Blagojevich Hiring

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^By JOHN O'CONNOR=

^AP Political Writer=

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration picked a campaign donor's son over eight other applicants for a high-level prison job but designated him an intern when it was time to put him on the state payroll, saying he needed more experience.

The intern status meant the administration did not have to follow the normal hiring restrictions that limit political influence and favor military veterans.

Officials said that wasn't the motivation for making Bernard Ysursa Jr. an intern while he served as business administrator at the Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center in East St. Louis. They said he needed time to adjust to the job before he took it on as a full-fledged state employee.

Ysursa, 34, is the son of a lawyer in a prominent St. Clair County firm whose contributions to Democratic campaigns top $100,000 since 2000 – including $15,000 to Blagojevich. Ysursa also has degrees in business administration.

He dismissed the notion that political connections opened the door for him.

"I am more than qualified for this position," Ysursa said Wednesday. "I have a master's in business administration. I have nothing to hide. I would love to put my resume up against anybody's."

The business administrator's post is covered by laws requiring it to be filled on the basis of experience and education, and not political considerations. Qualified military veterans get first chance at the position.

It's unknown whether any of the eight applicants who lost out to Ysursa, who has no military experience, were veterans or experienced Department of Corrections employees. Despite a state administrative rule making job applicants' names public record, the governor's office won't release the list for this job, saying it would violate the privacy of unsuccessful applicants.

Corrections officials said it's not unusual that the best candidate for a job would be made an intern because he needed more experience.

"He was the person after we interviewed, with his background, and his previous experience, that we wanted to put in that position," said Sergio Molina, executive assistant to the Corrections director.

Federal prosecutors are investigating the Democratic governor's hiring practices, including whether the process was rigged to skirt laws insulating hiring from politics to favor people with clout.

Ysursa took a winding path to a state job.

He spent 4 1/2 years as a correctional officer and probation officer at the St. Clair County Juvenile Detention Center.

On March 13, 2003, Blagojevich's personnel director approved hiring Ysursa as Southwestern's $55,000-a-year assistant warden of operations, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.

But "assistant warden" is crossed out on the form and a handwritten note indicates Ysursa would instead be a public administration intern at $43,000 – the maximum salary for an intern in that position.

Ysursa left his St. Clair County job at the end of March, according to county records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Then, four days later, Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said, he interviewed with the state, this time for the job of business administrator, which oversees the prison's purchasing and payroll.

Ysursa started the job on April 7, 2003, as an intern but with all the duties of prison business administrator. Molina said he trained under the prison's business manager, typically the second in command of the business office. Ysursa was promoted to a permanent position in March 2004, Ottenhoff said. He now makes $48,528, which is 13 percent more than when he started.

Ottenhoff said the reason for all the changes was that while the governor's office wanted to make Ysursa assistant warden, the Corrections Department said he could be more useful in the business office. After he interviewed for that post, Corrections officials decided he needed more experience and should be hired as an intern before getting a full-fledged state job.

Ysursa said he didn't know that he initially had been approved as an assistant warden. He said he heard about the business administrator's opening from people who work at the prison and he applied. He was leaving his county job whether he got the state prison job or not, he said.

In addition to the March memo from Blagojevich personnel director Joe Cini approving the assistant warden hire, Ysursa's name appears on a list obtained by The Associated Press of nearly 300 names of job candidates and their political sponsors that the administration kept in the months after Blagojevich took office in January 2003.

His sponsor is listed as "SF," for Sam Flood, director of the Department of Natural Resources and an active St. Clair County Democrat. Flood did not return a call seeking comment.

Ysursa's name first appeared in February when the AP reported that at least a third of the 300 interns the administration hired have direct or family ties to Democrats and their political campaigns.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: John O'Connor has covered Illinois government and politics for The Associated Press since 1998.

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^By The Associated Press=

Key dates in the Illinois Department of Corrections' hiring of Bernard Ysursa Jr., 34, son of a campaign donor:

– December 2002: Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center in East St. Louis advertises an opening for a business administrator.

– March 13, 2003: A memo from Gov. Rod Blagojevich's personnel office approves hiring Ysursa as a $55,000 assistant warden at Southwestern. But a handwritten note indicates Ysursa will be made an intern with the title of business administrator.

– March 31, 2003: Ysursa leaves his job as a St. Clair County juvenile probation officer.

– April 3, 2003: Ysursa interviews for the business post, one of nine candidates.

– April 7, 2003: Ysursa begins the business administrator job, but as a $43,000 intern because he needs more experience, according to Blagojevich's office.

– Sept. 19, 2003: Last of three $5,000 contributions, starting in June 2002, to Blagojevich's campaign from Ysursa's father's Belleville law firm.

Sources: Documents, Blagojevich administration, St. Clair County, Illinois State Board of Elections.

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THE MEMO: A March 2003 memo obtained by The Associated Press approves hiring Bernard Ysursa Jr., son of a campaign donor, as assistant prison warden. A handwritten note changes that to business administrator and makes Ysursa an intern.

THE JOB: To get the business administrator's job, Ysursa had to compete against eight other candidates. He came out on top, but he was designated an intern because he needed more experience, says a spokeswoman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

THE INVESTIGATION: Federal officials are examining the first-term Democrat's hiring practices, including whether the process was rigged to skirt laws insulating hiring from politics to favor people with clout.

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^AP Exclusive: Governor's office hired by name well into 2004<

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^By JOHN O'CONNOR=

^AP Political Writer=

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office was approving candidates by name for state jobs as late as autumn 2004, nearly 18 months after aides said a "blind" hiring system was created, documents show.

Well into Blagojevich's second year in office, his chief of staff and personnel director continued to sign off on names of candidates for such jobs as secretary, auto mechanic and film office intern, nearly 300 employment forms obtained by The Associated Press reveal.

At least one-quarter of the forms relate to positions covered by laws and court rulings that prohibit hiring decisions based on political clout and give priority to veterans and minorities. Others might also be covered but are not immediately apparent.

Politics played no role in the hiring decisions, Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said. She noted that it's not illegal for the governor's office to know the names of people being considered for nonpolitical jobs.

But tracking candidates by name raises the possibility that Blagojevich aides could have influenced hiring decisions, and it contradicts the governor's statements that he instituted safeguards early in his tenure to eliminate that possibility.

Blagojevich's hiring practices are the subject of an investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who says he has found credible witnesses to "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud." Blagojevich, a first-term Democrat, has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Elected on a promise to end the practice of awarding jobs and contracts as political favors, Blagojevich has long said he set up a "blind" hiring process after taking office in January 2003. He responded to a budget crisis with a hiring freeze and said his staff had to review every job to determine whether filling it was affordable, but that aides didn't consider the names of job applicants in making those decisions.

The newly obtained hiring documents indicate then-chief of staff Lon Monk, who now runs Blagojevich's re-election campaign, approved hiring scores of people by name for jobs over which the governor by law has no say. The latest of the documents initialed by Monk was from Sept. 21, 2004.

Originally, Blagojevich's aides suggested he had implemented a blind hiring system just after taking office. Then they said it was done by late spring of 2003, aside from the occasional form where a name was accidentally included. Now they say the process was phased in.

"Developing a new system takes time," Ottenhoff said by e-mail. She did not return phone calls.

She pointed out that some of the forms required the officials making hiring decisions to check one of two spaces – either declaring that the job is exempt from hiring laws or that clout was not a factor. Ottenhoff said that proves politics did not play an improper role.

But three-fifths of the forms did not require the checks.

The AP reported last month that the administration had created lists of 1,800 jobs – accompanied in 1,200 cases by names – in early 2003. Ottenhoff said the names weren't considered and that the list was replaced by late spring with a system that omits names for jobs that are supposed to be filled without interference from the governor.

The newly obtained forms show the governor's office continued to see candidates' names in late 2004. Asked why, Ottenhoff said state agencies changed their practices at different times. "Some agencies moved more quickly to fully implement the blind, electronic system than others," she said.

But most of the hiring forms were created by the governor's office, not his agencies. Ottenhoff did not respond to requests for an explanation.

Nearly all the memorandums were sent by Joseph Cini to Monk, who did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Technically called director of intergovernmental affairs, Cini is in charge of patronage – hiring for jobs the governor controls. The administration has acknowledged Cini's work is under federal scrutiny.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: John O'Connor has covered Illinois government and politics for The Associated Press since 1998.

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"SIX-BOXES": Nearly 300 of these forms, used by Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration to approve hiring for state jobs, were obtained by The Associated Press. Six-box forms dated as late as the fall of 2004 include names of candidates, even though the governor's office has said it created a "blind" system to ensure that names are not considered for jobs protected from political considerations.

SIGN-OFF: Nearly all the forms were sent to Lon Monk, Blagojevich's chief of staff who now runs his re-election campaign, whose initials appear on most forms. Most were created by Joe Cini, the man in Blagojevich's office in charge of hiring for the few thousand jobs the governor does control.

SIGNIFICANCE: The forms raise the possibility that Blagojevich's office could have intervened in filling jobs that were supposed to be off-limits to the governor, although the administration denies that. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is investigating whether the administration violated hiring laws.

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^By JOHN O'CONNOR=

^AP Political Writer=

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Gov. Rod Blagojevich defended his administration's hiring practices and expressed confidence in top aides Tuesday despite a federal investigation into his handling of jobs that are supposed to be shielded from politics.

But the Democratic governor could not explain why his office has offered different accounts of when it implemented a hiring process intended to keep political considerations from influencing who gets state jobs.

"Well, I don't know. I can't speak to that," Blagojevich said at an event in Rolling Meadows.

The Associated Press reported this week that Blagojevich's chief of staff was signing off in late 2004 on candidates' names for jobs that are supposed to be insulated from politics.

That's nearly 18 months after aides said a "blind" hiring process was adopted so that names – and thus political connections – would not be considered.

Asked later if the system is completely blind today, spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said, "The design of the system is to not include the identity of candidates." She could not say when the administration completed its switch to a hiring process that omitted names.

Blagojevich, who was elected on a promise to clean up government, continued to portray the federal investigation as evidence of his attempts to fight corruption.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald wrote in a letter last month that he has found credible witnesses to "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in multiple Blagojevich agencies. But Blagojevich maintains some of those allegations are the result of his independent inspector general rooting out problems and referring them to law enforcement.

"A lot of what we're seeing with this issue is an example of our systems working," Blagojevich said.

The Democratic governor has acknowledged his personnel director, Joseph Cini, is being scrutinized by federal prosecutors, and his own inspector general also has accused Cini of trying to subvert state hiring laws. Key hiring documents also went to then-chief of staff Lon Monk, now Blagojevich's campaign manager.

Still, Blagojevich said he's not worried about questions surrounding their activities. "Absolutely no wrongdoing has been leveled at anybody who is close to me," he said in an interview with Chicago's WGN-TV.

Most jobs in state government are protected by laws and court rulings that prohibit hiring decisions based on political clout and give preference to veterans and minorities.

Blagojevich has long maintained that his hiring system for such protected positions did not consider names – that is, his office decided when to fill job vacancies but did not know the names of who would be hired.

When the AP reported in June that lists of 1,800 jobs – accompanied in 1,200 cases by names – were approved by top Blagojevich aides early in 2003, spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said the blind system was implemented in spring 2003. After the AP report that Monk was approving individuals for protected jobs as late as autumn 2004, Ottenhoff then said the process was phased in.

She did not answer a question about whether Blagojevich knew that Monk was involved in approving job candidates by name.

"But it's important to know that the appearance of a name on a form is in no way an indication that rules weren't followed," Ottenhoff said.

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Associated Press Writer Michael Tarm in Rolling Meadows contributed to this article.

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^By JOHN O'CONNOR=

^AP Political Writer=

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Under investigation by federal prosecutors, the Blagojevich administration is tightening its rules for hiring government interns – positions that often have gone to people with political connections to the Democratic governor.

A memo obtained by The Associated Press also emphasizes that government contracts must be free of political taint. It lays out detailed procedures to follow when a state agency hires an independent contractor to do specialized work that a state employee otherwise would perform.

The July 26 memo from Gov. Rod Blagojevich's top lawyer, William Quinlan, said the administration is "firmly committed" to following employment laws that limit the role of politics and give military veterans first chance at state jobs.

The memo stresses that internships are meant for recent college graduates and sets new rules requiring adherence to that policy.

So experienced government employees are no longer supposed to be given important state jobs while being labeled "intern," a position exempt from some hiring regulations.

Associated Press reviews have found that the program, in which the average age is 31, included many campaign contributors or their relatives. Because they were considered interns and not true state employees, they could be hired without going through normal procedures.

Internships went to a spouse and cousin of top Blagojevich aides, the 60-year-old relative of a Democratic congressman, a lawmaker's son who already was on the state payroll in a similar capacity, and a longtime state employee and former campaign staffer who was named one agency's $54,000 human resources director.

In one case, the 31-year-old son of a Blagojevich contributor was declared the top candidate for the job of prison business administrator, but he was hired as an intern. Officials said he needed more experience, but the AP obtained a memo showing they decided to make the position an internship two weeks before the man even interviewed for the job.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald confirmed an investigation in a June letter, in which he said his office has found credible witnesses to "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the first-term governor's administration.

Blagojevich has not been charged with any crime, and he denies any wrongdoing. The memo comes 3 1/2 years into an administration that has claimed it erased clout from the hiring formula.

Spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said it merely reflects Blagojevich's efforts to make hiring procedures better.

"We've said from the beginning that we'll look for ways to change and improve the system, and we remain committed to doing that," Ottenhoff said in an e-mail message Monday. She would not respond to specific followup questions.

In the memo, Quinlan told Department of Central Management Services Director Paul Campbell to implement new rules for the 34-year-old internship program "to ensure that the program continues to accomplish its mission of training recent graduates for positions with state agencies."

Starting Sept. 1, a candidate must have received a college degree within the previous 18 months and hiring must be done in accordance with a court ruling that prohibits political considerations. Salaries will be uniform, the internships must be advertised in Illinois colleges and state agencies, and internships will last a minimum of 12 months, instead of six.

Quinlan's memo also specifies rules for awarding "personal services contracts" – those agreements signed with specialists for short-term state-government projects. It says those jobs should be insulated from political considerations by spelling out hiring criteria, carefully documenting the process and following the same procedures used to hire regular employees.

The memo also crimps flexibility for transferring state employees, generally requiring employees to have worked in a single location for at least two years before moving.

The AP reported in December that the Department of Employment Security hired a politically connected man for a job in small Stephenson County, where no veterans had applied, but let him work in Chicago.

The memo reminds CMS employees of the rules for keeping politics out of jobs covered by the 1990 U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as Rutan and for giving veterans preference for state jobs.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: John O'Connor has covered Illinois government and politics for The Associated Press since 1998.

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^By The Associated Press=

MEMO: A July 26 memo from Gov. Rod Blagojevich's top lawyer lays out new guidelines for hiring state government interns and issuing contracts. It reiterates that politics should not be a factor in the decision-making.

CONTEXT: At least one-third of the interns the administration has hired have had political connections, and their average age is 31. The administration has also been accused of awarding contracts to political allies.

SIGNIFICANCE: A spokeswoman says this is just part of Blagojevich's efforts to improve hiring, but it comes as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is investigating possible hiring fraud.

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^By JOHN O'CONNOR=

^AP Political Writer=

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Questionable hiring practices that got two state workers fired by Gov. Rod Blagojevich still were going on months after the workers had been removed, the governor's own inspector general found.

The special treatment of politically connected job applicants continued even after Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey were transferred out of the Department of Central Management Services in the spring of 2005, according to an investigative report obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

"As of Sept. 22, 2005, at least some of these practices still were being followed," Inspector General James Wright wrote in his confidential March 2006 report.

The report came to light on a day when Blagojevich found himself on the defense against questions arising from his administration's charges against DeFraties and Casey.

Seeking to justify the decision to fire the pair, the Blagojevich administration has filed documents with the Civil Service Commission accusing them of keeping files on more than 2,000 job seekers with political connections and giving some of them special treatment.

But the administration also acknowledged that some of those favored applicants were recommended by the governor's office and his agencies.

While Blagojevich took credit Friday for cracking down on misconduct by firing the employees, he claimed to know little about how his office handles hiring or whether any of his top aides pulled strings for people with clout – a question federal prosecutors are investigating.

"Do you think I get up every single day wasting my time doing that?" the Democratic governor snapped. "I get up trying to get health care done for people, education funding, create jobs – the stuff people care about."

DeFraties, former CMS personnel director, and her one-time deputy Casey allegedly fixed hiring procedures in favor of 28 clout-connected job candidates, bypassing the objective process by which applicants' training and experience are evaluated, without regard to politics.

The inspector general's investigation found evidence to uphold the charges and recommend firing DeFraties and Casey and disciplining another employee. He found that CMS deviated from standard procedure in several ways in handling applications from politically favored candidates, known as "specials."

Among other things, they were allowed to fax in applications, getting them into the system quicker; if evaluations found their experience to be deficient, they were returned to the applicant's sponsor; some specials' applications were evaluated "out of order" to put them ahead of others; and jobs for which there were no vacancies were opened if a special was deemed qualified.

DeFraties and Casey were transferred out of their CMS jobs in March 2005 and formally fired in March 2006.

But six months after the transfers, some of those practices continued, the inspector found. The report cited an e-mail saying an application had arrived by fax and gotten an "A" after being graded out of order.

In response to the report, the administration hired an outside law firm to investigate other potential wrongdoing, Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said. That investigation is ongoing, she said.

DeFraties' and Casey's lawyer, Carl Draper of Springfield, did not refer directly to the report, but agreed with its conclusion.

"The practices continued," Draper said. "The director of CMS and the governor would have received the report and yet there was no discipline for those responsible after DeFraties and Casey sought transfers to get away from this mess."

Draper has argued his clients are scapegoats to divert attention from larger questions about hiring practices.

Special applications make up the crux of the government's arguments against DeFraties and Casey.

The Civil Service Commission document alleges that one CMS employee, at DeFraties' instruction, kept a database of 2,103 "special applications" from April 2003 to March 2005. Information in the database included the applicant's name, the grade issued based on training and experience, and any reasons the applicant received a grade other than "A."

The document talks at length about DeFraties and Casey helping favored applicants. It says little, however, about how the pair knew the applicants merited special attention.

But both the filing and the inspector general's report quote several witnesses who said "specials" came from the governor's office, state legislators, agency directors, or political party county chairman.

Blagojevich's hiring practices are the subject of a federal investigation. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has reported finding credible witnesses related to hiring fraud at multiple state agencies.

Blagojevich has consistently blamed any problems on "a few bad apples" and said his inspector general will root them out. He said his role in establishing a strong, independent inspector shows his commitment to fighting corruption.

"The truth is going to come out, and the truth is there were some employees violating the rules," Blagojevich said as he toured the state fairgrounds, his crying 3-year-old daughter in his arms. "In the old days, people would look the other way, maybe even laugh about it."

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Associated Press writer Christopher Wills contributed to this report.

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The Blagojevich administration says two fired employees tracked job applications from hundreds of people with political connections and gave preferential treatment to some. Here's a look at the way these "specials" were handled, according to the administration:

–handled separately from ordinary applications, if submitted by the governor's office, state agencies or lawmakers.

–accepted by fax, so they could be graded more quickly and put ahead of ordinary applications.

–tops of faxed applications were cut off to remove information about what official or state agency had submitted them.

–applications that got "A" grades were entered into the hiring database first.

–applications with lower grades were returned with an explanation of their deficiencies so the jobseekers could correct them.

–specials were allowed to apply again immediately, despite a ban on reapplying within 30 days.

–staff members were pressured to give top grades to special applications or change lower grades to "A's."

–some special applications were graded according to old, less stringent standards.

–applications were graded for jobs that were not being filled. If the applicant did well enough, the job was opened and given to the "special."

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^By JOHN O'CONNOR=

^AP Political Writer=

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Legal documents filed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration in the case of two fired employees suggest that other officials under the Democratic governor shuffled politically connected job applicants into internships for which they were overqualified.

About a dozen candidates on a hiring log were rated highly qualified for top state jobs but wound up in internships, which the administration can hand out without following laws giving military veterans preference.

The filing is part of a larger case against dismissed workers Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey. While the log is meant to back the government's argument that the two were giving favorable treatment to some job applicants, it also reveals cases in which state agencies put seasoned applicants in jobs intended for people with less experience.

The Associated Press reported in February that at least one-third of the 300 interns hired under Blagojevich – some in jobs that were far from entry-level posts – have ties to Democrats. They include political contributions of $1.3 million since 2000, with $400,000 of that going to Blagojevich.

As part of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into Blagojevich's hiring practices, authorities have asked several state employees about specific interns and the intern program, according to a person familiar with the probe who spoke on condition of anonymity because of its sensitivity. Blagojevich has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

DeFraties, former personnel director for the Department of Central Management Services, and her deputy Casey appealed their April firings to the Civil Service Commission, where a judge threw out the case in June.

A hearing has yet to be set on a more detailed case filed by the government in August, zeroing in on 28 people who allegedly got improper hiring favors.

The government's filing in that case includes a log of 2,000 applications allegedly kept by Casey that the government says shows applicants for state jobs getting multiple chances to submit materials or receiving a place in line ahead of others.

The log also includes more than 60 candidates who sought regular jobs before getting internships – at least 11 of whom were determined to be well-suited for regular state jobs.

That raises questions about why agencies under Blagojevich put them into training posts. With stellar evaluations and an average age of 42, they were not the unseasoned, recent college graduates internships were meant to benefit.

They include:

– Kevin Tirey, then 30, an experienced state worker who got an "A" rating for public service administrator – the next-to-highest job category on the payroll – when he applied for a new job in June 2004. Evaluators rate applicants on their training and experience, grading them from "A" to "C" or "reject."

Two weeks later, the former Democratic campaign staffer was labeled an intern but given the duties and $54,000 salary of personnel director at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Tirey said he doesn't recall the details of his hiring but declined further comment.

–Patrick Blair, son-in-law of Sen. Deanna Demuzio, a Carlinville Democrat. He got "A" grades for both public service administrator and senior public service administrator in June 2003. At 42, he started as an intern three weeks later at the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

–Brenda Cockrum, sister-in-law of U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, a Belleville Democrat. She got "A" grades for two categories in April 2003; three weeks later, she began her career as a 60-year-old intern.

–Aaron Phelps, cousin of state Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg. He had to wait 11 weeks after getting an "A" in October 2003 before starting his job at age 30 as a Human Services Department intern.

Cockrum declined comment; neither Blair nor Phelps returned phone calls.

Blagojevich aides have denied the internships were used to skirt veterans-preference hiring laws, a focus of the federal investigation.

They did not explain why the administration's own evidence shows experienced, politically connected candidates getting internships.

"The interns you're referring to did not work for the governor's office, so we don't have information about the process or rationale for their hiring," Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said by e-mail.

After questions arose about the internship program, the governor's office in July issued a memo reiterating employment rules and spelling out new processes for hiring interns. Obtained by the AP, it requires interns to have completed a college degree within the previous 18 months.

The log also indicates 14 people rejected for regular jobs as little as three weeks before beginning internships. They include the daughter of a Democratic Party county chairman, the son of a Blagojevich administration executive and relatives of Democratic campaign contributors.

It would follow that people rejected for regular state jobs would be a good fit for training posts. But their average age was 32, with two 52 or older.

–––

EDITOR'S NOTE: John O'Connor has covered Illinois government and politics for The Associated Press since 1998.

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^By JOHN O'CONNOR=

^AP Political Writer=

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office has concluded that names and qualifications of unsuccessful state job applicants should be released to the public, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration says it won't comply.

The administration should heed its own rule that explicitly defines so-called "eligible lists" as public records, an aide to Madigan wrote in a letter to the governor's office and his Department of Central Management Services.

Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, The Associated Press requested the names and credentials of unsuccessful candidates for jobs filled in 2003.

Agencies under the Democratic governor hired the son-in-law of a Democratic congressman to be a pilot and the son of a St. Clair County Blagojevich campaign contributor as a prison business administrator. The information on other job applicants could shed light on whether more qualified people were passed over.

Central Management Services argues the information is private, although it released the eligible list for a different state job last fall. CMS says it is bound by a 1984 federal appeals court decision from Virginia that barred disclosing job applicants' names under the federal FOIA.

Madigan's public access counselor, Terry Mutchler, wrote to Blagojevich attorney William Quinlan and CMS Director Paul Campbell last week. She pointed out that the state's administrative code, which has the force of law and prevails over any FOIA exemptions, requires disclosure of the information.

"CMS is obligated by its own rules to provide public access to such lists," Mutchler wrote in the letter, which is advisory and doesn't compel cooperation. "CMS has recognized this requirement by providing an eligible list ... in response to an earlier FOIA request."

Blagojevich's hiring practices are under intense scrutiny.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald revealed in June that his office is investigating allegations of hiring fraud in Blagojevich's administration, including whether it skirted a law giving military veterans first shot at state jobs.

The governor's own inspector general uncovered incidents in which Blagojevich's personnel director engaged in "a concerted effort to subvert" hiring laws.

Blagojevich has claimed that his office did not even look at names, let alone consider politics or clout, in hiring people for jobs that are supposed to be free of such influence.

But Blagojevich's personnel office took special interest in Brian Keen, then the son-in-law of U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello of Belleville. In an internal memo obtained by the AP, a Blagojevich staff member said she wanted the military veteran's application "graded ASAP" and followed with other e-mails about it and Keen's attempts to get the proper certificate to fly state planes.

The Corrections Department hired Bernard Ysursa Jr., son of a Blagojevich contributor, as an East St. Louis prison administrator. Officials said he was the best candidate interviewed but that he needed more experience, so they made him an intern – a position exempt from the veterans preference law. But another internal document shows that the agency created the internship a full week before Ysursa even interviewed for the job.

Responding to the attorney general's letter, CMS cited a federal ruling from Richmond, Va., that disclosing information about unsuccessful candidates for federal jobs "may embarrass or harm" them.

"Since our state privacy laws are based on federal statutes, and statutes always trump administrative rules, we believe it would violate the law to release application lists," CMS spokesman Justin DeJong said in an e-mail.

Future lists will be released, however. DeJong said when new application forms are printed, they will include a notice to candidates that information they provide will be made public.

–––

On the Net:

Illinois Administrative Code: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/080/080003040000100R.html

Illinois Freedom of Information Act: http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/government/foia–illinois.html

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THE LISTS: The Blagojevich administration refuses to release the names and qualifications of unsuccessful candidates for two state jobs given to people with political clout. The lists might show whether the administration followed hiring laws and picked the best-qualified candidates.

PUBLIC RECORDS: Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office says the administration must follow its own administrative rule which states, "all records of the Department of Central Management Services, including eligible lists, shall be public records."

PRIVACY CONCERNS: Although CMS released such a list for a different job last fall, it now says it is bound by a 1984 federal appeals court ruling that prohibits the release of information about U.S. government job applicants under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

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^By JOHN O'CONNOR=

^AP Political Writer=

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Etta Johnson is a secretary for an Oak Park school district. She's also a key figure in what has become Gov. Rod Blagojevich's premier example of his corruption-busting efforts.

Blagojevich fired two state personnel officials, claiming they broke the rules and gave special treatment to at least 28 job applicants – including Johnson.

How much help did Johnson really get?

She received the lowest possible grade short of rejection, and she never even got a state job.

"I'd like to know where I got any kind of treatment," said Johnson, 44, who said she's never heard of the two employees accused of pulling strings on her behalf.

Johnson's experience isn't the only weak spot in the administration's case against Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey, whose office once received some of the job applications arriving at the Department of Central Management Services. The Blagojevich administration announced their firings at a news conference in May.

A review of the 28 cases, a list compiled by Blagojevich's inspector general after a yearlong investigation, reveals that some generally match the administration's claims – rejected applications were quickly resubmitted and given better evaluations.

But most contain inconsistencies.

Internal documents obtained by The Associated Press show several never received any grade on a state job application, a requirement for getting a job in one of the governor's agencies. Half were never hired. In some instances, dates for key events appear to be wrong.

"The governor and all of his investigations have turned up nothing," said Carl Draper, the attorney for DeFraties and Casey.

Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff turned down repeated requests to discuss the case. The private lawyers representing the administration did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Blagojevich has said evidence of the misconduct was turned over to federal authorities, and he suggests it became part of the U.S. attorney's investigation into state hiring fraud.

In documents filed with the Civil Service Commission, where DeFraties and Casey appealed their firings, the administration accuses the pair of violating several personnel rules in a scheme favoring some applicants.

That alleged scheme includes pressuring underlings to award better evaluations to some candidates, improperly allowing inadequate applications to be resubmitted, not formally recording sub-par applications and putting favored candidates in line before other job hopefuls.

Casey, a deputy to then-personnel director DeFraties, allegedly kept a log 2,015 applications from 1,218 individuals for about two years ending in spring 2005. It includes names, jobs sought, and grades assigned by CMS employees outside of DeFraties' office who evaluated their training and experience. Candidates were graded from "A" to "C" or rejected.

The 28 names came from that log, but an Associated Press analysis of them suggests the administration's case has holes:

– Contrary to the inspector general's claims, two candidates never received any grade for a state job. Two others, including Johnson, were never graded for the positions for which the inspector general claims they were given preferential treatment, according to the internal documents.

For example, the log shows Johnson applied to be an administrative assistant but was rejected on April 13, 2004. According to the inspector general, she again submitted an application on Dec. 8, 2004, and a CMS evaluator gave her a "C," the lowest grade short of rejection.

But according to the internal documents, Johnson's "C" was for a different job – office aide, not administrative assistant. The documents show she never received a grade for administrative assistant.

Johnson said a receptionist at the CMS testing center in Chicago told her, "If you don't know anyone, you don't get these jobs. You have to get into helping whoever's running."

– Twelve were never hired for state jobs; two later got jobs outside the governor's agencies that didn't require CMS evaluation. Another, who was already a state employee, was never promoted to the post for which she allegedly got a grade improperly; and one got a job exempt from all hiring rules, so she didn't even need to go through the evaluation process.

The administration could argue DeFraties and Casey improperly intervened even if the applicant ultimately didn't benefit.

– In 12 cases, Casey's log shows the initial application and rejection but nothing about the second "improper" application. The Blagojevich administration has not yet shown how it believes Casey and DeFraties knew about the second applications or intervened. In three cases, neither the initial nor the second application appears on Casey's log.

– In at least seven cases, the allegation appears to be that DeFraties and Casey allowed applicants to resubmit applications that were incomplete, lacked a signature or needed more information. No regulations prohibit that, Draper said.

– In several cases, dates in the investigative report are inconsistent. In one, it says a candidate got an "A" grade just three weeks after being rejected because he lacked experience. But the internal documents show his "A" came more than a year later, meaning the man – who never was hired – might have gotten the necessary experience by then.

The documents do show some cases that back up the government's claims, although even they are not clear cut.

In one, a state employee who applied for a new job in September 2004 was rejected, resubmitted an application and won an "A" two weeks later. But he didn't get the position until his job duties were re-evaluated 10 months later – after DeFraties and Casey had left CMS.

Another got an "A" in August 2004, three weeks after being rejected. But a December 2004 memo from Blagojevich's office, obtained by the AP, approves the woman by name for a position that's supposed to be free of political influence.

A spokesman for Executive Inspector General James Wright said the AP's analysis raises "questions of fact" that the Civil Service Commission should settle. He declined further comment.

–––

EDITOR'S NOTE: John O'Connor has covered Illinois government and politics for The Associated Press since 1998.

Blagojevich Administration: "favored" candidates

The Blagojevich administration's case against former personnel employees Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey focuses on 28 state-job applicants who Blagojevich's inspector general says got favorable treatment from the pair. Casey, a deputy to former Department of Central Management Services personnel director DeFraties, allegedly kept a log of all "favored" candidates, showing how many initially were rejected for jobs but, just weeks later, resubmitted applications and got top grades in CMS evaluations.

Below are the findings of an Associated Press analysis of the 28 cases, including names of candidates, the jobs they were seeking and the date, and what appear to be weak spots in the government's case:

1. Ascaridis, Beverly, 56, Chicago, applied for Senior Public Service Administrator on 4/12/04: Resubmitted application doesn't appear on Casey's log, so it's unclear how the government believes Casey or DeFraties knew about it or intervened improperly; never promoted to SPSA; now a public service administrator for the Department of Natural Resources. News reports in September revealed that Ascaridis got the job shortly after her husband, a lifelong Blagojevich friend, gave a $1,500 gift to one of the governor's daughters.

2. Baksys, Mary, applied for Public Service Administrator on 11/29/04: Never appears on Casey's log, never hired.

3. Bigler, Michael, 27, Springfield, Staff Development Specialist I, 3/17/04: Resubmitted application doesn't appear on Casey's log; now a Staff Development Specialist I for the Emergency Management Agency.

4. Brewer, Colm, 36, Springfield, PSA, 9/8/04: Did not become a PSA until his job duties were re-evaluated 10 months later, after DeFraties and Casey had left CMS; now an SPSA for Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

5. Casey, Michael, 38, Chatham, PSA, 12/6/04: No relation to defendant Casey; initial application marked "incomplete;" second application does not appear on Casey's log; now a PSA for Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

6. Clark, DeAnna, 38, Springfield, PSA, 9/23/04: Initial application marked "incomplete;" never became a PSA; now a Human Resources Specialist for the Department of Human Services.

7. DeWitt, Justin, 38, Jacksonville, SPSA, 3/11/04: Second application doesn't appear on Casey's log; now an SPSA for the Department of Public Health.

8. Dirksen, Julie, 64, Springfield, SPSA, 2/4/04: Initial application marked "incomplete;" awarded a job exempt from all hiring rules, so never needed CMS evaluation; now an SPSA for the Historic Preservation Agency.

9. Geppert, Peter, 60, Coulterville, Site Superintendent, 7/1/03: Got "A" grade nine months after initial application; now a site superintendent for the Department of Natural Resources.

10. Johnson, Etta, Administrative Assistant I and II, 4/13/04: Got "C" on new application for office aide, not a resubmitted application for administrative assistant, as claimed by the inspector general; never hired.

11. Kamath, Gayatri, Accountant Advanced, 3/24/04: Initial application marked "illegible;" second application does not appear on Casey log; final grade was a "C," lowest grade short of rejection; never hired.

12. Kelly, Wendy, Social Services Career Trainee, 11/16/04: Initial application marked "lack of signature;" never got a grade for position; never hired.

13. Konneker, Doreen, 40, Carlinville, PSA, 12/8/04: Never hired for agency under governor; went to work for the State Board of Education; no longer a state employee.

14. Leibenguth, Donald, PSA, 8/25/04: "A" grade awarded more than a year after initial application, not three weeks after, as the inspector general claims.

15. Luehr, Terry, PSA, 2/11/04: Never hired.

16. Marlow, Beth, Child Welfare Specialist, 4/1/04: Resubmitted application does not appear on Casey's log; never received a grade for a state job.

17. Mullinax, Greg, 51, Parkersburg, Executive I, 6/22/04: Neither application appears on Casey's log; never hired for job requiring CMS evaluation; now a technical manager II for the Department of Transportation.

18. Murphy, Amanda, Social Services Career Trainee, 10/26/04: Never received a grade for any job.

19. Owen, Jared, 28, Springfield, Internal Security Investigator I, 4/1/04: Ultimate grade was "C;" never promoted to position; now a staff development specialist I for Emergency Management Agency.

20. Petty, Eugene, 31, Peoria, Industrial and Community Development Representative I, 3/1/04: Government claims his grade was changed from "B" to "A" for this position, but internal documents show it was always an "A," currently an industrial and community development representative I for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

21. Rockett, Garry, 63, Salem, Fire Prevention Inspector II, 1/13/05: Initial application marked "needs more info;" now a fire prevention inspector II for the State Fire Marshal.

22. Schildman, Rolf, Social Services Career Trainee, 6/28/04: Never hired.

23. Schmeckel, Thomas, 58, East Moline, Manpower Planner III, 5/17/04: Doesn't appear on Casey's log; already a manpower planner II, he was promoted to manpower planner III in January 2005.

24. Schwarm, Ann, Site Superintendent, 2/24/04: Resubmitted application doesn't appear on Casey's log; never hired.

25. Shupe, Gloria, 53, Ullin, PSA, 7/21/04: Got an "A" three weeks after initial rejection; approved by name in memo from governor's office for a job supposedly protected from political influence.

26. Thomas, John, PSA, 3/24/04: Resubmitted application doesn't appear on Casey's log; never hired.

27. Venecia, Nelly, Human Services Case Manager, 6/30/04: Resubmitted application doesn't appear on Casey's log; never hired.

28. Walker, John, 67, Oak Lawn, Storage Tank Safety Specialist, 8/24/04: Initial application was rejected because he had no certification as a boiler inspector, but the State Fire Marshal's office confirmed such a certficiation isn't necessary; left state employment in February 2005.
.

Sources: Illinois Civil Service Commission filing, Illinois state comptroller, internal government documents.

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^By The Associated Press=

THE CASE: Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office fired two personnel employees after the governor's inspector general allegedly found 28 cases in which Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey broke the rules and gave favorable treatment to job applicants.

THE EVIDENCE: An Associated Press analysis of the 28 cases shows weak spots. Internal documents obtained by the AP show that contrary to the inspector general's claim, several were never even evaluated for state jobs. Half were never hired. In some instances, dates for key events appear to be wrong.

THE FALLOUT: Aides to Blagojevich refused several requests to discuss the case, which the administration announced in a May news conference. DeFraties and Casey appealed their firings to the Civil Service Commission, which has yet to resolve the case.

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^By The Associated Press=

The Blagojevich administration's case against former personnel employees Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey focuses on 28 state-job applicants who Blagojevich's inspector general says got favorable treatment from the pair. Casey is accused of keeping a log of all "favored" candidates. Below are examples from an Associated Press analysis of the 28 cases, including names of candidates, the jobs they were seeking and the date, and what appear to be weak spots in the government's case:

– Ascaridis, Beverly, 56, Chicago, applied for Senior Public Service Administrator on 4/12/04: Resubmitted application doesn't appear on Casey's log, so it's unclear how the government believes Casey or DeFraties knew about it or intervened improperly; never promoted to SPSA. News reports in September revealed that Ascaridis got her state job shortly after her husband, a lifelong Blagojevich friend, gave a $1,500 gift to one of the governor's daughters.

– Brewer, Colm, 36, Springfield, PSA, 9/8/04: Did not get the job until his job duties were re-evaluated 10 months later, after DeFraties and Casey had left CMS.

– Clark, DeAnna, 38, Springfield, PSA, 9/23/04: Initial application marked "incomplete;" never got the job.

– Johnson, Etta, Administrative Assistant I and II, 4/13/04: Got "C" on new application for office aide, not a resubmitted application for administrative assistant, as claimed by the inspector general; never hired.

– Marlow, Beth, Child Welfare Specialist, 4/1/04: Resubmitted application does not appear on Casey's log; never received a grade for a state job.

– Petty, Eugene, 31, Peoria, Industrial and Community Development Representative I, 3/1/04: Government claims his grade was changed from "B" to "A" for this position, but internal documents show it was always an "A."

– Shupe, Gloria, 53, Ullin, PSA, 7/21/04: Got an "A" three weeks after initial rejection; approved by name in memo from governor's office for a job supposedly protected from political influence.

–––

Sources: Illinois Civil Service Commission filing, Illinois state comptroller, internal government documents.

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^By JOHN O'CONNOR=

^AP Political Writer=

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – A Blagojevich administration personnel director, now part of a federal hiring probe, was accused by a subordinate of misconduct and creating a "culture of intimidation."

The subordinate told state investigators that Robin Staggers, the deputy director for human resources at the Department of Children and Family Services, hired people without having specific jobs for them, pressured an underling to hire someone and increased the use of interns who didn't have to go through normal employment procedures.

Christina Griffin, who was personnel manager under Staggers, made the statements in an interview with the state executive inspector general that are contained in a report obtained by The Associated Press.

The Blagojevich administration has previously confirmed that Staggers – along with two other Blagojevich aides – is being reviewed by federal prosecutors for potential "criminal wrongdoing." Staggers, who now makes $92,500, was put on paid leave for three weeks in fall 2005, but administration lawyers who looked into hiring procedures said she should return to work.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his aides have refused to disclose what possible Staggers activities are under federal review.

The report by state inspectors offers the first hint.

It says that under Staggers, employment documents that were sent to Griffin did not state the position for which the person was being hired. That would appear to contradict procedures requiring an agency to specify a job that must be filled and then find the best person for the post.

Griffin also said she "observed a significant increase" in the number of interns, who could be hired without following employment laws granting preference to military veterans. The internships were awarded while bypassing the lists of job candidates who had been approved for hire, the report said.

"Griffin stated she was not pressured by Robin Staggers to do anything wrong, but feared the ramifications of not doing what she believed Robin Staggers wanted," the report says. "Griffin worked in a culture of intimidation."

But later in the report, Griffin says Staggers pressured her and a colleague to hire Marilyn Mazewski as a public administration intern. Mazewski, who is not a veteran, declined the position because the pay was too low, the report says.

A woman named Marilyn Mazewski, 53, is a former associate Cook County circuit clerk and was married to the late Joseph Potasiak, who was an assistant corporation counsel for the city of Chicago before he died in December 2003. She was hired at another state agency in June 2005.

Contacted at her Chicago home and asked about DCFS, Mazewski declined comment.

Staggers did not return a call seeking comment. Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said the administration has not seen the report.

"We've never heard these complaints," Ottenhoff said Sunday.

Griffin declined to comment.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald last summer said he had evidence of "endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration. In another Fitzgerald investigation, one Blagojevich appointee has pleaded guilty to corruption charges and a friend and fundraiser for the governor has been indicted.

The Associated Press has reported that top Blagojevich aides signed off by name on routine job decisions, even for positions the law says must be free of political consideration and for which military veterans are supposed to get first chance.

The report says Griffin and two colleagues reported their concerns about Staggers to DCFS chief of staff Tom Berkshire, who "could not help them at DCFS but did provide assistance in transferring to another agency." Griffin went to the Department of Central Management Services in July 2004 after 11 years at the child-welfare agency.

Berkshire told The Associated Press that his conversations with the employees involved differences over Staggers' management style. He said no one ever told him of illegal or improper activity.

Staggers, 48, was hired in May 2003. She was sponsored for the job by Blagojevich and his father-in-law, Chicago Alderman Richard Mell, according to a list of jobseekers and their politically connected references that the AP obtained last spring.

After Staggers was placed on leave, she returned as chief of African-American affairs for DCFS. In February, she got a 4 percent pay raise.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: John O'Connor has covered Illinois government and politics for The Associated Press since 1998.

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IMPROPER HIRING: A personnel administrator at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services hired people improperly and created a "culture of intimidation," according to a former employee's statement to the state executive inspector general in a November 2005 report obtained by The Associated Press.

THE ALLEGATIONS: Robin Staggers hired people without having specific jobs for them, according to the former employee, Christina Griffin. Griffin says Staggers pressured her to hire someone and significantly increased the hiring of interns, who may be put on the payroll without following hiring procedures that prohibit political considerations and given military veterans preference.

WHAT IT MEANS: Gov. Rod Blagojevich acknowledged in fall 2005 that his office and three of his agencies received federal subpoenas for employment records and that they were looking at Staggers and two other employees for alleged "criminal wrongdoing." U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said last summer he had credible witnesses to "endemic hiring fraud."