State Hiring Scandal Widens

By Amy Hart in News on Nov 3, 2005 8:24PM

The Blagojevich administration took another hit yesterday as it was served with a fourth round of subpoenas in a federal investigation regarding its hiring practices.

The latest subpoena focuses on the personnel records of the Department of Corrections dating back to March of 2002 when squeaky clean George Ryan was still governor. This follows previous subpoenas seeking similar information from the Department of Children and Family Services and the Department of Transportation.

There is a concern that the investigation will hamper Blago’s efforts to enact the All Kids insurance program, which would help insure Illinois children with the added benefit of possibly giving his approval ratings a boost.

Even so, once served with the subpoenas Blagojevich spokesperson Abby Ottenhoff said the governor’s office was “...happy to provide the documents and cooperate.” There is no word on whether or not her fingers were crossed when she made the statement.