IDOT reclassifying jobs to protect them from patronage - News - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL
IDOT reclassifying jobs to protect them from patronage
Dec 6, 2019 at 8:55 PM Dec 6, 2019 at 8:55 PM
Twenty jobs at the Illinois Department of Transportation are being reclassified to bring them under anti-patronage protections.
Persons now working in those jobs will be terminated effective Feb. 20, the department said in a statement issued this week.
The employees will be allowed to reapply for the jobs when they are posted and compete against any other persons interested in the positions.
IDOT spokesman Guy Tridgell said that on Nov. 22, “20 employees at IDOT received notification that their current at-will positions are being converted to job-protected status. After a thorough review, it was determined these positions no longer met the criteria to remain exempt.”
On Nov. 22, the Department of Central Management Services, the state’s personnel agency, sent a letter to Teamsters Local 916 titled “Change in Rutan status for bargaining unit employees.”
In it, CMS deputy general counsel Diana Wise said the state has been working with a court-appointed special master and the Office of Executive Inspector General’s Hiring and Employment Monitoring division to review state jobs that are exempt from the state personnel code to ensure they meet the criteria for being exempt.
Earlier this year, the federal courts determined an exempt position is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement or by the personnel code and also involves policy making to a degree that a person’s political affiliation is a valid requirement to effectively do the job. The letter said it was determined a number of exempt jobs represented by the union didn’t meet those criteria and would be changed to be covered by the personnel code.
The Teamsters represent hundreds of IDOT employees. A representative of Local 916 could not be reached Friday.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1990 Rutan decision essentially said that patronage or political affiliations should not play a role in most hiring, firing or other personnel decisions in governmental jobs. There are exemptions for some policy-making positions and other key jobs where political considerations could play a role in who is hired or fired.
Controversy over job classifications stemmed from hiring practices at IDOT under former Govs. Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn. Politically connected people were hired into “staff assistant” positions and then ended up doing work that should have been free from patronage considerations. In some cases, the jobs ended up being part of collective bargaining units, meaning a future governor would have difficulty replacing someone hired for political reasons.
An investigation by the executive inspector general determined improper hiring was going on, although it did not say Quinn specifically knew of the practice. Chicago attorney Michael Shakman, who has fought patronage in government for years, pressed the federal courts to appoint a special master to further investigate IDOT hiring practices. That investigation determined the problem went beyond IDOT.
Former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration set about reviewing job classifications and cut the number of Rutan-exempt jobs to less than 1,500 before leaving office. At one point, several thousand state jobs were Rutan exempt.
Tridgell said that in the case of the 20 IDOT workers, “employees who were not competitively selected for the positions that are converting to job-protected status will be terminated. For these IDOT employees, that termination is effective Feb. 20.” He said the action is in compliance with the federal court’s order earlier this year.
Tridgell said that “in many cases” the newly reclassified positions will be posted so that people can apply to fill them. That can include the political appointees who are being removed.
IDOT reclassifying jobs to protect them from patronage - News - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL
IDOT reclassifying jobs to protect them from patronage
Dec 6, 2019 at 8:55 PM Dec 6, 2019 at 8:55 PM
Twenty jobs at the Illinois Department of Transportation are being reclassified to bring them under anti-patronage protections.
Persons now working in those jobs will be terminated effective Feb. 20, the department said in a statement issued this week.
The employees will be allowed to reapply for the jobs when they are posted and compete against any other persons interested in the positions.
IDOT spokesman Guy Tridgell said that on Nov. 22, “20 employees at IDOT received notification that their current at-will positions are being converted to job-protected status. After a thorough review, it was determined these positions no longer met the criteria to remain exempt.”
On Nov. 22, the Department of Central Management Services, the state’s personnel agency, sent a letter to Teamsters Local 916 titled “Change in Rutan status for bargaining unit employees.”
In it, CMS deputy general counsel Diana Wise said the state has been working with a court-appointed special master and the Office of Executive Inspector General’s Hiring and Employment Monitoring division to review state jobs that are exempt from the state personnel code to ensure they meet the criteria for being exempt.
Earlier this year, the federal courts determined an exempt position is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement or by the personnel code and also involves policy making to a degree that a person’s political affiliation is a valid requirement to effectively do the job. The letter said it was determined a number of exempt jobs represented by the union didn’t meet those criteria and would be changed to be covered by the personnel code.
The Teamsters represent hundreds of IDOT employees. A representative of Local 916 could not be reached Friday.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1990 Rutan decision essentially said that patronage or political affiliations should not play a role in most hiring, firing or other personnel decisions in governmental jobs. There are exemptions for some policy-making positions and other key jobs where political considerations could play a role in who is hired or fired.
Controversy over job classifications stemmed from hiring practices at IDOT under former Govs. Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn. Politically connected people were hired into “staff assistant” positions and then ended up doing work that should have been free from patronage considerations. In some cases, the jobs ended up being part of collective bargaining units, meaning a future governor would have difficulty replacing someone hired for political reasons.
An investigation by the executive inspector general determined improper hiring was going on, although it did not say Quinn specifically knew of the practice. Chicago attorney Michael Shakman, who has fought patronage in government for years, pressed the federal courts to appoint a special master to further investigate IDOT hiring practices. That investigation determined the problem went beyond IDOT.
Former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration set about reviewing job classifications and cut the number of Rutan-exempt jobs to less than 1,500 before leaving office. At one point, several thousand state jobs were Rutan exempt.
Tridgell said that in the case of the 20 IDOT workers, “employees who were not competitively selected for the positions that are converting to job-protected status will be terminated. For these IDOT employees, that termination is effective Feb. 20.” He said the action is in compliance with the federal court’s order earlier this year.
Tridgell said that “in many cases” the newly reclassified positions will be posted so that people can apply to fill them. That can include the political appointees who are being removed.