Suburban Chicago school districts have board members' relatives on payroll

The Chicago Tribune reports on nepotism in Illinois:

In Lansing School District 158, the payroll looks a little like a family tree.

At least 14 relatives of school board members — from spouses to kids to grandkids — have landed jobs, with taxpayers paying the tab of some $550,000 in the last five years, records show.

"It's immoral. You know it's wrong,'' said new board member Anthony Arens, who campaigned against family hiring in the south Cook district. "There is so much nepotism and cronyism, my stomach is in knots."

Across the Chicago region, school boards are spending millions of public dollars employing board members' relatives, a practice exacerbated by weak laws, little oversight and limited disclosure about who gets jobs, a Tribune investigation has found.

Unlike some states, Illinois doesn't ban boards from hiring family, and relatives have been employed as teachers, aides, subs, custodians, cafeteria workers and more — even as the economy tanked,unemployment rose and a teacher glut made competition stiff. Typically, boards must approve the hiring of teachers and noncertified staff.

Just a reminder, when Illinois comes asking for a federal bailout.