SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration acknowledged Wednesday that clout could play a role in the hiring of some state workers.

Paul Campbell, director of the state's main government services agency, said the state's current hiring system allows for too much human intervention, which could lead to the hiring of applicants based on political connections.

"It's not 100 percent blind now," Campbell told reporters at a news conference in Chicago.

The acknowledgement comes as the administration is under federal investigation in connection with allegations that thousands of politically connected applicants received special treatment in getting state jobs.

Two midlevel employees were fired for allegedly manipulating hiring rules, but they say the administration is making them scapegoats for carrying out decisions from aides higher on the political food chain.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald earlier said investigators were looking into "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" within the administration.

Campbell said the state is taking steps to stop the possible manipulation of state jobs, most of which are supposed to be free of political influence.

He said the state hopes to launch a computer-based hiring system in May that will hide the names of applicants for state positions. As it stands now, job applications are on paper.

"This new process really eliminates a lot of the potential for manipulation," said Deputy Gov. Sheila Nix. "It really removes any possibility of anyone really weighing in."

Campbell did not have a cost estimate for the new computerized system. It would allow people to search for state jobs, post their resum©s and be notified when jobs open up in certain fields that match their qualifications.

Kurt Erickson can be reached at kurt.erickson@lee.net or 789-0865.