How Much Political Nepotism Can You Take?

Are you one of those who are outraged when reporters like the Chicago Sun-Times’ Chris Fusco puts together a story on nepotism in the administration of Governor Rod Blagojevich?

Or, are you one of the “Kiss my mistletoe” kind of folks? You know, in the tradition of the first Mayor Richard Daley when he was confronted with steering insurance contacts to his son?

Fusco’s article today covers how employees of the Joliet, Aurora, DeKalb and Downers Grove of the Illinois Department of Human Services have supervised the time sheets of their children, seen children get full-time clerical contract jobs that bypass unions.

Now, I can understand why Blagojevich would want to replace clerical workers on the state payroll with contract workers.

That way he can still get the work done, but brag that he has cutting the state payroll by 13,000.

Politically, that’s better than larding on 5,000 new payrollers (after firing Republicans, of course), the way Governor Dan Walker did when he got in office.

Looks like this story got its start from a union complaint, but there are other nepotism stories out there.

More stories on McHenry County Blog, including one on former GOP State Rep. Dolly Hallstrom, who recently passed away.