assistant state’s attorneys work for the County, not the State. vita, are you saying the Crime Lab Directors would be included here because they are double exempt, term or what? (oardon my lousy grammar.) - Rich Miller - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:50 pm: He’ll try to ram this through quickly, but this goes beyond a blunt instrument. More like a hydrogen bomb. - Mike Ins - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 3:51 pm: Arthur Andersen: Thanks for the obvious clarification! Anonymous @ 3:49: In the text of the bill itself I dont see the list of affected agencies (I did see the link to it above, obviously). So where is that coming from anyway? - Secret Square - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:00 pm: To continue with Anon 3:15’s thought: “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Springfield to be born?” - Affected - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:01 pm: Mr. Madigan, Thanks so much for this. You’ve just threatened the well-being and in the process, nearly crushed the psyche of countless hard-working State employees and their families. Just because you’re Rutan exempt doesn’t mean you’re an unfit employee, sir. This is outrageous and I speak for many, many others when I say that you are wrong for proposing such a callous, thoughtless piece of legislation. Shame on you. The fact that you’re making Governor Quinn the fall guy in the process so you can make Lisa and the ‘Madigan Brand’ look good before the next gubernatorial election makes me sick to my stomach. You are an absolute disgrace to your state and your country. Just so you know I will continue to work hard every day sir, regardless of this now gripping fear I have that my employment may be coming to an abrupt and unwarranted end in the next few months. Your wicked ways and political games will not deter me from my duties of bettering the State of Illinois. If I’m going down, I’m going down working hard - just like I have the entire time I’ve been with the State. So, if you don’t mind sir, I’m going to try and focus now after this kick in the shins you just gave me and so many other qualified, dedicated employees. Have a wonderful evening. - Anon Again - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:04 pm: Lets organize the affected to support the rublicans - crazy - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:04 pm: this likely includes all attorneys working for state agencies. basically, your state will be run by a union. - Anon - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:04 pm: There are too many low-IQ managers in the agencies serving the taxpayers quite poorly. This cannot be a bad thing. - Need I say more - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:07 pm: This is a lesson for Governor Quinn. This is how the big boys play. If you want to fumigate…fumigate. The Speaker took your reform and said..reform this. And as far as VanillaMan’s point goes about the Collins report targeting the legislative branch-last time I checked, it was the executive branch that just gave us 14 years of corrupt Governor’s appointing corrupt lackey’s which is where the reform needs to start. So your right, one thing at a time and this is the one thing. If Quinn can’t take care of business then somebody’s got to. - Cousin Ralph - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:08 pm: So everyone above whom this axe blade now hangs will contact a Dem legislator and plead for his or her job. They will pledge alot to avoid this loss. DEM legislators will then claim credit for derailing this bill or helping people keep their jobs if it goes through. All that is left is their friendship. Same old, same old…. Dont you just love Illinois politics –that is when you are not wretching your guts out from the odor and slime. - Marianne North - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:09 pm: It’s a great way to clean house and terminate those whose employment was quid pro quo. Ethics reform has to start somewhere and since the feds are investigating the state’s hiring practices, why not start here? It’s the end of FY 09 anyways. - vitaman - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:12 pm: Art. I am a retired Crime Lab Director and we were SPSA’s. Term Appointments. Rehired every four years. No double exemption. - Puhlease - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:16 pm: Once again, Lisa’s dad comes to her rescue. It’s scary how much the Madigans run the state and the general public has NOOOO idea. - dupage dan - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:17 pm: Look, over there, it’s a distraction! It’s working. - dupage dan - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:18 pm: Rich is right - the hydrogen bomb of distractions. - Concerned Citizen - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:19 pm: This is all so that MJM and the democrats can finally put their friends in these positions. Blago froze them out, maybe in favor of EJ. Someone should propose an amendment to require that all recommendations or transmittals must be in writing(or transcribed if done orally) and those documents subject to FOIA. - Black Ivy - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:21 pm: Rich, I would e affected by this bill. I would be terminated under the present language. I work extremely hard each and every day and this proposed legislation appears unconstitutional, arbitrary, and capricious. I value your opinion,Rich. Cna you provide your thoughts on this move? - Anon - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:25 pm: ==I am a retired Crime Lab Director and we were SPSA’s. Term Appointments. == How long ago did you retire? Blago converted a lot of term appointment positions to double-exempt. Initially, it was going to be all term appointments, but they got bored or maybe a kitty wandered through the room. - vitaman - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:25 pm: If you think that any grants are going to be written for the Obama Stimulus for Illinois over the next couple of months plus - guess again. It is the SPSA’s who ride herd on that. The law of unintended consequences……………. - Just the Facts - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:27 pm: My guess is that if the legislation passes, the Governor does an amendatory veto that extends the termination date for the folks that are term appointments. That allows everyone to claim that they are “fumigating” things, but at the same time ensuring that all work at the state doesn’t grind to a halt in the interim. Or in the alternative, the legislation is amended in the Senate to that effect. - vitaman - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:28 pm: Anon Don’t know. Retired with the class of 2002. I keep fairly close contacts but never asked that question. - crazy - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:28 pm: this affects people in positions less than PSAs and SPSAs… it could affect any legal non-unionized Tech IIs and Tech IIIs, who are hardly the politically-connected folk. - Belle - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:35 pm: Some of those HR people were appointed by Ryan and reappointed by Blago. A 2fer! - lady - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:36 pm: So I think Dadigan should do a bill that mandates fumigation of all legislative leaders. New language would provide that legislative leaders would have to run as a statewide candidate for their posts. That way we can all decide if Dadigan should rule the world! - Cosmic Charlie - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:37 pm: Maybe it is a distraction from the Reform Commission report. So what? That doesn’t make it a bad idea. Blago was so thoroughly corrupt that it is difficult, if not impossible, to cherry pick the good employees/appointees from the bad. Look at some of the hacks that Blago put in place. Filan and Lavin get held out as if they are the only examples of Blago’s corruption, indifference, arrogance, cynicism OR ineptitude. The reality is that there are layers upon layers of these people that must go. If you are one of the honest public servants that might be affected I hope Quinn will actually put in place a team of competent administrators that can bring you back on with a process that has integrity. If he does not then you know who to blame. Governor Quinn has been running the state like it is the Lt. Gov’s office where he can manage everything personally. The State of Illinois is too big and our problems too severe for that to be the case. Any one of us, if we accidentally became the governor, would have made a wholesale housecleaning by now. You know it is true. Quinn for whatever reason has been unwilling or unable to do so. Time to govern governor. - Anonymous - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:43 pm: Joe in the Know - This is NOT like a change in administrations. Terms do not end, then; every double exempt does not lose their job. Even when Blagojevich came in after years of Republican control, in our agency, only a handful of positions were changed right away. Many were never changed, some changed over the first year or two. Wiping EVERYONE out in the first 60 days and making “stay-don’t stay” decisions on all of them at once will be chaos. - Justice - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:43 pm: 3,000 people get axed because Quinn won’t get rid of Filan and Ginger. As a bonus, MJM gets to clear the decks for Lisa and force the R’s to vote on getting rid of not just D’s but also the large number of R’s still employed in these positions. And hey Governor - if you’re smart you’ll keep the roll call on this vote handy when every single one of these legislators comes to your door after the fact asking you to keep or re-hire their brother/sister/cousin/girlfriend, etc. - Ad man - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:49 pm: Whoever, came up with the term Dadigan in referring to the Speaker should go back to the drawing board because it stinks. Why do I get the feeling this is what Quinn’s people have been brainstorming with instead of figuring out how to govern. - Rich Miller - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:53 pm: ===because it stinks. === I kinda like it. - Arthur Andersen - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:55 pm: Rich, see ISPeeved. - Amy - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 4:58 pm: ad man, whoever came up with the term Dadigan is thinking in the right direction. and maybe they are not a Quinn person. maybe some of us are just angry at the way Madigan plays games with the process, controls so much, and as Puhlease points out, the public has no clue about how much power Madigan has. it is scary. - Dudeman - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 5:00 pm: My prayers have been answered on Prayer day. Woo Hoo. (Not that I think it will actualy happen) - Ad man - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 5:00 pm: Nah, it’s not mean. It says nothing. It needs, “Father Knows Best” or “Father of the wanna be bride” or “Daddy’s little wanna be” or “Daddy Speakerbucks” Something that conveys a negative. - Anonymous - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 5:06 pm: This effectively removes all non-union employees. Thus, it punishes the few holdouts who did not unionize or join uions, and will put the unions in complete operational control of the State. Even if you bring in new outsiders, they will lack the institutional knowledge to deal with the union or know when they are being sold a bill of goods. - grategul - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 5:07 pm: As the Former Gov. Said You ain’t seen nothing YET!!!!! THANK YOU BIG MIKE !!!!!! YOU WILL BE DECLARED THE WINNER !!!! So many useless appointments !!!! - Northside Bunker - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 5:09 pm: Great! Start with the Illinois Tollway then IDOT. CMS is going to get a huge order for disinfectants. - Rich Miller - Thursday, May 7, 09 @ 5:23 pm: Let’s close this one out and move comments to this fresh post. Thanks. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.