Report: Ill. Corrections manipulated hiring for phantom post

By JOHN O’CONNOR
AP Political Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A report by a state inspector general says an Illinois prison system administrator improperly designated a family member for a Department of Corrections post that was never authorized. The Office of the Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor issued the report Tuesday. It determined that Larry Sims ordered the family member be hired as an intelligence officer even though that person had not applied and someone else had already been chosen. Sims was investigations commander for the state’s southern region and was suspended for 30 days. The review found that Corrections has for years manipulated hiring by naming employees to the post of intelligence officer.