Working for Rock Island County or its Forest Preserve District can be a family affair.

An analysis of the county payroll done by The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus showed that at least 88 out of about 790 Rock Island County and Forest Preserve District employees are related to each other. That's roughly 11 percent.

The analysis is incomplete because a few county officials preferred not to disclose the names of related employees, some officials said they didn't know and other officials were unavailable for comment.

For the most part, those relatives on the county payroll work in different departments. In other cases, elected officials have hired and supervised family members.

The practice is not prohibited by state law.

While hiring relatives or promoting them in private or public entities isn't unusual, such nepotism could become a concern if conflicts of interest occur.

"Each employer may view the hiring of relatives differently," said Vicki Vought, vice president of MRA-Management Association, a Waukesha, Wis.-based employers' group.

Some employers might have pro-nepotism policies because they get good referrals and the work force becomes very cohesive, Ms. Vought said. In other cases, employers have policies that limit nepotism.

For instance, some policies don't allow one relative to supervise another, said Ms. Vought, who spoke in general terms. One relative would not be allowed to audit or review another relative's department, for example.

Five years ago, Recorder of Deeds Pat Veronda had an opening in her office and wasn't getting many applicants. Mrs. Veronda said she approached her daughter, Jill Raisbeck, about applying. Her daughter's leg had been crushed in a 1993 accident. She was on her feet a lot on the job she had at the time.

Mrs. Veronda said she thought her entry-level opening would be a nice opportunity for her daughter to have a job that wasn't so physically demanding. Mrs. Raisbeck said she also thought it was a good idea.

"I agonized," Mrs. Veronda said. "Just the idea of hiring my daughter. How would people look at her?"

Mrs. Raisbeck was the only job applicant for that position, and her mother hired her in January 2001.

The county board's Human Resources Committee chairman John Malvik, D-Moline, said the county can't control what an elected official does. Elected officials can choose to follow a different hiring process, he said.

Most elected officials follow county hiring rules even though they don't have to. However, county department heads, or non-elected officials, have to follow the general hiring process.

"I started at the bottom, doing the mail," Mrs. Raisbeck said. As people left the Recorder's Office, she applied for promotions. She is currently the administrator coordinator, waiting on customers, doing searches and filing.

Mrs. Raisbeck is paid $13.55 per hour, according to the Human Resources Department.

Initially, Mrs. Raisbeck said she was worried about whether people would look at her differently because her mother is the boss. "You always have that fear. I didn't feel that once I got here," she said.

Mrs. Veronda's other daughter, Meg Hoskins, works in the county's Human Resources Department in payroll and previously worked in the sheriff's office. Mrs. Veronda's son, Deputy Patrick Veronda, works in the sheriff's office.

Ms. Hoskins and Deputy Veronda said they were hired because of their qualifications.

Deputy Veronda said he applied to the sheriff's office twice, not getting a call back on the first try. He said he was hired first as a correctional officer, graduating at the top of his class during his training program.

Deputy Veronda said he took a written and physical test to qualify to become a deputy. He received a Physical Fitness Award at the police academy, scoring higher than other candidates on various physical agility tests.

Treasurer LuAnn Kerr also hired her daughter, Carolyn Kerr.

Ms. Kerr explained that one of her employees retired in March. Since it was right before tax time, Ms. Kerr said she went ahead and got applications.

"Out of the three applicants, my daughter had the best qualifications," Ms. Kerr said.

Carolyn Kerr declined to comment. She is paid $11.75 per hour.

LuAnn Kerr's sister, Sandy Stephenson, has worked at the Auditor's Office for 11 years. Mrs. Stephenson said Ms. Kerr told her about the job and she applied.

Auditor Diana Robinson said she did know Mrs. Stephenson was Ms. Kerr's sister at the time, but Mrs. Stephenson had taken some accounting courses and was the most qualified.

Mrs. Stephenson's duties include reviewing the invoices of county departments and offices, checking to make sure they're correct and does the inventory.

"I made the right choice," Mrs. Robinson said. She said she doesn't see a problem if Mrs. Stephenson looks over any bills coming from the Treasurer's Office.

Mrs. Robinson pointed out it isn't just the county that has related employees, it's any business.

The Moline Dispatch Publishing Co., which owns The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus, has 58 related employees out of 318, or about 18 percent, according to Human Resources director Donna Herbig.

When Jeff Craver applied recently to be Forest Preserve director, county board chairman Jim Bohnsack, his father-in-law, said he stayed out of the interview process.

The Forest Preserve District is governed by a separate commission made up of county board members. When the board's Forest Preserve Committee voted to hire Mr. Craver, Mr. Bohnsack said he abstained. He also said he abstains when there's a vote to hire summer help because his grandson, Josh Bohnsack, is on that list.

Mr. Craver said he's qualified for his job because he's a certified parks and recreation professional, has a bachelor’s degree in the same subject from Illinois State University and previously worked for more than seven years at the City of Rock Island Parks and Recreation Department.

Mr. Craver's previous salary was $40,749 annually, and his current salary with the Forest Preserve is $51,000 per year, according to Rock Island's Personnel Department and the county's Human Resources Department.