To the bewilderment of some Illinois
Democrats, Sam Flood started a new job this week as assistant
director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, a
position that had been vacant for two years. Flood, former St. Clair County
official-turned-governmental relations director for Gov. Rod
Blagojevich, will earn $96,100 a year in his new job, an increase
of $21,000, and will be primarily responsible for preparing the
World Shooting and Recreational Complex near Sparta, which is
scheduled to open next summer. But some question the prudence of the
governor’s appointment, considering that Flood has been
accused of using political influence to get his son, Scott, hired
to a supervisory position with the DNR. Ray Coleman, plaintiff in a lawsuit that
names Sam Flood and DNR director Joel Brunsvold as defendants,
calls the appointment a slap in the face to the black community. Civil rights groups have also scrutinized the
department for not hiring enough minorities. “How stupid or blatantly insensitive is
this decision?” asks Coleman, who up until a few weeks ago
was challenging Flood for the state’s 12th District’s
Democratic Central Committee seat. Flood has since dropped out of the race. East St. Louis Mayor Carl Officer, who says
he has known Flood for almost 30 years, echoes Coleman’s
sentiment. “I’m a little surprised that Sam
would accept a position like that because I am not familiar with
anything in his background to suggest he’s qualified for the
position,” Officer says. However, Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca
Rausch says Flood has a “long, impressive career in state
government” and the governor is confident that Flood is the
right person for the job. Roy Williams Jr., executive director of the
Illinois Association of Minorities in government, has been highly
critical of patronage in Blagojevich’s administration.
Several members of Williams’ organization, also DNR
employees, have filed complaints with Illinois Department of Human
Rights, claiming a hostile environment toward blacks at the agency.
Coleman calls Flood the “poster child
for everything that’s wrong at DNR.”
Even if Flood is qualified for an assistant
directorship of a state agency, Williams believes the governor
could have chosen to place him in another agency. “I don’t think that’s the
smartest place they could have put him,” Williams says.
This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2005.
