Shakman: Quinn claim on hiring a ‘straw man’
From the SJR.com
By Michael Tarm
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration should face federal scrutiny to ensure it complies with bans on political hiring for nonpolitical jobs, an anti-patronage lawyer argued in a Tuesday filing, which also disputes the Democratic governor’s claim the monitor would undercut his authority.
Michael Shakman’s 20-page filing in a civil suit in U.S. District Court in Chicago is a response to a June 6 Quinn filing. In his, Quinn called on the court to reject Shakman’s request for an investigation and the monitor, arguing the action would be superfluous and detrimental to state officials’ duties — in this case, the hiring of workers.
But Shakman, who successfully pressed for a 1972 court decree that prohibits patronage hiring, said that was a “straw man” argument. He said the focus, at least for now, was on hiring in the Illinois Department of Transportation and he denied a monitor would wrest control from the governor.
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