Report: Cook County highway department a haven for loafers

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Cook County government executives dumped problematic employees at the Highway Department, a haven for loafers with political connections, according to a new report by county Inspector General Patrick Blanchard.

The report comes during County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s second week in office and is based on a review of conditions before her arrival. Preckwinkle has vowed to end business-as-usual at the historically patronage-laden government.

“The Highway Department has experienced substantial political patronage hiring and has been used as a ‘dumping ground’ for problematic employees,” Blanchard wrote in the report, delivered today to Preckwinkle and the board’s 17 commissioners.

As a result, many workers are underused or inefficient, he wrote. One employee “had no duties to perform and ‘surfed’ the Internet for months before (being) given a small task to perform,” the report stated.

Just a reminder, think of this story when Cook County goes bankrupt and asks for a federal bailout.Overpaid government workers aren't cheap!