U.S. Slams Ill. Licensing Program

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” Highway safety across the nation was jeopardized by Illinois' scandal-plagued program for licensing commercial drivers, a federal panel concludes. <br><br>Among problems cited in

Wednesday, November 29th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” Highway safety across the nation was jeopardized by Illinois' scandal-plagued program for licensing commercial drivers, a federal panel concludes.

Among problems cited in the report by transportation experts was a belief by some Illinois state employees that ``it was beneficial to their career to engage in fund raising'' for elections.

``Even if no pressure was brought to bear on employees to participate in fund raising and other similar activities, the perception that such activity was expected can create a climate conducive to fraud,'' the panel said.

As a result of that belief and other systemic weaknesses, according to the report, truckers were able to obtain fraudulent licenses, which ``led to reduced levels of highway safety'' across the nation.

Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater convened the panel in April in response to a two-year federal investigation into allegations that commercial drivers license tests were fixed in exchange for bribes when Gov. George Ryan was secretary of state in Illinois.

The panel reviewed licensing in two states because of allegations drivers traveled to Florida to get fraudulent licenses that they exchanged for valid ones in Illinois. The panel interviewed managers, staff and test program participants in both states, and held a public hearing in Illinois.

The final report, obtained by The Associated Press and being released Wednesday, seeks to document why the Illinois program is vulnerable to the kind of abuse uncovered in the separate federal criminal probe.

The criminal investigation has netted more than three dozen indictments, including of Ryan's former inspector general, who is charged with covering up the corruption, and more than 30 convictions.

Ryan is not charged with any wrongdoing. But some $170,000 in bribe money went into the Citizens for Ryan campaign fund and his popularity as governor has suffered as the scandal drags on.

A statement from Ryan's office did not address most of the specific complaints in the report.

``The task force did a comprehensive review and made some important recommendations for how the system in Illinois can be improved,'' Ryan said.

The governor said he is already moving forward on the panel's key recommendation: banning political fund raising by state employees. Ryan issued an executive order barring campaign solicitation and contributions for his campaign for the state employees under his control. Secretary of State Jesse White has instituted the same policy in his office.

The federal panel found that individual licensing facilities in Illinois generally operate without formal review or oversight from higher management; examiners are trained mostly on the job; scoring standards differ from one facility to another; there are limited procedures for validating an applicant's identify; and a single employee can walk an applicant through every stage of the licensing process.

The review was intended to help track down truckers with fraudulent licenses and get them off the nation's roads. The report said a comprehensive list has been generated and distributed to other states and that drivers with fraudulent licenses are being retested.

``The issuance of CDLs (commercial drivers licenses) in Illinois and Florida not properly tested in compliance with federal and state standards led to reduced levels of highway safety,'' the report concluded.