The chairman and a member of the utility rate-setting Illinois Commerce Commission criticized Gov. James Thompson for dismissing them Friday, charging he had packed the board with Chicago-area residents.
Thompson replaced Chairman Meg Bushnell, a Republican from Stillman Valley, with his legal counsel, Terry Barnich, a Springfield Republican. He replaced Susan Stone, an Urbana Democrat, with his deputy chief of staff, Ellen Craig, a Chicago Democrat. Thompson also filled a vacant seat formerly held by a Chicago Republican with Lynn Shishido-Topel, a Chicago economist appointed as an independent.
Barnich lives in Springfield, but he is from Chicago and recently considered running for Cook County state`s attorney. If Thompson`s
appointments are confirmed by the Illinois Senate, the only other member from outside the Chicago area will be Paul Foran, a Danville Republican.
Stone said Thompson`s moves ”frustrated” a 1983 goal of the General Assembly. Lawmakers increased the commssion to seven members from five to give it ”greater geographic diversity,” Bushnell said.
Thompson spokesman Jim Bray said: ”The governor appoints people because of their qualifications, not by their home addresses. I don`t see a shift of one seat as a great geographic imbalance.”
