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Topinka calls governor
Family
business
Familiar faces; at
least to Jesse White; pop up on secretary of state's payroll
08/28/2006
By: Greg Hinz
Crain's Chicago Business
Last week in this
space, I wrote about how Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has been
spending your money; specifically, how he put his biographer on the payroll at
$73K a year, tripled his daughter's salary in seven years and allowed the hiring
of his chief of staff's wife as a $25-an-hour part-time secretary.
Given Mr. White's reputation as the nice guy of Illinois politics, I figured
that would be it. We all mess up sometimes. On to more important stories, like
Wal-Mart wages or who's telling the biggest whoppers about Illinois finances.
As it turned out, last week's column just scratched the surface.
Thanks to a series of phone calls and e-mails, I now have a fuller picture of
who's drawing taxpayer-funded checks in Mr. White's office. Bottom line: There's
no need for family feuds here, because everyone's making a buck. Even Chicago's
famed Roti clan; known for having every odd nephew and in-law on the city
payroll; might be able to learn a few tricks.
Let's start with Mr. White personally.
As I reported last week, his daughter Glenna White-Jones first was hired by
then-Secretary of State George Ryan in the early 1990s, but she has seen her
salary triple from $39,267 to $112,512 since daddy took over in 1999. Mr.
White's office didn't tell me last week but now confirms that Ms. White-Jones'
stepson, Reginald Jones Jr., was hired by the office in November 2002 as a
$3,363-a-month employee instructor, a civil-service exempt position. (Her
husband, Reginald Jones Sr., also works for the state, but not in Mr. White's
office.)
In addition, Mr. White's nephew, George White, and three nieces; Loretta Allen,
Teresa Ivy and Diane Ivy; have been hired by the secretary of state's office
since Mr. White was elected. The office says all four had to pass tests to get
their jobs. They make as much as $5,298 a month each.
Then there's Chief of Staff Thomas Benigno, whose wife, Benedetta, recently
began pulling in $2,000 a month as a part-time secretary.
Apparently, public service runs in the Benigno family. Three of their kids; plus
a niece and a nephew; have worked for the office in the last four years, in
positions ranging from truck driver to $8- or $9-an-hour summer temp while in
college. Mr. White's spokesman, Dave Druker, says the summer jobs are advertised
in high schools and, "We have trouble filling them, particularly Downstate."
The Benignos live in Norridge, which is about a half-hour from downtown Chicago.
We have more Benignos. One Benigno aunt is a part-time counter worker in a
license facility and one cousin was hired in 2004 as a $3,578-a-month
auto-repair mechanic.
That's not all.
Melissa Roth, wife of Mr. White's personnel director, Steve Roth, works as a
part-time $30.12-an-hour speaker on safety issues. Her contract began in
February 2005, and she made about $32,000 last year.
Mary Lopez, the sister of office senior legal adviser Edmund Michalowski, makes
$5,944 a month working as a lawyer. She began in June 2003.
Anthony Burnett, another senior executive, has two cousins recently hired for
civil-service posts. And both of Mr. White's press guys; Communications Director
Bob Yadgir and spokesman Mr. Druker; have had kin join the office since they
did.
Mr. Druker says his brother, who works at a license facility, got the job
himself and scored high on a test, but doesn't deny that he and some others of
those listed above might have been clued in to apply at the right time. Mr.
Druker also says that these few hires are insignificant in an office with 3,800
employees.
On the other hand, the 18 job-holders referenced above are related to just 10
suits in the secretary of state's office: Mr. White and nine senior executives
that I specifically asked about. Who knows what else is going on?
I still think Mr. White is a nice guy. But he and his "brain" trust clearly have
a nice deal going.
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