Quincy Reporter

Quincy activist, Mecki Kosin, fears what could come in the future for Illinois if Gov. J.B. Pritzker gets his way.

“Anything ending federal oversight is not a good idea for Illinois, especially with the authoritative governor,” Kosin told the Quincy Reporter. 

“He wants to have even more power and throw the feds out of the mix so he gets to say everything that happens," said Kosin.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker | File Photo

Kosin’s concerns stem from the governor reigniting his push to erase court-ordered federal oversight of state government hiring practices in the executive branch.

Arguing that there is no longer a need, the governor recently outlined in a court filing how he believes the state has already achieved the objectives set forth by the Shakman decrees from 1972, and no longer requires a watchdog to monitor patronage hiring. In addition, he maintains oversight can only apply to political coercion of current employees.

Kosin insists none of it strikes her as being rationale.

“I actually would appreciate it if we had more oversight,” she said, “Right now, people in Springfield are corrupt on so many levels.”

Kosin stresses she doesn’t have to look far for examples, pointing to how the governor is reported to have made at least 35 hires from a clout list composed by House Speaker Mike Madigan and how the state’s longest tenured lawmaker is now under scrutiny as part of a still unfolding federal corruption probe.  

And then, there are the governor’s own troubles, namely the federal investigation looking into him avoiding $331,000 in property taxes by ripping the toilets out of a Gold Coast mansion he owns.  

“He’s a very bad leader for Illinois and I’m glad to see his progressive tax soundly defeated,” said Kosin, “He spent all this money trying to convince himself of something he knows is not true. People have really grown tired of his power trip.”