No Running in the Hall

So the woman appointed by a federal judge to monitor city hiring practices issued her preliminary report yesterday, and she did not pull any punches. As reported in the Sun-Times, Noelle Brennan found the city has been "substantially" noncompliant with the Shakman Decree for "a significant period of time."

The bombshell comes not in the findings, but in her recommendations (uncontested by the City - for now) for future hiring policies. The new directives include a purging of all applications presently in the hiring pipeline, and most notably, a requirement that the individuals doing the hiring sign a sworn statement that a hire was not based on politicial considerations.

If this is implemented on a going forward basis, it is going to be a new day in City Hall. The mere possibility that somebody may be seen as a 'political hire' will likely be enough to keep any department head from being willing to fall on the perjury sword. Interesting times indeed.