Subscriber Special: IL Attorney General's Patronage Problems
By Kellan Howell | Washington Times
January 29, 2014
Illinois is broke unless you're a friend of Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Since 2010, she's doled out nearly $1 million in patronage salary spiking. Today, at Forbes, we layout the interesting details. Yesterday, our report was national news published in the Washington Times.
Click here to see a list of Madigan's 109 exempt promotional salary hikes.
Click here to read our press release and media summary.
Here are some interesting details:
- Madigan's $1 million in patronage salary spiking dwarfs all other Illinois constitutional office holders since 2010.
- Madigan has a part-time, "work from home," Assistant Attorney General who was allowed to live two states away in Dearborn, MI. For five of the last 24 months, this employee never set foot in the office according to official time cards.
- Madigan's Public Access Counselor received the largest salary spike despite having pending "requests for review" over-due for 18 months to the noted good government group, Edgar County Watchdogs.
It's not just Madigan's exempt hires, but her "non-exempt" employees that have recently come under scrutiny. Ronald Yawger is an AG Special Investigator that pulls down nearly $200,000 by double dipping a Chicago Police pension and a spiked $119,000 salary from Lisa Madigan. Yawger was hired in 2008 by the Attorney General at a salary of $53,000 and has a questionable past.
Read my Forbes column today, "IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan's 'Friends and Family" $1 Million Patronage Pay Problem(s)"
Read: Attorney General's PR response at the Washington Times
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Matthew Tyrmand
Deputy Director | American Transparency
Adam Andrzejewski
Founder, OpenTheBooks.com
Chairman
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