Newly elected state Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) argues Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s contention that federal oversight is no longer needed when it comes to state hiring flies in the face of all the state’s political winds.
“Our governor hired 35 people from (House Speaker Mike) Madigan’s clout list,” Jacobs told the SE Illinois News. “Yet he’s the one that wants to rid Illinois of the federal government’s oversight. Illinois has a very poor patronage hiring practice, even after the Shakman Decree of 1972. The executive branch of Illinois has consistently hired patronage employees.”
The governor recently renewed his push for the court-ordered federal oversight of state government hiring practices in the executive branch to become a thing of the past, insisting that there is no longer a need for the kind of supervision mandated by the Shakman Decrees from nearly four decades ago.
“I think it’s obvious that Gov. Pritzker would like to be able to continue the hiring practice,” added Jacobs, who was recently elected in the 115th District. “This would allow him and future executives to hire as payback for things that could be construed as illegal from donors.”
Jacobs argue he doesn’t have to look far for example of the kind of corruption he’s convinced is now destroying Springfield, pointing to the federal corruption probe longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan now finds himself at the center of involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme.
And then, there are the governor’s own troubles, namely the federal investigation looking into him avoiding $331,000 in property taxes by ripping the toilets out of a Gold Coast mansion he owns.
“This type of corruption seems to be rampant in our state,” Jacobs added. “It’s up to the people of Illinois to be very careful with their votes, try to do the right thing and vote people in that will do good. That goes along with the ideas that have been proposed in the legislature to add an ethics bill that in fact would require more recusals of possible conflict of interest bills and dealing with term limits to encourage honesty among long-term legislators and changes in our lobbying laws that would preclude a legislator from retiring and immediately taking a job as a lobbyist.”
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