Springfield - Looking to eliminate wasteful spending in the state, while providing transparency about state business, governor Bruce Rauner announced the abolishment of staff assistant positions with the state's Department of Transportation on Monday.
Rauner said that those positions were a big part of a patronage hiring scandal that reaches back more than a decade.
Rauner's office also said that the move is necessary in regaining the trust of Illinois.
The governor added that this may be a small step in attempting to clean up Illinois government, but more will be coming.
"We've got to continue to work, these are just small steps we're announcing now. They're in the right direction, but we've got a lot to do to clean up government and make sure our systems and agencies are working for the people and taxpayers and not for political purposes," he added.
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Rauner issued layoff notices on September 1st to the remaining 29 staff assistants. Additionally, previous investigations showed that they were hired based on clout instead of merit.
According to the governor's office, their last day on the job was Thursday.
