65 Comments - Spliff - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 11:47 am: Don’t forget Rauner knows how to run a Nursing Home efficiently. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 11:48 am: Rep. Ron Sandack already told me this is worth it. So, I’m sure the Raunerites will feel; “Oh well, short term pain for big long term gain” Goodness Gracious… Social Service groups… Rauner is destryin’ you. Make NO mistake… … and in March, pull a ballot to… Vote Accordingly. It’s only going to get worse - Langhorne - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 11:51 am: Radogno said (bernie) some shakeout of social services is not a bad thing. So, collateral. - lake county democrat - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 11:52 am: It’s definitely worth it to Jeff Franks, since he’s the lone vote refusing to join any conceivable Dem supermajority (like the one the evil Dunkin was proposing the other day). Or so I read. - illini97 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 11:52 am: Mrs. Rauner assures us the Governor has no social agenda. So, we’ve got that goin’ for us. Which is nice. - wordslinger - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 11:53 am: Just part of the “needed shake out,” as Sen. Radogno helpfully explained last week. It’s part of the plan, as the governor explained years ago. Bust the unions, or the social service agencies get whacked. As you can see, all is proceeding according to plan. http://www.sj-r.com/article/20151024/OPINION/151029755 - illini97 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 11:54 am: -Langhorne- Better yet, Radogno tells us that social service organizations are actually consolidating and the big guys are stepping up as smaller organizations go under. This impasse is good, actually, as it will make our social safety net stronger…somehow. - illlinifan - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 11:58 am: illini97, I also have some great swampland you may want to buy. Sometimes consolidation is not good. Ever heard of “too big to fail”. - Rahm'sMiddleFinger - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:01 pm: Children’s Home and Aid is one of the largest providers in the state. They’re contracting. The idea that no budget will force consolidation and we’ll all be better at the end of the day is nonsense. What responsible Board member of a non-profit would encourage them to do MORE business with an Adminstration that is purposefully holding them hostage? - Anon221 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:02 pm: “Our transformation puts a strong new focus on prevention and public health; pays for value and outcomes rather than volume and services; makes evidence-based and data driven decisions; and moves individuals from institutions to community care, to keep them more closely connected with their families and communities.” Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, 2016 State of the State Address - SAP - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:03 pm: Keeping people out of nursing homes is not good for Bruce Rauner and the nursing homes he controls. - wordslinger - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:03 pm: Social service agencies are never going to get the money that they’re owed. It’s gone on too long. My guess is if and when this nonsense is ever over, those still in business will be told to eat their accounts receivables if they want new contracts with the states. That’s how some people do business in the private sector. - Chicago Guy - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:04 pm: I agree that some rationalization of the social service community can be helpful. But it should be done based on rational reasons, not simply by starving everyone and seeing who survives. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:06 pm: I do find it tragically sad that Diana Rauner is so silent. I also find it… interesting… that the Social Service community won’t call Diana… Sorry, President Diana Rauner, Ounce of Prevention… out for aiding in the decimation of the community Diana wants to be seen as a leader of for children. What more can both Rauners do to you, Social Service groups, you are facing closure… - Anon221 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:16 pm: Radogno needs to produce names of organizations, not sound bites. Who was the small organization, who were the 36 clients (not their names, their needs), what other agencies/organizations did this provider work with, what percentage of their budget came from the state, where are they located and how far will these clients need to travel now for services (even if they can)… these and many other questions need to be answered before a true “cost/benefit” analysis can be done. How scary does the problem have to become, Senator, before you are willing to admit the Crisis Creation Model is flawed? - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:16 pm: To all the Updates, Indeed. It’s the feature, not the bug. Diana Rauner vouched for it. Diana made sure we all knew she vouched for this, this… no social agenda… to decimate what she, Diana, feels she’s a leader in this community. It’s heartbreaking. - lake county democrat - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:18 pm: –I think we can drive a wedge issue in the Democratic Party on that topic and bring the folks who say, ‘You know what, for our tax dollars, I’d rather help the disadvantaged, the handicapped, the elderly, the children in poverty,’ ” Rauner said, instead of directing tax dollars to the Service Employees International Union or “AF-Scammy,” an apparent reference to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, known as AFSCME for short.– Believe it or not there are Democrats who share this belief. If there’s going to be a blend of tax cuts and program cuts, we’re ok with letting unions take more of a hit if it means preserving programs, and having “nonbudget items” like redistricting (which should happen anyway) and term limits (not crazy about them but 3/4 of the voters want them) as part of the mix furthers that goal. Another thing that seems absent in this discussion: how much of a REGRESSIVE tax hike are the Madigan people calling for? Income tax hikes hurt the working class and middle class more than the wealthy in this state - again, they get wacked more if non-budget items are off the table. It’s simply not the 1% vs. the world battle that Madigan wants to portray it. - G'Kar - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:27 pm: “Mrs. Rauner assures us the Governor has no social agenda. ” That’s right. He has no social agenda. But he does have a profit driven agenda. If he can eliminate the non-profs and replace them with his buddies’ for profit outfits, he get what he wants./s - Tyrone - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:28 pm: Pulling money out of social service as a setup for corporate takeovers of those agencies is doable. Rauner knows how to organize hedgefund dollars and many corporations are sitting on huge cash reserves. They can afford to go the distance. Take on the liability, fund it, negotiate new contracts with the state and dump the staff for lower paid workers. Money is soon made. - sal-says - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:29 pm: == “We will crush our economy…” == raunner could have just stopped there. He’s doing a FINE job of crushing it so far. - Tinsel Town - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:29 pm: The real question here, has Rauner been in communication with, have some of his past fund partners ponied up together, or in other words has Rauner purposefully orchestrated this “consolidation” so that some of his friends/business partners could profit from Illinois contracts? - Honeybear - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:31 pm: Radogno’s statement about a shake up is truly repulsive. It’s the saddest thing that Raunerites must even issue justifications and even sadder still that these meaningless words will easily placate those who don’t want to accept the damage that is being caused. There is no small agency being consumed by a larger agency. This isn’t Wallstreet mergers and acquisitions. And it doesn’t matter how small they were. THEY WERE DOING THE JOB AND HELPING PEOPLE! Well, the good news is that we now have the new “frustrated 2″ meme. “needed a shakeup”. So now when funding is restored in November, and the state STARTS looks around to see what survived the nuclear winter. They can just say “Oh well, they all needed a “shake up”. I hope some priests and pastors are reading this blog. Fellow clergy, you know what you have to do. - Louis Capricious - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:32 pm: Click through to Help at Home’s site, and there’s this: “Help At Home Is pleased to welcome the employees from Lutheran Social Services in Canton, Chicago, DeKalb, Freeport, Moline, Peoria, and Rockford” - sal-says - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:32 pm: == Radogno also said that, while many social service agencies are struggling without state funding, and “seeing the bigger agencies have problems is very scary,” there “needed to be a shakeout.” == Scary? As I suggested to my Repub State Sen & Repub State Rep recently: “What would the Repubs have people in need, disabled, elderly do in IL? Just die?” Problem solved. - Earnest - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:32 pm: Radogno was saying things like this last spring. This destruction of the human service system is intentional. I can barely comprehend what kind of thinking and values would lead someone to take this course. That’s not to say we can’t evaluate where state resources go to have the most impact. Frankly, with a modern IT system, it could potentially be easier to pull data and analyze. This should be the conversation, not the action of damaging the lives of service providers and recipients. I’d also like to debate the concept that bigger is better and more cost-efficient. Small agencies, deeply rooted in communities, scrape to make state dollars go further than any large corporation ever would. Agree with Rauner as strongly as you wish, but you’ve got to condemn these tactics. - Anon221 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:35 pm: Start making the connections… http://www.reuters.com/article/il-gtcr-idUSnBw145832a+100+BSW20140814 GTCR Announces Partnership With David Snow to Form Cedar Gate Technologies “Mr. Snow, a 34-year veteran of the healthcare industry, most recently served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medco, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers. He joined the company as Chairman and CEO in March 2003 prior to the spin-out of Medco by Merck. He served as CEO until the company’s sale to Express Scripts in 2012. During Mr. Snow’s tenure, Medco’s revenue grew from $34 billion to over $70 billion. Prior to joining Medco, Mr. Snow served as President and Chief Operating Officer at Empire BlueCross BlueShield. Throughout his career, he has served in executive leadership roles for various healthcare companies, including Oxford Health Plans, American International Healthcare and US HealthCare. He also co-founded and served as President and CEO of Managed Healthcare Systems, which was later renamed AmeriChoice.” - Kasparov - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:47 pm: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” - Mark Garrity - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:47 pm: Radogno wasn’t saying we’ll have some kind of consolidation to save money, she was saying we’re not going to raise taxes so these social service agencies are going to die anyway. No need to prolong the suffering, just put them out of their misery, eh Christine? - Anon221 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:59 pm: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2011/GTCRs-Bruce-Rauner-Talks-Investments/ - illini97 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:01 pm: –illinifan– My comment was meant to be snark. Sorry that was not clear. - Stateandlake - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:12 pm: Many Community Care Program participants (people 60 and older who receive in home assistance) are already working with managed care organizations such as BCBSIL and IlliniCare, with social service agencies’ oversight role reduced to a minimum. A lot more of this may be coming in the future, with minimal (or less) oversight… - Stateandlake - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:17 pm: Wordslinger @1203p — bullseye - Anon221 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:19 pm: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2013/10/08/profiting-poor-outsourcing-social-services-puts-most-vulnerable-risk - Former Hoosier - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:27 pm: ===I do find it tragically sad that Diana Rauner is so silent.=== ===I also find it… interesting… that the Social Service community won’t call Diana… Sorry, President Diana Rauner, Ounce of Prevention… out for aiding in the decimation of the community Diana wants to be seen as a leader of for children.=== Dr. Diana Rauner, who is a developmental psychologist, is a disgrace to my profession. She should resign from her position as president of the Ounce of Prevention, as she is not meeting her ethical obligation to act in the best interest of those served by the Ounce. Sadly, it appears that Dr. Rauner is only concerned about her own interests and not those she was hired to serve. And, of course, the Ounce is not going to ask for the resignation of the First Lady of Illinois! Dr. Rauner has had a conflict of interest since day 1- shame on her. - DuPage Bard - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:38 pm: The upfront money in this battle will lead you to the end game money. There you will find your reasoning for all of this agenda. - hisgirlfriday - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:39 pm: So basically the charter school sham is being pushed on social services. Great. - CharlieKratos - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:43 pm: Hostile Takeover of Illinois Social Services 2016 courtesy of Don Rauner. How is this sort of nonsense legal? Because he can deny that this was his intention all along? - northsider (the original) - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:46 pm: Yes–please connect Anon221’s dots regarding GTCR and David Snow: United Healthcare owns Oxford Health which owns Helping Hands which is replacing LSSI. For profit. And the Republican Senate Leader sounds like Barbara Bush after Hurricane Katrina: “So this has worked out well for many of them” - 360 Degree TurnAround - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 1:54 pm: something is afoot here, Leader Currie introduced what appears to be an innocuous state government shell bill today (HB 4616). However, it is creating a new act, the social service contract notice act. Hmmmm. - another link - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 2:08 pm: Note the connection between GTCR and this company’s chief administrative officer — formerly of United Healthcare and Oxford Healthcare. file:///Users/eaustin/Downloads/April%2026%20UniversalAmericanCorp.pdf - another link - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 2:12 pm: Rauner and United Healthcare’s CEO both “backed Jack” http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jack-ryan-announces-finance-committee-70781772.html - Anon221 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 2:14 pm: Meanwhile, over at DCEO… http://www.ilbedc.org/faqs/ - Anonymous - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 2:14 pm: wordslinger - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 12:03 pm: Social service agencies are never going to get the money that they’re owed. It’s gone on too long. My guess is if and when this nonsense is ever over, those still in business will be told to eat their accounts receivables if they want new contracts with the states. That’s how some people do business in the private sector. Word- You’re exactly right. There will not be back payment to July 1 for the contracts signed. So good luck paying back your lines of credit with revenue you thought you would eventually get. The only agencies weathering this storm are those that have significant revenue coming in from programs covered by Consent Decree and who were already financially stable. Programs not covered by Consent Decree, even with those providers, will eventually end because they can not continue to cover the revenue loss- ex: LSSI and CHASI. - led hed - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 2:59 pm: Ok, a light bulb just flickered in my head. Could a “vulture capitalist” or whatever the term I’ve heard here, ascribed to the Governor of Illinois, actually “acquire” an asset/business (State of Illinois) which is in poor financial straits and “manage” it into a far off worse position than when he assumed the reins, and still manage to gain from the “purchase” financially for himself and ……? - Dr Kilovolt - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:02 pm: Um, is JIMMY JOHN LIAUTAUD creating wealth for anybody other than JIMMY JOHN LIAUTAUD? - Crispy - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:02 pm: Evidently, “no social agenda” is code for “no sense of social responsibility,” or maybe simply, “no conscience.” Good to know. Former Hoosier, any chance Dr. Rauner might be censured by some relevant professional organization? Yeah, it would be merely symbolic, but it would still be more than anyone else seems to have done. CharlieKratos–I keep asking the same question. How does “willfully engineering the destruction of state government and services” dovetail, in any conceivable way, with “upholding the state Constitution,” etc.? - steve schnorf - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:03 pm: I know this is going to be an unpopular position on this site, but: Chris Radogno is just about the perfect Republican senator from any moderate’s point of view. She is bright, caring (there were times when I worked at BoB that she insisted on improved funding for various human services programs), thoughtful, politically adroit, and a person of her word. I believe she is advocating a theme common to we Republicans-government and raising taxes aren’t the solutions to all problems. Government programs of whatever purpose should be both effective and efficient and if you’ve paid any attention at all you know that many programs and private agencies we fund are weak in one or the other or both of these areas. I think we all know that the current stalemate’s effect of causing the weak to fall away while the larger, stronger private agencies survive isn’t the best approach to solving that problem, but it’s what we now have. I think Radogno is simply acknowledging that. What we face is going to be eventually dealt with thru a combination of cuts, which will require a winnowing of the providers, and revenue increases. Based on many years of knowing Radogno and working with her, I have great confidence that she will, in the end, do the right thing. I’ve never seen her do otherwise. - wordslinger - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:08 pm: –Based on many years of knowing Radogno and working with her, I have great confidence that she will, in the end, do the right thing. I’ve never seen her do otherwise. – She’s not running the show, and won’t have a say in how the show is run. She’s just grasping for non-sensical rationalizations under the duress of editorial board questioning. - Anon221 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:10 pm: From the Ledger (Comptroller’s office), P 49, Find an Expense, By Vendor: Search by Vendor: Ounce of Prevention Click on Ounce of Prevention on that site to see the payments made. 2016 YTD: OUNCE OF PREVENTION FUND INC 2016 4,698,872.54 - Anon221 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:15 pm: steve schnorf - “What we face is going to be eventually dealt with thru a combination of cuts, which will require a winnowing of the providers, and revenue increases.” *** And, in the meantime, the people most needing these social services… will that work itself out, too??? - Ghost - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:17 pm: and the gov heavily invested in one of these multistate providers…. made hug profit and is now under suit forminvestigations into whether he may owe the company money in bankruptcy court… and set an economic policy that favors these multistate providers….. interesting. especially since the gov company lost many suits over the poor quality of care from the large multistate provider - Anonymous......Please! - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:18 pm: shhh…give the feds time…… - Anonymous - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:30 pm: 221, obviously not, but it’s where we are. No one should try to pretend otherwise - Stumpy's bunker - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:42 pm: The need for social services by the citizens of Illinois is apparently an “inconvenient truth” for the financial interests Rauner represents. - Anon221 - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:45 pm: If you want to take the “it is what it is” approach to this dismantling of social services, here’s a study to ponder- http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2016/jan/mortality-trends-among-middle-aged-whites - Earnest - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 4:10 pm: >I think we all know that the current stalemate’s effect of causing the weak to fall away while the larger, stronger private agencies survive isn’t the best approach to solving that problem, but it’s what we now have. Steve, I strongly disagree with the assumption that larger is better or more cost-effective. I also think that, if one is going to wreak destruction on the human service system, the ones with the biggest financial reserves (meaning, money they weren’t putting into services anyway), or the agencies fastest to cut off service recipients who are less cost-effective (to improve their balance sheets) are the parts of the human service system you want to keep. Smaller agencies in smaller towns are part of the community fabric, and do so much more than only the specific services which are being funded. I agree that we should be analyzing the resources we put into human services to have the most cost-effective and positive impact. I disagree that “what we have now” is intended to make anything better. - Lakefront Liberal - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 4:17 pm: ===- Dr Kilovolt - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 3:02 pm: Um, is JIMMY JOHN LIAUTAUD creating wealth for anybody other than JIMMY JOHN LIAUTAUD?=== Yeah, this was my thought exactly! - Paul - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 4:33 pm: Helping Hands in 2013 settled a large sexual harassment suit. http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/7-24-13.cfm - Arthur Andersen - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 4:49 pm: Some of you folks need to step off the grassy knoll. It’s apparently making you a little dizzy. You’re gonna need more than “a guy who once worked for a company who now owns a company that might get State work due to the impasse is also a partner with Rauner’s old firm” (and the latter deal happened three years after Rauner left the firm) Sorry, and I’m no Raunerbot, but that’s either too many dots to connect or dots that never connected in the first place. - Paul - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 4:53 pm: Anon221: Now we know why Diana Rauner is silent. Her organization appears to be the only one being paid. - GraduatedCollegeStudent - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 6:04 pm: ===You’re gonna need more than “a guy who once worked for a company who now owns a company that might get State work due to the impasse is also a partner with Rauner’s old firm” (and the latter deal happened three years after Rauner left the firm) === Yeah, but this is a Hotel California situation. Brucie may have checked out but he’s never going to leave. - illlinifan - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 6:27 pm: Apologies Illini57 for not recognizing snark. Some of the smaller agencies need to change their business practices. I have worked with some of these agencies and there are some inefficiencies that can be addressed through consolidation of back office activities. In terms of direct services however, being small can be a benefit in service delivery, especially when the agency is rural or neighborhood based. - Langhorne - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 6:28 pm: Wow. When they say, “connect the dots”. These are the dots: *rauner 2012 comments *actively starving social service agencies *radogno, “shakeout” is a good thing *wall street backed operation picking over the pieces *DHS inviting “strategic merger opportunities” Callous and chilling. - Anonymous - Monday, Feb 1, 16 @ 7:24 pm: ====“Our transformation puts a strong new focus on prevention and public health; pays for value and outcomes rather than volume and services; makes evidence-based and data driven decisions; and moves individuals from institutions to community care, to keep them more closely connected with their families and communities.” Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, 2016 State of the State Address ==== Isn’t this how the Department of Defense spends $10,000 on a toilet seat you can pick up @ Ace fo $4? - low level - Tuesday, Feb 2, 16 @ 7:18 am: Gee, here I thought Christine Rodogno was a moderate, independent voice??? I guess thats what happens when Governor Billionaire Bruce comes in with big $$$ and calls the shots. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.