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Question of the day
Thursday, Apr 11, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller * One of the items not covered by the major media today regarding yesterday’s Senate Executive Committee hearing was a suggestion by Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe that agencies like CMS ought to be outright eliminated because of the time it takes to hire new employees. It takes at least six months, sometimes much more to hire people, Jaffe said. Some Senators then offered to delete state laws governing patronage and civil service hiring for the Gaming Board to help things along, saying the Gaming Board would likely not make bad hiring decisions. Chairman Jaffe and his staff seemed to like the idea, even though the laws were put on the books after decades of state hiring corruption. Jaffe said that in some cases the board had tried to hire experts, but by the time they were given approval the potential employees had found other work. * The Question: Do you approve of abolishing state employee hiring laws for the Illinois Gaming Board? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. You might also want to chime in on Jaffe’s abolish CMS idea. panel management
* Coverage roundup…
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- Amalia - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:30 pm:
keep the rules, try to find a way to make them move faster.
- thechampaignlife - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:33 pm:
Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Reform the laws and make them better for all, not just one agency. But don’t eliminate entirely.
- dupage dan - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:33 pm:
Keep the rules - dump CMS (snark)
Seriously, as a state employee we see that problem time after time. Other than some type of log jam @ CMS, I can’t see why it takes so long. Don’t just dump the rules - find out what’s wrong and fix it.
- HaroldVK - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:34 pm:
Jaffe has never given us a reason to trust him.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:36 pm:
No, because as Rich said, “the laws were put on the books after decades of state hiring corruption.”
- anon - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:36 pm:
Abolish CMS is not just an idea. HB 2416
- Norseman - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:43 pm:
What thechampaignlife said.
- Jimbo - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:45 pm:
So if it is bad for the gaming board, isn’t it bad for everyone else too?
- Thomas - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:52 pm:
I sat through the hearing yesterday and agree with Rich’s assessment that he outlined for subscribers this morning. The media give Jaffe a complete pass because he supplies them with a steady stream of juicy quotes. He was awful in committee yesterday. And the media never held him accountable for how slow his agency was in implementing video poker. His department’s primary mission is to regulate, not offer commentary. But he’s the media’s pal, so he can do no wrong in their minds.
- Mongo - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 1:52 pm:
I voted no. But, CMS needs a sharp makeover. There is absolutely no legitimate reason to take as long as it does to hire an employee. Local governments that do background checks can hire within 30 days, and businesses that do background checks can do it even more quickly.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 2:02 pm:
I didn’t vote, because I don’t have an informed opinion.
But I find it odd that Mr. Jaffe, the foot-dragger on replacing illegal gambling with legal gambling, who sees sinister intrigue everywhere, wants a pass when it comes to anti-corruption laws on hiring for the gaming board.
Am I missing something here?
- Sgt Schultz - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 2:09 pm:
No. Perhaps CMS is, like many agencies, under-staffed. Or perhaps those hired to review applications should be required to process X number of applicants per day. Then again, wouldn’t surprise me to find that various agency heads require that their applicants are moved ahead of others.
- RNUG - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 2:13 pm:
No. Having seen the abuses that get through under the existing rules, it would be even worse with looser rules. Find whatever the problem is that delays things, and fix it.
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 2:15 pm:
Jaffe continues to be deader than dead weight on gaming in IL. Clearly he has let tens of millions slip away just so he can inflate his ego.
Of course that means schools and others have suffered by this bungling.
We have know foot draggers and Jaffe does not achieve foot dragger status
- dupage dan - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 2:19 pm:
Sgt Schultz - CMS has historically taken up to 6 months to process job applications. I have been with the state for 23 years. It has been consistent. While you could argue that CMS is, like the rest of the state, understaffed currently I doubt you would be able to show that was true for all those years.
- Sir Reel - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 2:24 pm:
Like everyone else I voted no and like some I say get rid of CMS. If ever there was an agency in search of a mission it’s CMS. CMS is mostly hidden from public and media view. It’s mostly staffed by folks who wandered into State government. It makes other agencies adhere to rules and regulations that make CMS’ job easier but agencies’ jobs harder. Looks good on paper and in government class but doesn’t work well in the real world.
- OneMan - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 2:25 pm:
It seems to me improving the hiring process would be the more logical approach vs taking the safeties off.
- Coach - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 2:35 pm:
No , we need to keep the rules. But we don’t need to keep Mr. Jaffe! Gov. Quinn needs to be a leader and see that this man has to be taken off this board and replaced with fresh blood that will look at this situation with out any bias! I’m not sure there is anything that will pleased Mr. Jaffe on this issue and even if it did pass he would do everything in his power to delay it from ever happening. Read between the lines Mr. Jaffe hates any type of gambling bill and will do everything in his power to ever let it happen! Did I say power gee maybe Mr. Jaffe realizes the power he has in this position and that is why it is time for him to go!
- Very Old Soil - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 2:44 pm:
I agree keep the rules and dump CMS
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 3:07 pm:
–CMS is mostly hidden from public and media view.–
That’s an interesting point. I think I pay attention to the ins-and-outs of state government more than the average citizen, but the stroke of CMS is a bit of a mystery to me.
My first stop to inform myself should be the Auditor General’s reports. For all you young ballplayers out there, that’s the place to start to educate yourself.
- Ghost - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 3:14 pm:
I have a number of problmes with CMS, but one of (not the only) key problems creating delays at CMS is the lack of staff.
Did we really think we could go from 65kish to 44kish workers and not see delays?
dont get me wrong, seperate from more staff CMS needs improvements including an attitude adjustment and working under a service not king of the hill model, BUT they are woefully understaffed using equipment and software that is decades out of date. First efficiency, spend money and turn the state to a modern electronic records and gradeing system, and staff the areas
- Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 3:16 pm:
A lot of complaints about CMS should really be directed at the personnel code and the procurement code. I’m all for changing those, but I don’t think CMS as a whole should be abolished.
- Sgt Schultz - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 3:21 pm:
Ghost said it far better than I did.
- Captain Illini - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 3:27 pm:
Points well taken on CMS that laws and codes created are driving the bus off the cliff…however…the notion of a large agency that is responsible for all they’re suppose to be in charge of is insane. Directives from the previous administration growing their agency influence and the money skim that comes with it is crippling…I could go on, but then I’d have to double my jaegermeister intake for tonight. Keep the rules, fix them, and reduce CMS by at least 75% their size and influence.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 3:39 pm:
Is that why they have hired so many State Police and Dept of Revenue officers back from retirements, some making well over $200,000 in retirement and contract pay. BGA where are you.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 3:52 pm:
Thomas, thanks.
- Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 4:13 pm:
I have a feeling that if Terry Link files a bill to speed up Gaming Board hiring that Chairman Jaffe will accuse him of opening the agency up to mob influence.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 4:15 pm:
Several good points made here on the theme of “fix it, don’t kill it.”
Certainly CMS should have a chance to respond to Jaffe’s shot,and the pending bill will provide them with the forum to do so. My quick scan of historical data shows CMS has not been shrinking as much as the rest of State Government has been but I suspect their non-IT areas like Personnel have taken a solid hit.
It’s easy to say “kill CMS” but what is the alternative? Some agencies would be fine without a centralized overseer of hiring; others,Katy bar the door. We could make the lists and they would be likely pretty close.
Fixing it is doable, but when cash is tight and the leader of the Executive stumbles from crisis to crisis like old Rob Petrie around his ottoman, that’s an awful heavy lift and a huge “ask” from the GA.
- Muffin Man - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 4:48 pm:
I am paranoid about trusting in our state officials. This is Illinois.That previous sentence to most voters says it all.
- seriously speaking - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 4:54 pm:
Before you get to CMS, get rid of the Shared Services Centers, the EPAR system, and OMB. Let the agencies do their own personnel and fiscal. Also, Rutan is a joke.
- Scottish - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 4:55 pm:
I look at this like I look at the procurement issue. They moved procurement from CMS to the EEC. Has it sped up the process? Is it any less cumbersome? Truth be told, monitoring and enforcement of statutes and rules is not easy - and it doens’t make “CMS’ job easier” than the the same job in an agency.
- walter sobchak - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 5:37 pm:
Dump the rules and the agency. You can’t regulate morality. The idiocy and slowness of the processes leads to other forms of excess and cupidity. Plus unbelievable waste and deadening of initiative.
- RNUG - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 5:42 pm:
Coming a bit out of the closet here (some of you already know this) … I used to work at CMS (by default, actually pre-date it all the way back to being initially hired by Dept. of Finance) and there are parts of it that work and parts that don’t. I swear I used to spend half my time fighting my own agency to get things done (and I was on good terms with most the people I had to work with in the other bureaus and often worked under the radar cross-chain of command just to get things done). And if you think it is bad in the agencies, just remember, they test the new rules internally first and the really screwed up ones never make it out the door.
From my perspective, the agency has two big problems. First, former Gov’s keep merging things together and it never was really well integrated. My memory may be hazy but I believe there used to be Finance, Personel, General Services, and a number of other agencies that all ended up in CMS. Second, at some point it was decided to not adequately fund CMS directly but to instead turn CMS into a ’service for fee’ model … which hasn’t worked out very well in a lot of cases.
I understand why it was done, and can cite examples where the State has benefited overall, including some cost recovery and cash flow management that could never have occurred without such an agency, but it really needs to have it’s mission redefined and streamlined.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 6:52 pm:
CMS personnel function is an unmitigated disaster. Just a disaster. An unmitigated disaster. Can I emphasize that enough. Just a total, total mess. It is the largest impediment to getting things done in an agency, bar none. None. Did I say NONE!
- Just The Way It Is One - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 7:01 pm:
It’s a shame such an important Board lost out on gaining some great talent in new hires due to antiquated rules–if so, sure, fine tune them at the least, and why NOT have someone more closely scrutinize the effectiveness and efficiency of CMS approaches to hiring? Sounds like someone with some respectable authority, (Mr. Jaffe), has been loudly buzzing the front door bell on this particular issue for a reason, and it’s become annoying enough to open the door and take a good look around…!
- Excessively Rabid - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 7:05 pm:
In the Federal sector, I used to think that CMS is what you would get if you put GSA and OPM together and then gave them control of the computers too. But I’m mystified what would be better, other than honesty and integrity, neither of which is ever in great supply. As to the current question, how could you suspect there might be any wrongdoing at something called the Illinois Gaming Board? (snark off) Really, which one of the three words didn’t you understand? It’s about gambling. It’s a board. And it’s in Illinois.
- Anon. - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 7:39 pm:
C’mon, lets not live in the past. Illinois has evolved and we have honest politicians and fair processes. Let’s give them a chance.
- RNUG - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 8:09 pm:
Excessively Rabid
well … DGS & then DAS (before it became CMS) used to have a former federal GSA Commissioner, the Puck, as Director for a while … so you aren’t far off on your description.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Apr 11, 13 @ 10:57 pm:
RNUG, Holy Cow, we worked together at DAS. Old Puck was a a piece of work, eh?
- RNUG - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 8:44 am:
AA,
Should have added … watching the various CMS directors and deputy directors operate was the equivalent of earning a PHD in IL poly-sci. If this was the old days of plywood U, I could probably get one based on life experiences if I took the trouble to write out the paperwork.
- BleugrassBoy - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 9:21 am:
The idea for CMS was to provide a centralized service to agencies which would create efficiencies and savings for the State. That did not occur even in the days of a growing economy. CMS simply became a self-serving bureaucracy. Currently its main role is not that of an agency leading to get things accomplished. It has become an agency whose only capability now is to stop things from happening.
Yes, CMS is absolutely below allocated headcount. But the “delays” at CMS are rarely the result of not having enough hardworking rank and file workers. Rather the delays are a result of intentional delays by CMS’ leadership which takes it directions from the Governor’s Office and/or Legislative Caucuses.
They intentionally stop work from happening, and then claim they need more funding, more people etc. to get things moving again. Their delays are a negotiating tactic for more budget, more power.
Keep the rules. Abolish the agency.
- MrJM - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 9:35 am:
thechampaignlife got it right.
– MrJM
- Arthur Andersen - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 11:30 am:
Very well said, RNUG. AA had to do quite a bit of on-the-job training back in the day.
Of the Directors I worked for, they went on to do things ranging from running major corporations to going to the slammer.
Did you serve time in the Stratton Building? I was on the 7th.
- RNUG - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 1:19 pm:
AA,
Finance was in the NSOB when I was hired. I’ve worked in it on different floors along with several other buildings, including a stint in Chicago. Never worked directly for the D’s office, I was lower down the food chain and every time they merged / re-orged and added a new layer of middle management I tended to get more reponsibility with less authority and end up a step further away from the D’s office. Come to think of it, that is a perfect description of how CMS ended up where it is today.
I can relate to the OJT needs; every time we got a new political appointee, especially from the private sector, you had to break them in and educate them about the legal limits they had to work within.