* I’m told the governor now has the votes to make this happen…

Gov. Pat Quinn’s former campaign manager has decided to pursue overtures to become executive director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, setting the stage for a lame-duck maneuver that could rankle Mayor Rahm Emanuel and tie the hands of Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner.

Aides to the governor had insisted Friday that Lou Bertuca was not interested in replacing Kelly Kraft as head of the state agency that built U.S. Cellular Field and rebuilt Soldier Field.

They confirmed a report by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed that Bertuca had been approached about the job by the governor’s appointees to the board. But, the sources insisted that Bertuca was not interested.

Over the weekend, Bertuca apparently had a change of heart and decided to interview for the job. Unless one of Quinn’s four appointees to the seven-member board jumps ship, Bertuca is likely to have the votes to win the coveted job.

* Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner was not pleased…

Asked if there was anything he could do to reverse the move once he was in office, Rauner said: “I hope so.”

I don’t think there’s much he can do.

*** UPDATE 1 *** It’s now a done deal…

Gov. Pat Quinn’s former campaign manager was hired as executive director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority on Monday.

In a 4-3 vote during a meeting at U.S. Cellular Field, the board gave a two-year contract to Lou Bertuca.

*** UPDATE 2 *** It didn’t go well…

The decision drew outrage from the three ISFA board members appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. They blasted board Chairman Emil Jones for hiring Bertuca without a search process.

“We think the taxpayers of the state of Illinois are due a transparent process in how we select the executive director,” board member Jim Reynolds, Loop Capital CEO, said at the meeting. “That’s not what happened today.” […]

Jones argued that the board’s statute does not require a national search for a candidate, but Mesirow Financial Holdings Chairman Richard Price and longtime bank executive Norm Bobins joined Reynolds in staunch opposition to the way the hiring was done.

“Whether the law says you do a national search or not, I think just going with the government’s assistant isn’t much of a search,” Bobins said during the meeting.

Oof.