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Quinn’s Appointments In Jeopardy

Story Created: Dec 1, 2010 at 7:12 AM CDT

Story Updated: Jan 6, 2011 at 1:48 PM CDT

By Andrew Thomason Illinois Statehouse News

SPRINGFIELD — Senate President John Cullerton’s plan to force Gov. Pat Quinn to reappoint or replace employees for hundreds of government positions passed out of a Senate committee Tuesday.

The plan is a follow-up to a list released two weeks ago of 700 state employees needing reappointment, some of whom had their terms expire 11 years ago.

These appointees “have not been subject to Senate conformation. And there’s nothing we can do unless we pass this statute to compel the governor to submit those names,” Cullerton said.

The legislation doesn’t affect who Quinn can appoint – it just makes him go through the proper channels, according to Cullerton.

“The idea here was just to preserve the process by which the Senate confirms people,” Cullerton, D-Chicago, said.

The plan has bipartisan support. Sen John O. Jones, R- Mount Vernon, said he is fully behind Cullerton’s idea. During a recent round of appointment confirmation votes, Jones said he either voted “no” or “present” on almost all of them.

“I did that because some of those had been appointed for over a year and we were just getting around to confirming them,” Jones said.

If Quinn believes the people he originally appointed deserve the job, he should reappoint them if this legislation passes, Jones said.

Annie Thompson, a Quinn spokeswoman, said the governor will review the legislation and continue to work with leaders of the General Assembly.

“The governor will work with the Senate to build upon his efforts to increase transparency in the appointment process,” Thompson said.

Tuesday’s action on the legislation moves the bill and its amendments to the Senate floor for a vote, which could happen as early as Wednesday. If approved, the legislation would move to the Illinois House of Representatives for consideration.

Should the General Assembly flex its procedural muscles and pass the legislation, Quinn could veto the plan.

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