No such thing as a sure thing for tollway chief's ethics waiver

The tradition of an easy pass for state workers transitioning into related private sector jobs just had a wrench thrown into it, and it's not clear what the fallout will be.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is seeking to intervene in a waiver request by departing Illinois Toll Highway Authority chief Brian McPartlin to work for a major engineering firm that's received millions of dollars in contracts from the agency.

State law prohibits government workers from changing careers to work for companies that won taxpayer-funded contracts under their tenure - the so-called "revolving door syndrome." But the state ethics commission has authority to grant waivers if employees can prove there's no link between their current job and business done with their future employer.

An ethics commission official recently noted that the standard is quite low for granting waivers - in fact only one in 14 was rejected since 2005.

McPartlin, who has said he will be as transparent with Madigan as he was with the ethics commission, seemed confident Sept. 25, when he announced his departure for McDonough Associates, an engineering and architectural firm that's done more than $30 million of work for the tollway.

"I know I followed the requirements as laid out by state law, so I'm comfortable with that," he said. His last day is today.

Madigan, however, believes it's "important the revolving door provision be followed," spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said.

If Madigan's office finds a problem, "it behooves the ethics commission to further investigate," said Terry Pastika, an attorney and executive director of the Citizens Advocacy Center, a nonprofit government watchdog group.

Conceivably, the commission could rule against the waiver, which puts McPartlin in a difficult position as the tollway board is expected to hire its former top engineer as executive director Oct. 30.