1971: Uncovering 'an awful odor of politics'
In 1971, the Chicago Sun-Times revealed a no-bid, politically connected contract to test public aid applicants -- a test that was already being done by other agencies at a fraction of the cost.
Then-Gov. Richard Ogilvie said he didn't know of the deal but wearily told reporters, "After 2½ years as governor of Illinois, very little surprises me.''
Better Government Association director George W. Bliss said the deal had "an awful odor of politics.''
On Sept. 3, Sun-Times reporter Art Petacque and BGA investigator James F. McCaffrey broke the story of the public aid deal. Eight days later, Ogilvie dropped it.
The contract, held by a firm headed by former Chicago schools Supt. Benjamin C. Willis, included a $35 payment for each "employability" test administered to people applying for aide in Cook County -- a $1 million contract. But the Sun-Times showed the work was already being done by the State Employment Service.
The contract had been quietly issued at a time state officials were considering cutting welfare grants. Then-state Rep. Gerald W. Shea (D-Riverside) criticized "the expenditure of a fortune on a private contract at a time when the state is pinched for welfare funds.''
Added the Sun-Times editorial page: "There is no need to lay on another service at a cost which, in itself, is a direct slap at the poor and needy.''
And, thanks to the newspaper's disclosures, Ogilvie agreed.