It's not comforting to see legislators stick their heads in the sand and ignore warnings of potential problems within the Illinois Department of Transportation.

But that's what the Senate Democratic caucus and one Republican senator - Adeline Geo-Karis of Zion - did in confirming Tim Martin last week for the second half of his term as secretary of IDOT. The vote was 31-18, with 30 votes required for confirmation. Eight senators voted "present."

Democrats brushed off an audit from independent Auditor General William Holland questioning about $700,000 in IDOT expenditures. The money went to politically connected Chicago firms doing PR work to alert commuters of construction projects in the Chicago area.

"He's not a thief," Geo-Karis said of Martin. No one said he was, but the buck stops with him if there is a problem within IDOT.

All the auditor said was that Martin's office had not documented $700,000 in spending and didn't dispute his findings when given the opportunity. Holland thought it serious enough to turn the matter over to state and federal investigators.

In a meeting with some senators before his confirmation, Martin said the questionable expenses were closer to $100,000.

Whether its $100,000 or $700,000, there are still questionable expenses. And senators didn't bother clearing up the matter before taking an ill-advised vote.

Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, called for the vote. He said it was inappropriate to raise the audit issue during a confirmation vote. How ridiculous. What was inappropriate was for senators to confirm Martin before they know what is going on.

If the $700,000 in undocumented spending wasn't enough, senators also had to be aware of the March audit from Holland's office criticizing management within IDOT's Division of Traffic Safety.

Among some of those allegations

w The state could be losing $1.1 million a year by not maximizing federal reimbursements.

w As of last Sept. 1, the division still had no policy or procedural manuals.

w A reorganization in 2004 that resulted in 17 employees being laid off resulted in some being recalled because staffing was inadequate and some of the people laid off were ones who managed federal projects and processed federal reimbursement claims.

w There was no documented need or rationale for the reorganization.

w Questionable crash data was sent to federal agencies about large trucks and buses.

w In some cases, lines of responsibility weren't clear.

All of these things may be minor when all of the explanations are on the table.

The senators who confirmed Martin didn't bother getting the answers. They apparently don't care if there is mismanagement within IDOT. But Illinoisans should care about the mismanagement foisted on them by these senators.