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http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-divers12.html
Minority hiring under Blagojevich short of goals
April 12, 2004
BY LESLIE GRIFFY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Advertisement
SPRINGFIELD -- A year after Gov. Blagojevich pledged to diversify government, the agencies under his control are woefully short of meeting hiring goals for Hispanics while whites still hold the highest-paying state jobs, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis found.
The number of Hispanics holding rank-and-file state jobs last year increased by only 14, even though more than 1,000 jobs
were filled. Only 3 percent of state workers are Hispanic, while nearly half are women and one-fifth are black -- figures unchanged since Blagojevich took office. Whites hold 75 percent of jobs paying $
;50
000 or more, records show.
A 24-year-old regulation say
s state employees should reflect Illinois' racial make-up. But to reach that goal, agencies under Blagojevich would need four times as many Hispanics on their payrolls. Hispanics, the fastest-growing ethnic group in Illinois, make up 12 percent of the population.
Women are closer to reaching parity, making up 51 percent of the population and 49 percent of state workers. Yet women end up in less prestigious state jobs, filling 89 percent of clerical jobs in agencies controlled by Blagojevich, according to records.
African-American employees make up 21 percent of state employees and 15 percent of the population -- but they are clustered in three agencies. The departments of Human Services, Corrections and Children and Famil
y Service employ 77 percent of the African Americans on the state rank-and-file payroll.
The figures do not include workers in the secretary of state, treasurer and comptroller offices or
hig
her-
ranking app
ointments made by the governor. For example, the governor h
as appointed more than 40 Latinos to departments, agencies and commissions.
''This administration has broken records with appointments [of minorities], but it hasn't trickled down to rank-and-file employees,'' said Anthony Sisneros, a University of Illinois at Springfield professors and longtime watcher of state hiring practices.
Administration officials say lean economic times have dramatically slowed hiring while more and more people have taken advantage of early retirement. The number of women employed by state agencies dropped by 203 last year, the number of African Americans fell by 195 and the number of whites declined by 462, they note.
Most state jobs are in places without large minority po
pulations, according to the governor's office. Also, union workers laid off by the state have first dibs on new work, making it harder to diversify staff, said Blagojevich spokes
woman Re
becca Ra
usch.
'&
#39;It's an uphill battle,'' Rausch said, adding that agencies are developi
ng plans to recruit more minorities. ''The goal is diversity. That is what everyone is reaching for. It may not happen as fast as everyone would want, but progress should not be ignored.''
Becky Carroll, a spokeswoman for the governor's budget office, said the department charged with finding minority applicants has been moved from Springfield to Chicago, where most of the state's minorities live. But critics say the move won't help minorities elsewhere.
Those critics include state Sen. Miguel del Valle (D-Chicago), who said there is no good reason for hiring so few Hispanics when hundreds of jobs were filled last year.
''It is unacceptable for the sta
te to hire and not increase the numbers,'' said del Valle. ''We can't let another year go by without fixing this."
Del Valle is co-chairma
n of the Lat
ino Caucus,
which held hearings on mino
rity hiring last summer. Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) chaired the meetings and says the caucus will take state agencies to task if
they don't become more diverse.
''We will continue to hold the governor accountable,'' she said. ''We don't want people to say that Democrats can't get things done.''
Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines) also has complaints about the Blagojevich administration's hiring practices, wondering whether former Gov. George Ryan didn't do more for women.
''When George Ryan came in, he put some women in top places where they hadn't been before,'' she said.
As far as blacks on the state payroll, Sisneros said the administration also needs to place more African America
ns in more departments. ''Some groups are over-represented throughout state government, but that doesn't mean there is equality,'' he said.
''It wi
ll take a real
demonstration of political will on
the part of our leaders to create change.''
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-divers12.html
Minority hiring under Blagojevich short of goals
April 12, 2004
BY LESLIE GRIFFY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Advertisement
SPRINGFIELD -- A year after Gov. Blagojevich pledged to diversify government, the agencies under his control are woefully short of meeting hiring goals for Hispanics while whites still hold the highest-paying state jobs, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis found.
The number of Hispanics holding rank-and-file state jobs last year increased by only 14, even though more than 1,000 jobs
were filled. Only 3 percent of state workers are Hispanic, while nearly half are women and one-fifth are black -- figures unchanged since Blagojevich took office. Whites hold 75 percent of jobs paying $
;50
000 or more, records show.
A 24-year-old regulation say
s state employees should reflect Illinois' racial make-up. But to reach that goal, agencies under Blagojevich would need four times as many Hispanics on their payrolls. Hispanics, the fastest-growing ethnic group in Illinois, make up 12 percent of the population.
Women are closer to reaching parity, making up 51 percent of the population and 49 percent of state workers. Yet women end up in less prestigious state jobs, filling 89 percent of clerical jobs in agencies controlled by Blagojevich, according to records.
African-American employees make up 21 percent of state employees and 15 percent of the population -- but they are clustered in three agencies. The departments of Human Services, Corrections and Children and Famil
y Service employ 77 percent of the African Americans on the state rank-and-file payroll.
The figures do not include workers in the secretary of state, treasurer and comptroller offices or
hig
her-
ranking app
ointments made by the governor. For example, the governor h
as appointed more than 40 Latinos to departments, agencies and commissions.
''This administration has broken records with appointments [of minorities], but it hasn't trickled down to rank-and-file employees,'' said Anthony Sisneros, a University of Illinois at Springfield professors and longtime watcher of state hiring practices.
Administration officials say lean economic times have dramatically slowed hiring while more and more people have taken advantage of early retirement. The number of women employed by state agencies dropped by 203 last year, the number of African Americans fell by 195 and the number of whites declined by 462, they note.
Most state jobs are in places without large minority po
pulations, according to the governor's office. Also, union workers laid off by the state have first dibs on new work, making it harder to diversify staff, said Blagojevich spokes
woman Re
becca Ra
usch.
'&
#39;It's an uphill battle,'' Rausch said, adding that agencies are developi
ng plans to recruit more minorities. ''The goal is diversity. That is what everyone is reaching for. It may not happen as fast as everyone would want, but progress should not be ignored.''
Becky Carroll, a spokeswoman for the governor's budget office, said the department charged with finding minority applicants has been moved from Springfield to Chicago, where most of the state's minorities live. But critics say the move won't help minorities elsewhere.
Those critics include state Sen. Miguel del Valle (D-Chicago), who said there is no good reason for hiring so few Hispanics when hundreds of jobs were filled last year.
''It is unacceptable for the sta
te to hire and not increase the numbers,'' said del Valle. ''We can't let another year go by without fixing this."
Del Valle is co-chairma
n of the Lat
ino Caucus,
which held hearings on mino
rity hiring last summer. Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) chaired the meetings and says the caucus will take state agencies to task if
they don't become more diverse.
''We will continue to hold the governor accountable,'' she said. ''We don't want people to say that Democrats can't get things done.''
Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines) also has complaints about the Blagojevich administration's hiring practices, wondering whether former Gov. George Ryan didn't do more for women.
''When George Ryan came in, he put some women in top places where they hadn't been before,'' she said.
As far as blacks on the state payroll, Sisneros said the administration also needs to place more African America
ns in more departments. ''Some groups are over-represented throughout state government, but that doesn't mean there is equality,'' he said.
''It wi
ll take a real
demonstration of political will on
the part of our leaders to create change.''
