AP via Belleville News Democrat:

Oct. 23, 2006

Gubernatorial candidates weigh in on hiring, ethics, campaign finance
DEANNA BELLANDI
Associated Press

CHICAGO - Republican Judy Baar Topinka says she doesn't object to
making public lists of unsuccessful candidates for state jobs who lost
out to people with political connections, something Gov. Rod
Blagojevich has refused to do citing privacy laws.

Critics have said the names should be released so people can know if
the administration is following hiring laws, such as giving veterans
preference for jobs.

The administration has released the names at least once before but has
refused to do so lately. It's a position Blagojevich sticks to in an
Associated Press candidate questionnaire.

All three candidates, including Rich Whitney of the Green Party,
responded to the questionnaire that asked questions on issues
including ethics, state hiring practices and campaign finance reform.

While Topinka says she has "no objection" to the idea of releasing
candidate lists, she did say she would have to look at the legal
implications of doing so. Whitney said he would release them.

Questions about state hiring practices come as the Blagojevich
administration is under federal investigation for how it doles out
jobs. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in June that "very serious
allegations of endemic hiring fraud" have implicated several state
agencies.

Blagojevich has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He has said his
inspector general will root out any problems, which the governor
consistently has blamed on "a few bad apples."

Associated Press reviews have found top administration officials have
approved hirings for jobs covered by laws and court rulings meant to
keep those posts free from politics.

Whitney said he favors an independent hiring and promotion bureau to
ensure politics doesn't factor into filling state jobs covered by the
civil service code or Rutan, the 1990 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on an
Illinois case challenging patronage.

Topinka said she would like to create a new certification requirement
for state civil service hiring under which agencies would have to
certify that veterans preference and Rutan rules were followed.

Blagojevich said he would continue to follow the state's personnel code.

When shenanigans in state government are uncovered, some have called
for public disclosure of any wrongdoing unearthed under the more
aggressive, independent system of inspectors general that Blagojevich
and lawmakers set up.

Blagojevich touts the system in his questionnaire and says now that
it's in place he's "open to looking at ideas to improve these
positions."

Topinka said she supports legislation to make inspector general
reports public and also supports "greater public disclosure" of ethics
violations uncovered by the executive inspector generals.

Whitney favors open meetings where executive inspectors general would
report on ongoing investigations, while protecting people's anonymity
at that stage. He says there should be a system like the one that
disciplines attorneys, where someone's name is made public after they
are found to have committed an ethical transgression.

Illinois has been dubbed as a haven for so-called "pay-to-play
politics" because the state doesn't limit campaign contributions and
has no rules to stop donors from getting state contracts or jobs.

Both Blagojevich and Topinka, a three-term state treasurer and former
lawmaker, have been criticized for accepting contributions from people
or institutions who do business with the state.

Blagojevich has said he won't stop taking money from firms that do
business with the state until a law is passed that applies to
everyone. He favors campaign finance reform at the state level that's
similar to what is enforced on the federal level. He said legislation
he proposed would have eliminated contributions from corporations and
unions, including contractors and vendors, and limited individual
donations at $2,000 per election.

Topinka has said there is no connection between her accepting
contributions from banks and other financial institutions and how her
treasurer's office does business. She supports limiting or eliminating
contributions from some individuals and groups. For example, she
favors prohibiting anyone with state contracts totaling $25,000 from
donating to the officeholder who awarded the contract. She also would
like to see prospective bidders on state contracts worth more than
$10,000 be required to disclose contributions they have made to the
official awarding the contract.

Whitney supports a complete ban on corporate campaign contributions,
as well as a ban on contributions from state contractors, their owners
and officers.

"We need to improve the horrible reputation that our State now has as
a haven for crooked politics and politicians," Whitney wrote in his
questionnaire.