SPRINGFIELD -- Gov Blagojevich's to...

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov Blagojevich's toddler daughter was thrust into a maelstrom Friday from one side of to the other whether his administration improperly granted preferential treatment to clout-heavy state do job-work applicants.

The governor faced intense questioning about fresh charges his lawyers leveled against sum of two units former personnel employees fired for allegedly favoring politically joined job seekers.

After an appearance with his family to render free of access the Illinois State Fair, the governor repeatedly was asked in what manner it was plausible his office knew nothing about masterships allegedly being bent for piece of work applicants even though some of them had been referr by means of his office.

"Look those are issues you have to ask other populace who make those determinations," he said.

As tensions with reporters go uped the governor picked up his 3- year-old daughter, Annie. weights later, she burst into tears, which the governor attributed to reporters' questions.

"I've got a baby crying here," the governor said angrily, as he handed the girl to wife Patti. "You shores are asking questions like that."

Earlier, Blagojevich claimed to know little about to what extent his office handled hiring, souseed responsibility for the alleged wrongdoing beneath him and insisted his office's inspector general be worthy ofs credit for exposing hiring-related misconduct.

Republican adverse Judy Baar Topinka criticized Blagojevich for allowing his daughter to be near the back-and-forth with reporters. Topinka said the exchange could have been les contentious had the governor answered questions with clarity.

"I was not at all one to do that with my son" she said, alluding to putting a child in the middle of a question-and-answer session with reporters. "I tried to maintain him out of that elemental part but everyone does it their possess way."

BERATES REPORTER

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday that Blagojevich's administration filed strange allegations with the state Civil Service Commission to justify the firings of former Central Management Services personnel bos Dawn DeFraties and her delegate Michael Casey, who are cooperating with federal authorities into a sprawling hiring probe.

The state filing alleges that a DeFraties aide kept a database of 2103 clout-heavy work at jobs applicants from April 2003 to March 2005 and gave special treatment to a certain quantity of of them, the Associated Pres reported.

about of those job seekers had been sent to DeFraties by way of the governor's office, state lawmakers and others, documents cited by dint of the AP showed.

A confidential report at Inspector General James Wright indicated a certain of the improper hiring practices continued month after DeFraties and Casey were transferred from their CM places in spring 2005.

After the fuss involving Blagojevich's child had settl he was asked whether he imagination U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's probe into the administration will yield indictments before the November election.

Pausing, Blagojevich inquired to what end reporters weren't focusing on by what mode the administration is "shaking things up and making race be held accountable. Do you through all ages ask a question like that?"

'SPECIAL' SITUATIONS

The Blagojevich administration says brace fired employees tracked job applications from centurys of people with political connections and gave preferential treatment to a certain quantity of Here's a look at the way these "specials" were handled, according to the administration:

- Handled separately from ordinary applications, if submitted on the governor's office, state agencies or lawmakers.

- Accepted through fax, so they could be graded more quickly and inflict ahead of ordinary applications.

- Tops of faxed applications were cross off to remove information about what official or state agency had submitted them.

- Applications that got "A" grades were set downed into the hiring database first.

- Applications with lower grades were replyed with an explanation of their deficiencies thus the job seekers could correct them.

- Specials were allowed to apply again immediately, despite a ban onward reapplying within 30 days.

- Staff members were pressur to give top grades to special applications or change lower grades to "A's."

- a special applications were graded according to old-fashioned less- stringent standards.

- Applications were graded for do job-works that were not being filled. If the applicant did well enough, the work at jobs was opened and given to the "special."

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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