SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The former head of Illinois’ Historic Preservation Agency alleged Thursday that he was forced out of his job for refusing Blagojevich administration orders to fire Republican employees.

A lawsuit filed by Maynard Crossland claims aides to Gov. Rod Blagojevich came to his office in 2003 with a chart with red X’s over the names of some agency employees. Crossland says he was told those employees should be fired because they were Republicans, even though their jobs were protected from political hiring and firing.

Crossland also claims the Democratic governor’s office ordered him to create a job for the wife of a state lawmaker, despite questions about whether she had mishandled government money.

Blagojevich labeled the allegations “absurd” and “ludicrous.” Asked if that meant they were false, Blagojevich called them “ridiculous” but refused to answer further questions.

The lawsuit by such a high-ranking former official is another blow to an administration already battered by accusations of misconduct.

The U.S. attorney in Chicago said he is investigating serious allegations of widespread hiring fraud. A report surfaced in which Blagojevich’s own inspector general complained of a “concerted effort” by personnel director Joseph Cini to subvert the law.

It also has come out that the administration kept lists of job applicants – one showing their politically influential backers and another showing the names of jobseekers despite Blagojevich’s claim that names were not considered in hiring decisions.

Crossland ran Historic Preservation, which oversees the state’s many historic sites, for two years. He is suing in Sangamon County Circuit Court under the state’s whistleblower protection laws. The lawsuit names Alonzo Monk, the governor’s former chief of staff and now head of his re-election campaign, along with various members of the agency’s board of trustees.

Monk had not seen the lawsuit Thursday afternoon and had no comment, said a spokeswoman for Blagojevich’s campaign.