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* This is exactly the sort of thing taxpayers can easily get their minds around…
The Illinois Department on Aging plans to move from two state-owned locations in Springfield where it pays no rent into a private office building where it will lease space for more than $530,000 a year.
The department said the move was in the works before the state’s financial problems hit and that it will enable all department employees to be in one location.
OK, hold it right there. “Before the state’s financial problems hit”? When was that? August of 2001?
Let’s continue…
Beginning July 1, Aging will lease space in the Jefferson Terrace office building in the 300 block of West Jefferson Street in Springfield. Information posted on the state’s procurement Web site said the state will lease 49,214 square feet of space for five years at a total cost of $3.3 million. That comes to about $662,000 a year, or $13.45 a square foot.
$13 billion budget deficit? Difficult, if not impossible to conjure by your average voter. But this goofy plan? Real easy to digest. Well, not so easy to digest, but you get the picture.
Isn’t there a lot of open space in IDOT’s building out by I-55? And is it really so all-important that the department be put in one building while the state is literally scrounging around for every dime to pay vendors, universities and schools?
Stupid. Just stupid. They richly deserve whatever ridicule is coming their way.
* But this isn’t as bad as it might look…
Created in an effort to keep the cost of electricity as low as possible, the Illinois Power Agency has only one employee and no one to handle its finances, a recent audit found.
Mark Pruitt was tapped to run the agency almost two years ago, and he’s remained its only employee ever since.
Here’s why…
Pruitt’s agency was created in 2007 after a months-long controversy over a spike in some Ameren and ComEd power bills. Some of the money from a $1 billion settlement with Ameren, Exelon and others, pays for the Illinois Power Agency’s operation.
David Kolata, director of the utility-watchdog Citizen’s Utility Board, said he thinks Pruitt’s doing a good job helping keep costs down. The fact that Pruitt remains alone in the agency is just a matter of bad timing, he said.
“The creation of the IPA coincided with the fiscal crisis of the state,” Kolata said.
* In other budget news, mayors are gearing up to fight the governor’s budget idea to slash local government revenue sharing by $300 million…
Normal Mayor Chris Koos said the town could lose up to $400,000 at a time when officials already have cut workers, halted new programs and increased the local sales tax to cope with current budget shortfalls.
Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder suggested his community would face additional belt-tightening.
“Any loss of additional revenue would require further cuts,” Snyder said.
While some mayors wouldn’t speculate on how exactly they would deal with cuts in state aid, Pana Mayor Steven Sipes said his town may need to look into some kind of tax or fee increase to plug such a shortfall.
And the State Journal-Register has a pretty decent editorial today which tries to give the governor some advice…
It was amateur hour when Quinn delivered his state-of-the-state speech, a stream-of-consciousness stemwinder based off of notes jotted down on a yellow legal pad. Everyone knows Quinn fancies himself a man of the people. But he’s also chief executive of the fifth-largest state in the union. He has a responsibility to present a coherent set of well-thought out, specific ideas.
* Related…
* Quinn has five in mind to take driver’s seat at tollway
* Key issues await governor in budget speech
* Quinn’s Budget Cuts Education, More
* Quinn staff to outline tax, spending proposal
* Eliminate unfunded mandates
* Death by sweetener
* UIC students, faculty push gov. for more funding
* UIC Students, Faculty Want Their $487 Million
* Sweeny: Legislators say pension reform may be possible
* And a legislative roundup…
* Activists praise Senate bill on wage theft
* Lawmakers lining up to keep more public information secret
* Daley’s gun control legislation proposes ‘micro-stamping‘ pistols, harsher penalties
* Daley calls for new state laws on guns: This time, the mayor also is asking the General Assembly to make it a Class 1 felony to knowingly sell a gun to a known gang member, stiffen penalties for unlawfully using a weapon and require “micro-stamping” of guns that make it easier to match weapons used in crimes.
* Chicago mayor continues gun control push
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:12 am
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I wonder who owns the building on Jefferson.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:30 am
How much money is projected to be saved by moving everyone into one location?
I don’t know enough to say whether or not this is bad deal, but if it is projected to save more in the long run than what is being spent, I think it might be a good idea.
There are more expenses to running an agency than the rent. Any good accountant knows that.
Comment by Easy There, Lynch Mob... Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:34 am
Big Ole Charlie Robbins. Springfield’s real estate giant.
Comment by Former Card Carrying Repub Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:35 am
Charles Robbins owns the building.
Comment by budget boy Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:36 am
Word, I think this is the building Alexi moved his office out of to SAVE money. If that wasn’t the issue, then I think maybe Charlie kicked Alexi out…but it had to do with a lease increase.
Comment by Former Card Carrying Repub Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:38 am
Maybe the mayors can get StateWideTom and the do nothing-dropouts to take another look at new revenue
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:40 am
Making sure the state’s not wasting $500,000 on a stupid lease. Wouldn’t that be a job for a Chief Operating Officer? Just saying.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:42 am
How much is CMS Charging them for their current building? It may be more than the 500K they will be paying on their new lease.
Comment by He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:50 am
=I wonder who owns the building on Jefferson.=
Who cares? Who is his property tax attorney?
Comment by Brennan Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:55 am
Let me paraphrase a comment I’ve seen made on this blog many times.
Half a million plus is just a mistake on a rounding error.
Heck, go ahead and spend it. Doesn’t make any difference in the big picture. While you’re at it raise my taxes. I deserve it.
Comment by Leave a Light on George Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:59 am
One of Quinn’s biggest problems: The man has absolutely no apparent control over his underlings in state government, and this Dept. of Aging nonsense is just one more glaring example of a seemingly rudderless bureacracy that can’t seem to stay on message, if indeed there is a coherent message.
Comment by Skirmisher Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 10:21 am
In the state agency where I work all the offices (regional as well as in the capitol and up in Chicago) we universally use state property where there is no rent involved. This was nearly universal to the agency after the economic shock in the early ’90’s. While not ideal we are doing just fine. Even if this change w/DOA makes some sense the appearance of their indifference to the budget horror is something we should pay attention to come november. Vote the bums out!
Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 10:27 am
..enable all department employees to be in one location…
Except for the division managers who will either be at home or on I-55 commuting from the Chicago metro area for their twice-monthly appearances in front of the staff.
This is yet another of a litany of reasons that Brady will be in to the end.
Comment by Joe from Joliet Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 10:42 am
Brady should hold a presser in front of the DOA free government housing. Then hold another one in front of the new location. Save half a million dollars a year.
But then, he’s say something stupid, wouldn’t he?
Never mind.
Fold the IPA into the ICC. He isn’t doing anything that couldn’t be done there. The creation of the IPA was just a stupid political stunt to begin with. Save half a million dollars.
There ya go - 1 million we don’t have - won’t be spent. Now, do this every day and we’d be down a billion within one gubernatorial term in office.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 10:49 am
Skirmisher, I agree. This again highlights Quinn’s lack of leadership abilities.
re: Illinois Power Agency
The office has a budget of $1million. the defunct (and should remain that way) lt. gov. office had an operating budget of $2-$3million with a staff of approx 40 people give or take.
I’m guessing that Pruitt of IPA, like all other state agency heads, makes a six-figure a year salary. if his office is truly vital to the day-to-day operations, which it doesn’t sound like it is by the way, IPA should be merged with another office so that resources and staff can be shared.
funny how governor quinn (and now recently david vaught as well) has sworn up and down that quinn cut waste last year. evidentially he did not!
Re: bill brady…
and where are his statements on the two main stories on his thread? he should ignore the attacks on his social policy record and talk about how goverment under quinn continues to misprioritize and mispend taxpayer money. his press releases should have been out at 9 a.m.
Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 11:07 am
WCW,
Just stop it. Stop posting on things you have no clue about.
While Pruitt reports to the Governor, the IPA was a creation of the Legislature as part of the billion electric rate give back. It was the brainchild of a staffer in the Attorney General’s office and the whole thing was pushed the Attorney General herself. Quinn has no power to “merge it with another office so staff can be shared.
If you have a problem with the IPA, I suggest you direct your ire to the AG or the Speaker, since that’s where it belongs.
How do we know WCW is clueless? She’s typing.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 11:23 am
I don’t care whose brainchild it was! Quinn should out in the forefront last year going through state government line-by-line and pointing out the various agencies/programs that are contributing to billions upon billions of dollars in waste of taxpayer money. but quinn was not out in the forefront last year addressing state waste. he was too self-absorbed and worried about his campaigning for the primary to care about wasted taxpayer money.
Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 11:38 am
And as usual, rather than confront the fact you don’t know what heck you’re talking about, you change the subject. What did Quinn run gas your puppy? Oh wait, wrong guy.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 11:40 am
WCW - You’re an idiot. Pruitt is doing a job that was never done before the IPA was created. He is negotiating power prices so that producers can’t just get together and charge whatever they want. Without him, you, me, and everyone else is completely at the mercy of the power generation companies. The fact that he’s able to do it by himself is extremely impressive, and the IPA should increase staffing whenever it becomes feasible.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 11:49 am
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
Who knew Abraham Lincoln had met WCW.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:01 pm
stl, i have nothing against pruitt, who apparently according to you is able ot leap tall buildings in a single bound. despite your overclaims of him i stand by my position.
Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:03 pm
I am not very happy with the insults being thrown at a fellow blogger.
You’re an idiot.
Just stop it. Stop posting on things you have no clue about.
I don’t know who Will County Woman is, but perhaps you do. However, you must be made aware of how badly your ugly comments make you appear. This kind of insulting behavior can prevent others from expressing their opinions, and that is not a good thing.
This is completely inappropriate language and forces a reader to wonder how there could be so much invective on this subject, directed at one person’s opinion.
If you believe that Will County Woman is an idiot regarding this issue, then so am I.
Both the ICC and the IPA are under the governor. Both are charged with similar reports on public utilities. Mr. Pruitt would find himself very comfortable within the ICC. The creation of the IPA didn’t make it sacrosanct. We are at a point in our pending fiscal doom not to give a fig who or what office birthed it. If it performs a valuable function - fine, let’s keep it safe and healthy - in another agency or commission. Having it stick out like a sore thumb all by it’s lonesome during our fiscal emergency is why it made the news. If you wish to champion it, then champion saving it by having it move to a safer place. I recommend considering the Illinois Commerce Commission since it would be a great place to hide it and allow it to continue functioning. The mission of the IPA and ICC mesh. If you do not trust the ICC to perform this function, then write the Administrative Law codes necessary to protect it from whatever it is you are afraid of.
If you wish to sit there and hurtle insults at those who question the existance of the IPA, then you will be doing that for a long time. As long as it is making news as a million dollar solo operation, it is marked for attack. It is wiser to find a hiding place for it within a similar state office.
You owe Will County Woman an apology. Both of you.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:23 pm
VM, you didn’t read my post very well. I didn’t say I liked it or believed it was smart to create it in the first place. I told her that her ire was directed to the wrong party. If she had a problem with it, she should take it up with the AG or the Speaker. Quinn had NOTHING to do with creating this thing and can do nothing to get rid of it without legislative approval.
All Quinn can do is starve it of resources, which is what he has done and which is why Pruitt is all alone doing the job of an entire agency. Hard to imagine more misplaced ire than when someone is doing an enormous amount with very little money. Isn’t that the whole point?
And no, I don’t owe her an apology. Her posts are repeatedly ill-informed. I stand by my Lincoln quote.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:30 pm
OK, enough. Move along.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:39 pm
VMan, the new Sir Walter Raleigh.
You chivalry is matched only by your self-righteousness. The next time you call someone a name on the blog (try not to do it today), you should be forced to read your wind-baggery on the subject as penance.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:41 pm
That’s Sir VanillaMan to you, oh cursed cracked lookingglass!
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:49 pm
This Aging dept. move seems like a holdover from the Blago Brain trust, which spent its last throes trying to move a bunch of people and offices around, either as cover for evading Rutan-protected jobs or as part of elaborate budget figure obfuscation or real estate baksheesh deals. Quinn needs to get out in front of this and put the move on hold until it can be justified better. If I was Quinn, I think I would send an inter-departmental memo to my agency directors:
To: All agency Directors
From: your boss
Re: Stupid or controversial things between now and next November - do not do them.
Dear Department head:
DON’T do stupid or controversial things until the election is over. Ask yourself what Rich Miller or Bernie would make of this action BEFORE you implement it unilaterally. And re-check the logic. legality, and sense of anything the Blago-era director authorized already, before you finish carrying it out. Refer all queries to Dir. Randall.
Signed, PJQ
Comment by Gregor Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:50 pm
Moving on, yes, this DOA lease situation is mind-numbingly stupid. If it’s not too late, somebody please stop it. CMS?
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:52 pm
I call them how I see them, and I only apologize when I feel I’ve made a mistake. If you don’t like it, feel free to call me whatever you want, I’m a big boy.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:52 pm
If we have to have a Dept of Aging, why can’t they work out of their homes. There are not that many of them, and the technology is there. It’s a myth that employees have to be in offices so somebody can make sure they are actually working–one reason often given for not decentralizing work to home. If you’re not gonna work, you can not work anywhere.
Comment by cassandra Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:55 pm
Rich,
Please consider the overall effect WCW has on your blog and act accordingly…I was in a meeting recently with Mr. Pruitt, and he knew more about energy utilities and their cost benefit ratios than the utility wonks present
…if, and I do mean if, he is earning
six figures, IMHO he deserves it.
The citizens of the State are fortunate to have him in their corner…IPA has a different charge than the ICC…the fact that Quinn hasn’t built an agency around him is testament to my point yesterday that fewer state employees are doing the essential work of several others…
folks on the outside of State govt should be able to talk about their perceptions here, but they sure as hell aren’t based on factual experience…Vanilla Man, if anyone deserves an apology, it is the readers of this blog from WCW, who brings little to the discussion and doesn’t have the decency to share a well thought out opinion, or respond to criticism she draws from her half baked ideas and her version of the truth…it is rather idiotic…
I don’t agree with you 95% of the time, but can be respectful of the dialogue it generates…
Comment by Loop Lady Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 12:57 pm
gregor, please. you think post randle’s public skewering by the boss all state agency heads were not put on notice to not do anything that may put the administration in a bad light before november. the quinn adninistration went so far as to issue a memo telling state workers not to talk to the media for crying out loud.
it’s jerry stermer’s job to know about everything and anything that state agencies are doing, as well as everything and anything that offices under the guv control are doing that may have potential negative implications for the administration.
it it possible that the DOA did not tell him of their impending move and all the details surrounding it? yeah sure. but, even if the plans were underway before he or Quinn got into office, surely either he or quinn sat down with all state agency heads at some points last year to learn what they were up to. how does an state agency plan to move and not tell anybody. post the IDOC fiasco particularly, and related state’s financial crisis esecially, how does the governor’s office not scrub/scrutinize/thouroughly review the details of everything related to the executive level and spending?
or, did no one in the gov’s office think the media would find out about DOA’s plan to move to a new rented space?
whatever the case, given the IDOC early prisoner release flap and the state’s fiscal woes, the fact that the DOA thought this a good move, doesn’t bode well of quinn.
Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 1:56 pm
There has been an active effort by CMS Director Sledge to clean up decades of messy lease deals. Leases like this are usually in the works for a LONG time. This is probably just something that had a head of steam that nobody got in front of. I suspect that will change now that this is out.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 3:02 pm
There is no question that the proposed relocation of the IDoA is poor timing given the budget crisis. However, the article did not accurately depict the condition of the building. The article claims that the flooding was caused by a main break and that it is not a reoccuring problem. True, but that is not the point. I acknowledge that it has been some time since I have been in the building. But I wonder if the yellow caution tape is still up blocking anyone from using the lower level and its conference room due to the remmnants of the flooding? If the tape is down and the lower level is now usable then that is a good thing. It only took them three years. Meanwhile, there are holes in the outside walls of the building that can no longer be successfully repaired. These were there long before the main break. In a heavy rain, water pours in through the outside cracks between the brick joints which soaks the plaster on the inside walls. This is an old, old building that needs a major rennovation. The problem is that I would question if the rennovation could even be done for the price of three years rent. And while the rennovation is being completed, the IDoA would need to move someplace else. I agree it is bad timing. Too bad they couldn’t get it done a long time ago as was planned.
Comment by observation Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 3:09 pm
Thank you for posting the corruption at Aging. Yes, the director, his assistant and the deputy director (hide and seek employment/Quinn advisor) all came from Blago and were promoted under Quinn. I think 5 got laid off due to budget cuts inorder to obtain the lease and to purchase ALL new furniture. Plus I heard aging and 2 other agencies are paying for the deputy director’s salary, it is not coming out of the governor’s budget. The director’s assistant has been holding a union job since November and has yet to do the job. Talk about a *&*^%$ golden parachute. Tax payers beware and call your reps and congressmen.
Comment by Special Assistant Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 4:05 pm
While I’m on a roll, the OIG has been called numerous times for theft of time, travel $$, retailiation, and falsification and destruction of documents at this agency however, Blago and Quinn had them cover it up. Maybe a cost savings is to merge DOA with DHS and the OIG with the auditor general. That is at least a million dollar savings. Did the agency collect taxpayer money that was illegally obtained by management? Hmmm….more drama. Illinois’ poor seniors…they are the ones who will eventually pay, and pay, and pay.
Comment by Special Assistant Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 4:15 pm
Point taken, the Herdon building is not contaminated or prone to flooding. The SOS had a agreeement to fix all problems if Aging had committed to the building, but the Director/aka EA refused to sign the lease. The SOS physical services department has done everything they can to please this director and his shadow to no avail. It is unfair to blame SOS. A fax just arrive that states the building is safe and has no health or environmental problems, per management, EPA and OSHA. The basement is ok and employees have been instructed to work down there on occassion.
Comment by Sar bear Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 4:29 pm
If keeping your entire staff under one roof is worth increasing expenditures by a half million dollars a year, then why did IDOT, who had available space, move Traffic Safety 5 miles away from their main headquarters?
Comment by Can't Say My Nickname Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 7:40 pm
When DHS was created there were those at the table that wanted the Departments of Aging, DCFS and what was then Public Aid included in the Mega Agency. AARP opposed that and the mission of DCFS was viewed as being too complex and critical for it to be “just a division” within what would become DHS. And, if I recall, Pate Philip opposed making Public Aid part of the mix.
Comment by Give Me A Break Tuesday, Mar 9, 10 @ 9:13 pm