Quinn Re-Hires Controversial Ex-Chief Of Staff
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) - Gov. Pat Quinn has re-hired his controversial former chief of staff, who resigned a few months ago amid an ethics probe.
Jerry Stermer stepped down in August over three politically-oriented e-mails sent from his government account.
He will now return to the Quinn administration as a senior adviser, for a salary of $125,000 a year.
In the position, he will consult with the governor on health care, education, social services and the budget.
Stermer gave in to pressure to quit, after former state Executive Inspector General James A. Wright found he had "engaged in prohibited political activity." Stermer said at the time that he voluntarily told Wright he had "inadvertently" sent campaign-related e-mails from a state computer.
"Last year, I inadvertently used my state e-mail account to send three emails that the [inspector general] later found to be prohibited under the state's Ethics Act," Stermer said in a statement in August. "While my intention was not to do anything wrong, I recognized that a mistake was made and quickly disclosed this information to the Governor's Ethics Officer."
