Veteran state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) argues Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push to vacate court decrees banning patronage hires couldn’t be coming at a worse time.
“With everything that’s happening with (House Speaker Mike) Madigan, the timing is as bad as it gets,” Mazzochi told the DuPage Policy Journal. “This year, we’ve seen federal authorities indict and secure guilty pleas from Democratic members of the General Assembly for bribery and fraud. And now Pritzker demands that the courts get rid of prohibitions designed to stop government employee political machines? Now is not the time to make corrupt government easier.”
In his court filing, Pritzker argues the state is no longer in need of the nearly half-century old laws that were enacted to prevent both politically motivated hirings and firings. The so-called Shakman Decrees consist of three federal court orders issued as a part of a class-action lawsuit filed by Michael Shakman against the Democratic Organization of Cook County. Issued in 1972, 1979 and 1983, the decrees also ban demotions, transfers or other punishments of government employees that are carried out for political reasons.
Alas, Mazzochi argues it’s just Pritzker being Pritzker when it comes to the way he operates.
“Like we Republicans have been saying for a while now and on a number of different fronts, the governor needs to call a special session so we can discuss the overall issue of ethics reform,” she added. “This issue needs to be at the top of the list of things we need to tackle. If the governor is going to take the position that operating like this is acceptable at the state level, we absolutely need to get more stringent rules on the book to balance things out.”
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