GOP officials seek federal probe of Quinn’s IDOT spending
Six Republican congressmen from Illinois and the state’s GOP senator joined Wednesday in seeking an inquiry into the extent that federal funds may have been used by the Quinn administration in its hiring practices at the state Department of Transportation.
U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis, Adam Kinzinger, John Shimkus, Randy Hultgren, Aaron Schock and Peter Roskam and U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk sent a letter to Calvin L. Scovel III, inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation, asking for an immediate investigation to determine the extent to which federal funds were used to subsidize or justify the potentially illegal hiring of dozens of patronage workers at the Illinois Department of Transportation.
In the letter, the group states, “We write with extreme concern that federal funds were directly or indirectly involved in a scheme to subvert state hiring practices as mandated by the court. Federal funds should never be provided to states to subsidize or justify political patronage. If the State of Illinois misused federally appropriated funds in this way, the American people deserve to know.”
Additionally, as Congress looks for ways to use taxpayer money more efficiently to address problems such as the highway trust fund and other infrastructure funding, the group asked Scovel to make recommendations to ensure such misuse of federal funds can never happen again.
The full text of the letter is as follows:
“Calvin L. Scovel III, Inspector General
United States Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave SE, West Blding7th Floor
Washington, DC 20590
“Mr. Scovel:
“Last week, a motion was filed in U.S. District Court against Illinois Governor Pat Quinn alleging illegal hiring practices at the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), including the appointment of dozens of patronage workers to non-policy making positions in violation of a 1989 Supreme Court decision (Rutan).
“According to the Associated Press, Governor Quinn “told reporters Monday that there were federal stimulus dollars that had to be spent quickly and efficiently, along with a massive capital bill” and said “the increase in jobs free from hiring rules at the Illinois Department of Transportation were ‘absolutely’ necessary.”
“Additionally, according to the Associated Press, in a court proceeding on April 29, Governor Quinn’s office acknowledged “an ongoing investigation by Illinois’ inspector general of hiring practices”.
“We write with extreme concern that federal funds were directly or indirectly involved in a scheme to subvert state hiring practices as mandated by the Court. Federal funds should never be provided to states to subsidize or justify political patronage. If the State of Illinois misused federally appropriated funds in this way, the American people deserve to know.
“Therefore, we request that you launch an immediate investigation to determine the extent to which federal funds were used to subsidize or justify the potentially illegal hiring of dozens of patronage workers at IDOT and, further, to make recommendations to ensure such misuse of federal funds can never happen again.”
