Springfield, Ill. – The hiring practices of the Illinois governor’s office are the focus of a federal investigation into possible misconduct at several state agencies, a federal prosecutor said in a letter made public Friday.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in the letter he is looking into “very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud” by Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration. The allegations include violations of restrictions against using politics to award jobs.
Investigators have “developed a number of credible witnesses,” the letter states.
The Democratic governor, who was elected on a promise to clean up government, has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Blagojevich says his administration’s hiring practices are ethical and lawful.
In the letter, Fitzgerald asks Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to halt her investigations into the Blagojevich administration because they might interfere with the federal probe.
Madigan released the letter to the public with Fitzgerald’s approval, said Madigan spokeswoman Melissa Merz, and Madigan has agreed to drop her investigations. Merz would not comment further.
This is the first time Fitzgerald has said he is investigating the administration, although Blagojevich has acknowledged his agencies and some of his high-ranking aides were being scrutinized.
Blagojevich’s spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff issued a statement saying that the governor’s anti-corruption efforts uncovered misconduct by “some bad apples,” and the findings were turned over to Fitzgerald. “We will continue pursuing those who would break the rules,” she said.
Fitzgerald’s letter says his office began investigating Blagojevich about a year ago and “has now implicated multiple state agencies and departments.” He said the investigation involves allegations of rigging hiring practices and falsifying documents to allow for political hiring in violation of the federal “Rutan” ruling, a U.S. Supreme Court decision restricting political hiring and firing in government.
Blagojevich was elected four years ago largely because he promised to turn government around after the scandal that ended with former governor George Ryan being convicted – by Fitzgerald – on a variety of corruption charges.
But critics have accused Blagojevich of running a “pay-to-play” administration, where only people with money get access to lucrative government contracts and state jobs.
The Associated Press and the Chicago Sun-Times obtained a list in May of nearly 300 names of people targeted for state jobs and the clout-heavy sponsors who recommended them.
In early June, the AP reported on a list of 1,800 hires, promotions and transfers that top Blagojevich aides personally approved early in 2003 even though hundreds of the jobs were protected by civil service rules that prohibit political consideration. In 1,200 cases, names were attached to the jobs, despite administration claims that its hiring process is “blind” and that officials don’t know applicants’ names when deciding whether to fill a position.
Also on Friday, 18 former Illinois Department of Transportation workers filed lawsuits alleging that Blagojevich and top IDOT aides fired them illegally in 2004 and replaced them with Blagojevich supporters.
