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*** UPDATED x1 - Senate committee advances proposal *** House votes overwhelmingly to fire Quinn appointee
Thursday, Nov 10, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller * Remember when Gov. Pat Quinn moved Illinois Power Agency Director Mark Pruitt out of office? Quinn was upset that Pruitt wasn’t moving fast enough on signing long-term alternative energy power contracts. He replaced Pruitt with retired ComEd executive Arlene Juracek. But Juracek quickly voided Pruitt’s work on alt energy and “clean coal” plants…
* Well, yesterday, the House overwhelmingly passed a measure that essentially fires Acting Director Juracek. From the amendment’s synopsis…
The bill text also allows the Executive Ethics Commission to fire Juracek right away…
Gov. Quinn can’t directly control the EEC, which is why the commission was given the authority. * And just for good measure, the proposal forbids Juracek’s reappointment if the Senate refuses to confirm her…
The Senate’s State Government and Veterans Affairs Committee meets today at 10:10 am to take up the proposal. [I was looking at two synopses at once, and somehow mistook one roll call for another. Headline and content updated to reflect the proper roll call. That’s what I get for doing too many things at once. Oops.] *** UPDATE *** With a hat tip to a commenter, the proposal was unanimously approved by a Senate committee today. And, yes, the vote was really unanimous. I double checked the status page just to make sure.
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- Aristotle - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 9:53 am:
Sounds like an unconstitutional intrusion on executive branch functions. The legislature has no business making executive appointments. The IPA is an executive regulatory body. This is one bridge too far. Madigan should have simply relied on the Senate to reject the appointment. Quinn should challenge legislation in court.
- OneMan - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 9:54 am:
Wow…
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 9:56 am:
===The legislature has no business making executive appointments.===
They’re not making an appointment. They’re firing an appointee. That has plenty of precedence.
- Hoping for Rational Thought - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 10:09 am:
Thanks for the clarification Rich. I’ve stared at too many roll calls so I thought I was losing it.
- Boone Logan Square - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 10:14 am:
I think a question once posed by Pat’s old running mate summed up best why the governor appointed Juracek.
What was he thinking?
- anon good nurse, anon - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 10:14 am:
I could be totally wrong, but I believe that the Legislature actually writes the laws that govern the whole appointment process. So, this is completely within their purview.
- walkinfool - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 10:17 am:
Agree this is a step too far, and using a sledgehammer when a thumbtack would suffice. It’s nasty uppercut at the Gov. and only Madigan would be this clever.
Using the Ethics Commission in this way dilutes its real mission, and could imply that Juracek has been removed for ethics violations, which would be patently unfair. It also implies that they act at Madigan’s direction, which would be tragic.
Better to have the Senate reject the nomination, then limit the ability of all acting appointees to serve without Senate review.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 10:24 am:
===so I thought I was losing it. ===
LOL
Yeah. Stupid error. Listening to HREV hearing, talking on phone, texting my wife, posting to Facebook, watching Twitter feeds, checking Google News and writing a blog post all at the same time caught up with me. Oops.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 10:29 am:
This has been a strange episode all the way around.
- Aldyth - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 10:33 am:
Good. There’s a sound reason we don’t want foxes guarding the henhouse.
- Fed up - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 10:41 am:
Hopefully Quinn vetoes speed cameras law to show who’s in charge. This could get interesting.
- Agricola - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 10:59 am:
Passed by the Senate State Government and Veterans Affairs Committee 9-0-0
- Borealis - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 11:07 am:
In a word: YAY! You. Go. Pat.
- Borealis - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 11:20 am:
Footnote: What was he thinking?
- King Louis XVI - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 12:02 pm:
–Thinking?–
Just impulse.
- Borealis - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 12:14 pm:
???
Stay tuned campers.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 12:52 pm:
I think folks are missing a key point here when they talk about this as a step too far. The legislature already over-rode the governor’s veto so the IPA is no longer an executive branch agency reporting to the governor. The agency reports to the Executive Ethics Commission (which is also where procurement now resides) so all this did is clarify the Commission’s ability to hire and fire the director and to appoint an acting director in the event of a vacancy. Obviously it still needs to be voted on in the Senate and signed (or not) by the governor.
- walkinfool - Thursday, Nov 10, 11 @ 2:00 pm:
Chicago cynic: Well said. I stand corrected.