The Illinois Department of Transportation is eliminating 58 positions that are at the center of a lawsuit alleging questionable hiring practices.
Acting Secretary Erica Borggren said Thursday the move is designed to boost ``accountability and restore public trust.''
In addition to eliminating ``staff assistant'' positions, IDOT is creating a board to evaluate hiring, and is continuing a freeze on hiring for positions that can be filled based on political connections.
This year an anti-patronage attorney filed a federal lawsuit seeking an investigation and independent monitor to oversee employment practices at IDOT.
That followed a 2013 Better Government Association report saying Quinn and predecessor, ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, hired as many as 200 ``staff assistants'' without adhering to rules prohibiting political considerations and without properly offering the jobs to the general public.
