The idea that 3,000 Illinois state government employees should be fired because of the actions of their former Governor is absolutely ludicrous. Former Governor Blagojevich allegedly broke the law (he has not been tried yet let alone convicted), he should be held responsible and if convicted, punished for his actions. This has absolutely nothing to do with his former subordinates.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has already promised to purge corruption from the state government but apparently State House Speaker Michael Madigan believes the current Governor is not moving fast enough. The proposed bill, House Bill 4450, would give Governor Quinn 60 days to evaluate the 3,000 employees and determine whether they should be fired or not. After the 60-day period is over, any employee's fate who has not already been decided will be automatically fired. So what happens to the employees who are completely innocent but either get mixed up in the shuffle or are unable to be evaluated before the deadline? Well that is just too bad for them, they can think about their former boss' actions while they stand in the unemployment line, that will teach them.
The rationale behind this bill is completely ridiculous. Any government employee who has participated in corruption should be fired whether it is in New York, Illinois, or Washington DC. Why is a bill necessary to state this in Illinois? Should firing corrupt employees not just be the norm?
Imagine for a moment that your boss is fired for corruption. You have been a dutiful employee following all the rules and working hard, but because of what your boss did, you are told that you have 60 days to be evaluated, along with 3,000 other employees, and if your new boss is unable to evaluate thousand of employees in two months (averaging 50 people a day) and you miss the deadline, you will automatically be fired. How is that at all fair? As we all know, politics (whether national, state, or office), are never fair.
If Speaker Madigan finds the Governor is moving too slow in evaluating thousands of employees, he should offer to help. It would not hurt for the Speaker to work a few extra hours a day evaluating employees if the issue is that important to him. That would save time, money, and allow the state government to concentrate on more important issues. Requiring such a short timeline in which thousands of employees must be evaluated, the chances of innocent people being caught in the mix greatly increases. Rather than quickly evaluating 50 people a day to meet the required 60-day deadline, more time should be spent to make sure that anyone fired truly deserves it. These state government employees are not making millions, for some loosing their job may be the difference between putting food on the table and their family going hungry. It is difficult enough to find a job right now let alone having a termination for corruption on your record, particularly if you are innocent.
The fact is that again, an elected official is playing political games that have the potential to effect the lives of innocent people. What is the reasoning for Speaker Madigan's witch hunt? It is hard to say. Instinctively one would think that it is to further his own political ambitions but it may not be that simple. Speaker Madigan has been in the Illinois State House of Representatives since 1971, holding the position of Speaker since 1983 (with the exception of a Republican majority for two years in the mid 1990s).
The Speaker's intentions may be personal. He and former Governor Blagojevich have had a long standing feud. Speaker Madigan's daughter Lisa Madigan is also the Illinois Attorney General. It is widely speculated that Lisa Madigan is interested in pursuing higher office whether it be the United States Senate or running for Governor of Illinois herself. The New York Times also included her in a list, along side Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, of seventeen woman most likely to become the first female President of the United States. Perhaps Speaker Michael Madigan wants to help his daughter (which that alone we should not fault him for as any parent wants to help their child achieve their dreams), and assumes that by pushing for his witch hunt Attorney General Madigan may be able to use it in campaigns describing how being "tough on crime" runs in the family.
Whatever the reasoning behind Speaker Madigan's pushing of House Bill 4450, the reality is that it will greatly increase the chances that innocent people will get caught in the shuffle and loose their jobs for no other reason than their former boss was corrupt and their State Speaker wanted to make a political statement. It seems as though our elected officials will never learn that their choices effect the everyday lives of thousands of people. I would imagine that Speaker Madigan would want to be much more careful if it was his own job on the line.