Trenches of Democracy

Excerpts from the second semi-annual report by Shakman Compliance Administrator (CA) Julia M. Nowicki:

Furthermore, the Bureau of HR does not conduct tests to determine whether an applicant meets minimum requirements for skills such as typing and familiarity with word processing equipment, which is frequently listed as a “minimum qualification.” Once this “eligibility” list is prepared, the screeners select the first seven candidates who submitted applications (based on date and time of application) and send those seven applications (and only those seven applications) to the hiring department. Managers in the hiring department are instructed to interview the seven designated applicants arid chose from those candidates. If none of them is considered appropriate for employment by the hiring department, the job is, in most instances, reposted, and the applications of all other candidates who were identified by the screeners as “eligible” for that position in the initial posting are not considered.

Various aspects of this process create the opportunity for prohibited political influence to occur in the hiring process: (a) The procedure for determining the designated “minimum requirements” for individual postings is subject to “customization” based on input from hiring department management and Bureau of HR staff, and significantly different qualifications may be posted under the same job title. This provides the opportunity for tailoring individual postings to the specific skills of a favored applicant. (b) Because the Bureau of HR does not check references, conduct job skills tests or otherwise verify any information contained on the application, applicants can misrepresent their skills and experience without detection until after they are employed. (c) Advance notice of when a specific job will be posted, as well as information about the specific “minimum qualifications” that are designated for the position, is available to department heads and others prior to posting.

To be continued…

You can read the full Shakman report here.

Tags: Cook County, Nowicki, Patronage, Shakman, Stroger

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