Like its rankings for Members of Congress, Duckworth would have topped the list.
Exactly one week after she forced taxpayers to subsidize her unwillingness to get the truth out regarding allegations of retaliating against VA whistleblowers, the mandated benefactors of her silence – Illinois families, are now learning more about Duckworth’s troubling record of mismanagement.
As Illinois Watchdog reports, Duckworth "can’t escape" a legacy littered with "wasteful spending, noncompliance and mismanagement that could lead to fraud, overspending and inadequate oversight of taxpayer money."
The report reveals that Duckworth was criticized by the Illinois Auditor General as her department "did nothing to connect eligible veterans to available treatment options for exposure to depleted uranium." Duckworth was also criticized for failing to establish the mandated task force to study health effects of exposure to hazardous materials – the result of which "hindered the Legislature in making informed decisions regarding this topic."
At best, Duckworth’s tenure as Blagojevich’s handpicked appointee was plagued by an utter failure to perform basic responsibilities of the job. At worst, her tenure also included cruel retaliation against employees who blew the whistle on the abuse of our veterans.
Under either scenario, it’s unfortunate that Illinois veterans join the people of the 8th District in having been failed by Tammy Duckworth’s ineffectiveness.
Tammy Duckworth can’t escape legacy of mismanagement in VA system
Illinois Watchdog
By M.D. Kittle
July 1, 2016
http://bit.ly/298YwNN
U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth may have escaped a potentially politically damaging workplace retaliation case, but the Democrat’s record of mismanagement while leading the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs remains a very public concern.
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Taxpayers paid $26,000 to settle the lawsuit, which had been scheduled for trial in August, and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars more to defend it. The litigation was settled without a finding of wrongdoing, but the settlement also saved Duckworth from having to answer questions on the witness stand during the thick of a heated Senate campaign.
The Iraq War veteran, however, cannot escape her record in the VA system.
A 2009 Illinois Auditor General compliance examination showed the agency Duckworth led between December 2006 and February 2009 was responsible for wasteful spending, noncompliance and mismanagement that could lead to fraud, overspending and inadequate oversight of taxpayer money.
The report found the agency failed to track benefits received by Illinois veterans, did not comply with state annual reporting requirements and failed to adequately document travel expenditures and employee attendance.
Arguably, the report’s most alarming finding was the department’s failure to establish the state-mandated task force to study the possible health effects of veterans’ exposure to hazardous materials or to submit a report to the Illinois General Assembly. And the department did nothing to connect eligible veterans to available treatment options for exposure to depleted uranium, which has been linked to various health problems.
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The auditor’s finding criticized the Illinois VA for failing to study the health effects of hazardous materials and for not reporting to the Legislature. In failing to do so, the agency hindered the Legislature in “making informed decisions regarding this topic.”
“In addition, failure to assist eligible members or veterans in obtaining information on available federal treatment services for exposure to depleted uranium results in veterans not having the proper knowledge and support regarding the subject,” the examination stated.
The VA department claimed it was never given the authority to create the task force, and that the findings should be removed from the record.
But the Illinois VA provided no documentation to back up its assertions and attempted to get out of its responsibility by saying the legislation mandating the task force expired before members were named to it, according to the auditor’s report.
Among the personnel-related deficiencies, the audit found 22 percent of department employees reviewed did not get approval for overtime, with multiple cases of overtime requests coming in weeks late.
And the examination found the VA did not enforce compliance with its grant agreements. Seven of 15 recipients of grants, totaling $661,000, did not file timely semi-annual reports on the grant program status — or did not submit a report at all.
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Duckworth, who went on to serve as assistant secretary for the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs between April 24, 2009, and June 30, 2011, is at the center of an inspector general’s report blaming her and the office for wasting $5.2 million in taxpayer money on a failed veteran outreach initiative.
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