Calling the level of patronage in state government “inconceivable,” Chicago attorney Mike Shakman filed a court motion Tuesday that seeks to severely limit clout hiring under Gov. Pat Quinn and any successors.
The filing was prompted by a months-long Better Government Association investigation in 2013 that found hundreds of Illinois Department of Transportation employees may have been wrongly hired based on clout – in other words, political or personal connections – rather than qualifications.
The motion, which was filed in federal court, seeks to remove hundreds of questionable hires from their jobs, and would require the jobs “be filled through appropriate, non-political processes.” It’s a motion within the long-standing 1972 court case that produced the “Shakman Decree,” which limits clout hiring, firing and promotions in Chicago and Cook County governments.