SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Department of Human Services says it has no evidence that a highly paid ex-employee did any work other than acting as chauffeur to the department's former secretary, Carol Adams.

That contradicts earlier claims by Adams, who was recently appointed by Gov. Pat Quinn to an international trade post.

When lawmakers questioned her about the matter two years ago, she said her driver had many other duties. However, she refused to prove it by releasing examples of his other work, claiming the documents were not public.

Now, after another request from The Associated Press, Adams' agency says it can find no documents indicating Eugene Davis did anything but drive.

Quinn said Wednesday that he was unaware of the situation and would look into it.

The Democratic governor named Adams to head the state's African trade office starting in January, despite the controversy over her use of drivers and his promise last spring to "fumigate" state government of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointees.

Quinn said then he would evaluate each appointee's performance, but would not answer when asked Wednesday if he had evaluated Adams' work before naming her to the new post. He has praised her knowledge of Africa and called her "my person" in the trade office.

Some lawmakers are frustrated by Quinn's handling of former aides to Blagojevich, who was removed from office in January and faces federal corruption charges.

"Much more distance needs to be placed between the old administration and the administration that says, 'Oh, well, that's not us.' No, it's a lot of you," said Sen. Chris Lauzen, an Aurora Republican and co-chairman of the Legislative Audit Commission.

The House adopted legislation requiring a purge of Blagojevich's appointees. But the Senate president, Democrat John Cullerton, said earlier this month he is satisfied with Quinn's efforts and won't call the "fumigation" bill for a vote.

Adams, who was hired by Blagojevich in 2003, declined an interview request from The Associated Press.

The controversy began in 2007, when the Chicago Sun-Times reported that a driver for the department's chief of staff, Teyonda Wertz, had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit. Carlos Estes, 39, claimed Wertz forced him to share a hotel suite during a trip to Springfield in 2003, put on what looked like silk pajamas and told him, "You'll make love to me or you'll lose your job."

Wertz testified that her driver and Adams' were almost exclusively chauffeurs.

That put Adams on the defensive when she appeared before the Legislative Audit Commission, where she also had to answer a series of critical audits during her 6½-year tenure, including a searing report as late as last month.

At first, she told the commission the agency had no drivers, then changed her story and said the drivers had other duties too.

Job descriptions reviewed by the AP showed Davis and Estes -- who were paid $84,600 and $70,000, respectively -- were supposed to write articles, deliver speeches, represent DHS at conferences, interpret policies and procedures, and handle agency correspondence.

Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, the AP requested any documents prepared, written or edited by the men. DHS responded that it had work documents but they were exempt from disclosure because they were "preliminary drafts" meant for internal decision-making. Adams personally denied an appeal on the matter.

DHS went so far as to say the state attorney general agreed with its decision to keep the records secret, a contention Attorney General Lisa Madigan's staff hotly denied.

Earlier this month, the AP made a new request for the men's work.

The department replied that it had no documents prepared by Davis. Initially, it said the same thing about the other driver, but officials produced a handful of e-mails Wednesday afternoon in which Estes discusses reviewing sites operated by the department.

Adams' salary at DHS is $150,000. Her new salary will be $110,000, an 8 percent increase over her trade-office predecessor. Adams also gets a housing stipend.

The day after her appointment earlier this month, Quinn said Adams is an expert on Africa and denied he was offering Adams a soft landing instead of dismissing her from state service.

Estes was fired in May 2003 for allegedly misusing a state vehicle. Davis, 50, is a community and safety liaison for the Transportation Department at $69,790 a year.