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Lawmakers Discuss "Cronyism"
Lawmakers' spouses appointed for top state jobs: That's what brought sniping in the Illinois Senate earlier this month, as the Senate considered whether to confirm the wives of two state lawmakers.

Carrie Zalewski, wife of State Rep. Michael Zalewski (D-Chicago), used to work as an Illinois Department of Transportation attorney. She was appointed by Gov. Pat Quinn to be a member of the Illinois Pollution Control Board at a salary of $117,043 per year.

Lynne Sered, wife of State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston), was appointed by the governor to be the chairman of the Educational Labor Relations Board at a salary of $104,358 per year. She had worked previously at the National Labor Relations Board.

State Sen. Dan Duffy (R-Lake Barrington) criticized the appointments, although he did not used the appointees’ names, saying this smacked of pay-to-pay politics and should be deemed unethical. But State Sen. Lou Viverito (D-Burbank), Zalewski's sponsor, says that was nothing but an unwarranted personal attack. The Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve both appointees.

(Illinois Radio Network)
05 16 10 by Newsroom
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