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Rauner eliminates EPAR

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* The EO isn’t yet posted online, so we don’t know the details…

Governor Bruce Rauner signed Executive Order 15-16 today to remove a layer of government bureaucracy in hiring civil-service positions (Rutan-covered positions) and to protect the hiring process from unlawful political influence.

Executive Order 15-16 rescinds Executive Order 03-01, which required the Governor’s Office to review and approve the hiring and promotion decisions of Rutan-covered positions at state agencies. This system was inefficient, contributing to significant delays in hiring and promotion decisions. It also became a tool for political patronage, which led to an increase in patronage hiring in previous administrations.

Governor Rauner requested Illinois Central Management Services and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget to review this system – known as EPAR – and they recommended it be discontinued. Agencies will be subject to budget and headcount limits, but will be allowed to fill Rutan-covered positions according to the applicable personnel rules and collective-bargaining agreements.

Executive Order 15-16 also requires all employment and personal services contracts going forward to allow the State to terminate the contract without penalty.

EPAR was a reform that had certainly been abused. But what he’s also doing here is eliminating any legal paper trails between his office and agencies that are hiring.

…Adding… The EO is here.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:27 pm

Comments

===But what he’s also doing here is eliminating any legal paper trails between his office and agencies that are hiring.===

“Paper trails”…

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:31 pm
All this does is move political hiring decisions from the Governor’s office to the agency leaders, so they better hope their agency leaders are on the team.

For what it’s worth, I’m a staunch defender of the right to hire based on politics in double exempt positions. This doesn’t eliminate that, it just means the Gov’s office won’t be approving them, on paper anyway.

Comment by Daniel Plainview Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:37 pm
Paper trails = electronic fingerprints (that cannot be erased).

Comment by Concerned Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:37 pm
No paper trails = political patronage hiring

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:38 pm
Another “reform” that some claim was abused by individuals in positions of trust. Not sure changing the process back to the way it was wouldn’t make things even worse — if we have the right people at the top taking the second look.

Comment by walker Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:42 pm
Superstars don’t need no stinkin’ paper trails!

Comment by How Ironic Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:45 pm
Looks like Mr. Shakman’s hiring monitor at IDOT is going to be REALLY busy now—not to mention he may have to expand his practice to include ALL agencies in Illinois. Wow. Let the patronage games begin (not that they’ve ever stopped). Seeing as the Blagoites were never fumigated, this is going to be epic!

Comment by Gone, but not forgotten Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:45 pm
Good riddance, but on the other hand I’m sure the day will come that the Gov’s office wishes they still had this or something like it.

Comment by The Captain Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:46 pm
==Executive Order 15-16 also requires all employment and personal services contracts going forward to allow the State to terminate the contract without penalty.==

As a contractor (but I don’t do business with the state) this means that my bids would be higher. So instead of paying to get rid of guys like me, you are paying more to get guys like me. Not exactly saving the state money is it?

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:48 pm
The new interview question:

Who in the hell d’you think you are? A super star.
Well, right you are.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:51 pm
The EPAR system definitely made the hiring process less efficient, although things could get streamlined when necessary. But to say it was adding to corruption is pure applesauce. For spots that are Rutan covered, the employee’s name isn’t even in the EPAR. Nor does it go to the Governor’s office. And given the reality that agencies can’t be going on a hiring spree since there is no budget, this definitely smells it’s being done to remove a paper trail more than improve the hiring process.

Comment by Juice Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:54 pm
Fyi..it is the Rutan “Exempt” positions that are the appointment /term/double exempt positions…I don’t see how this will effect political appts..at all.

Comment by cez Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:01 pm
I never cared much for EPAR so no problem with that. What concerns me is #2 where is says employment contract can be terminated without cause

Comment by Former Merit Comp Slave Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:17 pm
===Ducky LaMoore - Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 2:48 pm:===

If they try to stretch you any thinner, you could change your screen name to Rubber Ducky LaMoore.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:36 pm
It’s always the cover-up that gets you. If there is no paper trail, you don’t have to worry about covering it up when things go wrong.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:37 pm
So much for having his team’s back. I imagine this will make it a little trickier to pin patronage hires on a guy who made a campaign promise that there wouldn’t be patronage hires.

= What concerns me is #2 where is says employment contract can be terminated without cause =

If I am the employee they want gone, I’d rather them just do it instead of have an auditor, HR, or IG find a reason to get me gone.

Comment by Dirty Red Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:37 pm
Don’t send nobody that nobody sent.

Comment by Keyser Soze Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:38 pm
@A Guy
As soon as my checks start to bounce that will be my screen name. LOL

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:41 pm
Perhaps we need permanent judicial overview / patronage monitor over hiring just like they have at IDOT. Shaman should be licking his chops.

Comment by Austin Blvd Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:46 pm
So long as they still have a reporting structure in place, all this does is make hiring approvals informal. You are crazy if you think an agency head will make a hire of any significance without approval from legal, DCoS and others on 16/2. It really just makes it easier to blame agencies’ leadership when the feds/press take an interest in an employee.

Comment by Juan MacLean Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:59 pm
HR is a bureaucratic mess. This order removes 1 of the many, many steps involved in hiring a person. This step took anywhere from two weeks to two months to “complete”. Good riddance. Let’s hope they start working on the other bottlenecks in hiring process.

Comment by Rufus Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 3:59 pm
Also a little strange from a PE guy - let that company run itself, things will work out.

Comment by Juan MacLean Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 4:14 pm
No paper trails between the guv’s office and agencies on hiring? Sweet.

But Shrimpf and crew missed a trick on the announcement:

For Immediate Release: Governor signs executive order to save trees, reduce litter.

Comment by Wordslinger Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 4:19 pm
This is a very good move by the administration. Whether it was faulty design or faulty implementation, the system was just too slow. I don’t see this as an attempt to evade Rutan at all. In fact the epars made an administration awAre of every hire, something that could lead to from the top attempts to impose names for hires that were Rutan covered.. This move will make the Govern’s office unaware of 90% of the agency hires.

Comment by steve schnorf Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 4:33 pm
We’ll see, or maybe not considering this gov’s transparency issues, what GOMB put’s in its place.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 5:23 pm
Agree with Steve. EPAR system increased dysfunction in a bad system.

Now if the State could get to a real personnel system; one that let you match skills and positions, develop people to meet anticipated needs, and reward good performance, that would be a huge gain. Baby steps.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 5:27 pm
First a political fixer to run procurement and now this? This is a continuation of RRB not changing the system.

Comment by Nicky Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 5:36 pm
Good move. It takes over 300 days to fill any CMS/BCCS position under the current process. That is not a joke or a typo.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 6:51 pm
Good riddance….very good decision!

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jul 16, 15 @ 7:24 pm
It looks pretty suspicious when the first thing you eliminate from an inefficient system is the paper trail.

Comment by Angry Chicagoan Friday, Jul 17, 15 @ 6:26 am
Asking questions are in fact fastidious thing if you are not
understanding something completely, except this article provides pleasant understanding yet.

Comment by Imogene Tuesday, Jul 28, 15 @ 12:27 pm