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Why was this Corrections official allowed to lobby for a couple of big Corrections vendors?

Illinois prison officials said Tuesday they are conducting an internal investigation into a Downstate deputy warden whose relationship with New Mexico’s prison chief led to his suspension and an investigation in that state.

Illinois prisons spokesman Derek Schnapp said privacy rules prevent him from elaborating on the agency’s investigation of Ann E. Casey, assistant warden for programs at the Centralia Correctional Center, who also has registered as a lobbyist in New Mexico for suppliers of prison health care and food services. […]

Records also show that since 2005, Casey has been a registered lobbyist in New Mexico for Wexford Health Sources of Pittsburgh. In 2004, Wexford was awarded a contract worth as much as $100 million for providing health services in New Mexico prisons. In 2005, Casey also registered in New Mexico as a lobbyist for Aramark, a food-service provider.

Wexford also has contracts with the Illinois Department of Corrections for medical services that have paid the firm more than $51 million so far this budget year and $71.7 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005, records show.

There’s more. Read it all.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 6:11 am

Comments

Those damn George Ryan people are so crooked. But they are only interested in Illinois. Smalltimers.

It took the Bazookavich crowd to really show us how corruption can be spread around the country when you want your boy to be a national figure. Simply stunning to see how NOBODY in this administration cares about keeping the corruption right here in Illinois. Blaguzzler has to go.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 7:15 am
Itâ€™s my understanding that the only problem she has on the Illinois side is the secondary employment application. If she failed to report it to the agency director, sheâ€™s probably in some of hot water.

I canâ€™t imagine the Illinois corrections agency director allowing an assistant warden to have a second job as a lobbyist; a lobbyist for a firm that does business with the State of Illinois.

Comment by B Hicks Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 7:34 am
Just another stupid move by inept people.They figured way south of I-80 no one would notice.

Comment by DOWNSTATE Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 8:32 am
The important question over the long term, however, is…is it legal under Illinois laws.
Given Illinois’ extraordinary history of corruption, including under the current administration, it may well be.

Wonder who hired her and why.

Comment by Cassandra Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 8:46 am
Do you think anyone will ask what other secondary employment applications have been approved by Director Walker. Shouldn’t he have known better? Why did he approve it? Shouldn’t the Inspector General be all over this?

Comment by anon Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 9:31 am
I believe that all of this falls under the much touted ethics reform package that the Governor reqiures everyone to take but only the small fry have to follow.Appointees like her have a free will.Just one more corrupt reason he needs to go.As far as the Inspector General he is brought and paid for by the Governor.

Comment by DOWNSTATE Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 9:45 am
A fish rots from the head on down. The top officials of this administration show by example weekly what they think of rules and ethics, is it any surprise the people lower down take their cues from this?

Comment by Gregor Samsa Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 12:31 pm
- anon - Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 9:31 am:

Shouldnâ€™t the Inspector General be all over this?

I share a similiar question, HAS BLAGOJEVICH ASKED HIS INSPECTOR GENERAL TO INVESTIGATE THIS SINCE THE INSPECTOR GENERAL CANNOT INITIATE AN INVESTIGATION AT HIS OR HER WILL!

This seems to violate conflict of interests laws in the State Officials and Employees Act, 5 ILCS 430/, BUT WHOSE ENFORCING THESE LAWS ANYWAY!

Comment by ONE MAN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 2:24 pm
It is more then that. Follow the cash, has anybody tied the “lobbyist” or the contractors to the blago campaign fund. The common ground with all of the corruption stories is that each of them ends with cash making its way into the fund.

Lets wait and see where this trail ends, but we all know, add her to the list of people for the investigators to flip on Rod, and flip she will.

Comment by the Patriot Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 2:28 pm
Let’s See…. She made two campaign contributions to Frank Watson, one to Senate Democrats and one to the Governor. Pretty evenly split here.

Comment by Anon Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 2:47 pm
It’s not Casey’s campaign contributions that are suspect, it’s her employers’ contributions. The NM Governor is already getting very bad press for the $10,000 that he received from the state contractors that she lobbies for, and he’s placed his Corrections guy on unpaid leave. That’s only half of the equation in this unfolding story. She’s got some serious ethics violations looming.

How many of these types of unethical problems can the Governor’s administration endure? Is there any wonder why Topinka focuses on ethics?

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 3:06 pm
Why not be allowed to do it? Isn’t it obvious by now that anything goes with Blago insiders? They do what they want until they get investigated (caught), then they *resign*. The end result is Blago’s people whip together a Press Release saying how bad this person was, the administration pretends to punish the person then brags about how ethical they are behaving by eliminating the person from the state’s payroll.

Comment by Papa Legba Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 5:14 pm
what’s the difference between this woman moonlighting for DoC vendors and Mark Kolatz owning 15% of a company that does business with the State?

Comment by Riddle Me This Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 5:30 pm
The difference is she’s a registered lobbyist (in another state) for a company that contracts on a large scale with the state agency she’s employed with. She works on both sides of the contractor/employer equation. The questionable ethics implications are obvious.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 5:45 pm
Does any of this really surprise anyone ??? This is the same administration that said “no more biz as usual !?” You know state employees are now required to take an “ethics review” and then a “test” and is a requirement for continued employement. Actually some agencies can render discipline if they don’t take it. {Guess so that’s so they can say they’re “”trained”" when they get ready to bounce them from a job siting violations or infractions} Wonder what these folks scores were ??? Maybe CMS somehow “rigged” the exams so they’d pass. Hell, they ought to re-write the test with these very “case studies” , change the names to protect the innocent {if in fact you can find one}–and really tell employees this is what NOT to do ! It’s another in a long list of “don’t do as I do…do as I say” from this “not by me” governor. The guy is proven trouble for this state in about a million {**correction several billion ways} … he’s got to go !! JBT may not be everyone’s answer but it’s got to change and for now she’s the only answer.

Comment by anon in central illinois Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 5:48 pm
If you know anything about Corrections, you know that Director Walker (while he seems to be a very nice person and a gentleman), makes no important decisions. Associate Director Benos, housed in Chicago, really runs the show.

Comment by Peaches Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 6:11 pm
Trust me, she’s not an insider.

As an assistant warden of programs, Casey would have absolutely NO say in the awarding of contracts.

Sheâ€™s a lifelong Morgan County Republican. She has no ties to this administration. She has served in corrections for several years, earned a degree while working in corrections, and was promoted for her work history and credentials. Simple as that.

As far as whether itâ€™s legal, appropriate, or cool to be a registered lobbyist for Wexford and an assistant warden with corrections; thatâ€™s for all of the political experts on this blog to decide.

Comment by B Hicks Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 6:22 pm
Rich…off topic here, but could you get a copy of the “list of 1800″ and post it at the Blog?

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 6:37 pm
B Hicks- maybe you should check her pedigree a bit further. Maybe even figure out whom she has a relationship with. Then maybe you will stop defending this administration for every one of their missteps. But I doubt it. Up until they put the cuffs on your beloved governor, you will most likely continue to defend his administration and their corrupt ways.

Comment by roy slade Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 8:21 pm
Six Degrees of Separation - what is the “list of 1800″? Is that the number on the updated clout list since the original number was around 260?

Comment by girl friday Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 8:25 pm
Hey Roy-

Her ties are with the former Republican administration. She is dialed in with Donald Snyder and Andy Walterâ€”former director and chief of staff for corrections, under Ryan.

You know those two, the ones that went to work for Wexford shortly after they were let go by this administration. Check it out, Roy. Ask around.

But, what do I know?

Comment by B Hicks Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 9:35 pm
girl friday: The list is a new one obtained by the AP. The list indicates that the Gov did review and approve many hires. Here is a link.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/hires31.html

Enjoy

Comment by Papa Legba Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 9:57 pm
Well, since Blago doesn’t think it’s corrupt that his spokesperson is also a registered lobbyist, then he obviously wouldn’t see the corruption with this arrangement either.

Reddbyrd: Where are you on this topic?

Comment by Anon. Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 10:04 pm
So I’m on the first tee with him and I give him a driver. He hauls off and whacks one (big hitter, the Llama…. long) right into a 10,000 foot gorge at the base of this glacier. And he turns to me and says, “goonga
galoonga….goo….goongalagoonga.”

So we finish playing 18, and he’s going to stiff me! So I say, “Hey! Llama! Hey! How about a little something, you know…. for the effort, you know.” So he says, “Oh, uh…there won’t be any money. But when you die…. on your death bed…you shall receive total consciousness.” So I got that going for me. Which is nice.

Comment by B Hicks Wednesday, May 31, 06 @ 10:45 pm
B Hicks - You’re completely wrong about Snyder and Walter. You’re completely wrong often.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Jun 1, 06 @ 10:00 am
I’m sure that people are done reading this post by now, but I can assure you, I’m not wrong.

If you know so much, anon, correct me.

Comment by B Hicks Thursday, Jun 1, 06 @ 5:35 pm
Snyder owner of D.S. Interprises, a lobby firm
Walter works for Health Proffessionals, Peoria,IL.

Once again B Hicks YOU ARE WRONG !!!!

Comment by dumb ol' country boy Thursday, Jun 1, 06 @ 6:12 pm
Where did they work when they first left corrections?

Don’t get me started on HPL; contributions, hotel deals, etc.

Comment by B Hicks Thursday, Jun 1, 06 @ 10:24 pm
If anyone ever worked with her they would know she is not a good employee. Everywhere she has been her co- workers have carried her.

Comment by centrallia Saturday, Jun 3, 06 @ 2:14 am
Interesting…

Comment by Konstantinos Friday, May 18, 07 @ 4:15 pm
Nice!

Comment by Kyriacos Friday, May 18, 07 @ 4:27 pm
Nice

Comment by Matthaios Friday, May 18, 07 @ 10:11 pm
Cool!

Comment by Anastasios Friday, May 18, 07 @ 10:29 pm
Cool.

Comment by Boreas Friday, May 18, 07 @ 10:40 pm
Interesting…

Comment by Hristos Tuesday, May 22, 07 @ 11:09 pm