Ex-Rep. David Phelps (D., Ill.) is accused of violating Illinois state ethics rules during his time as assistant director of the Illinois Department of Transportation from 2003 to 2011, the Pantagraph reports.
A report revealed Phelps "spent time involved in hiring employees and trying to ensure certain companies from his home region were ranked high for certain jobs."
Phelps has acknowledged he tried to promote southern Illinois companies when contractors were ranked for state projects.
Phelps quit his $127,700-a-year post in 2011 in the midst of an unfolding scandal involving similar allegations against one of his deputies at the agency, Danny Clayton. Three other workers and one contractor also were ensnared in the probe.
Phelps was hired by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich after losing a bid for Congress to Republican U.S. Rep. John Shimkus of Collinsville in the 2002 election. He previously served as a member of the Illinois House and was Saline County clerk in the 1980s.
The Illinois Office of Executive Inspector General says Phelps should be banned from state government work.