From the State Journal-Register:

Governor gets 30 patronage jobs

By MIKE RAMSEY
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's Democratic administration can fill 30 more upper-level state positions - or fire the current job-holders - for purely political reasons.

The Illinois Civil Service Commission voted 5-0 Thursday to classify the jobs as exempt from protections against patronage. Since March, two months after Blagojevich took office, the panel has authorized at least 88 of the so-called "4d(3)" positions - a reference to an exemption in the personnel code - at the request of the governor's agencies.

The latest bundle of patronage jobs is spread across 10 departments and is a mix of existing and newly created positions. Many are vacant.

Among the positions are an Illinois State Fair adviser for the agriculture secretary, an inspector general and assistants for the administration, and two newly hired "special advocates" who will design a prescription drug-buying club for seniors.

Blagojevich campaigned for office by condemning political cronyism and oversized government, but spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said the positions coming up for classification have been part of a larger streamlining - not an attempt to stack the payroll.

"Overall, there's still going to be a reduction in state head count," she said. "It would be misleading to (suggest) the governor is throwing all these positions into state government."

Most of the 51,000 employees in state agencies are hired under a_code that bars political considerations and stipulates levels of merit and fitness. The number of exempt employees serving "at the will" of the governor or his Cabinet increased to 475 with Thursday's vote by the Civil Service Commission, according to the Department of Central Management Services.

Cindi Canary, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said she generally agrees with the concept of patronage - up to a point.

"There is a role for these kinds of jobs in certain positions, ensuring that you do have like-minded people and creating a team you can manage, but it really is a question of how far it goes," Canary said.

Ottenhoff said Blagojevich's administration likely will submit more requests to the Civil Service Commission as the state government restructuring continues. She noted that Blagojevich is the first Democrat to occupy the Executive Mansion since the late 1970s, and his staff is sorting through "three generations of Republican administrations."

The Civil Service Commission currently has a 3-2 Republican edge, but chairman George Richards of Danville said partisan interests aren't a factor in decision-making. The commission will approve re-classifications on the advice of agency officials and staff review, he said.

Five requested job-status changes were withdrawn or tabled Thursday.

Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or cnsramsey@aol.com.