FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
July 9, 2020
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
Chair of Michigan Civil Service Commission Lives in Illinois?
MI Civil Service Commission Chair Janet McClelland recently sold Michigan home, appears to have moved to Illinois
MICHIGAN — According to publicly-available information, it looks like Michigan Civil Service Commission Chair Janet McClelland has decided to move to Illinois, while still holding sway over thousands of state civil service employees in a state she no longer lives in. Progress Michigan is calling on McClelland to step down and make room for a Michiganian to take her place.
“I’m not sure which body oversees public employees in Illinois, but Janet McClelland should send her resume there because we need a Michiganian making decisions that affect Michigan workers,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Regardless of the reason McClelland moved to Illinois, Michigan workers deserve a civil service commission chair who lives in the State of Michigan. McClelland should immediately step down from her position. Until she is no longer serving, any decisions made by the Commission should be considered irrelevant.”
After receiving a tip claiming McClelland had moved, Progress Michigan searched publicly available voter information and found her residence listed on Lenawee Street in Lansing. However, other publicly available data shows McClelland sold that home in June of this year. A quick search of Illinois property tax records show Janet McClelland purchasing a house there in February 2020.
While there doesn’t appear to be a rule that Civil Service Commission members must live in Michigan, commonsense would dictate that having someone who lives out-of-state control the Commission — who oversees state workers in Michigan — just doesn’t sense.
“For whatever reason, Janet McClelland doesn’t live in Michigan anymore, so she shouldn’t be on and certainly shouldn’t chair the Michigan Civil Service Commission anymore. It’s really that simple,” Scott continued.
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