Illinois hiring freeze began month before Rauner took office

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's state-government hiring freeze apparently began the month before he took office, under his predecessor Democrat Pat Quinn.

The Springfield Bureau of Lee Enterprises Newspapers reports (http://bit.ly/1yIR5UK ) that in December, the state hired only 75 new employees. That's according to records compiled by the Illinois comptroller. The number is down from an average of 440 a month in the previous five months.

Quinn was responsible for only 17 of the hires. The other 58 were hired by agencies the governor's office doesn't control.

Rauner ordered a hiring freeze the day he took office - Jan. 12.

Republican lawmakers are more concerned that Quinn loyalists already in state jobs were reclassified or transferred to positions where it is harder to remove them under the law.

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Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com