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* It looks like that angry mom had Gov. Quinn’s number this week…
Diane Sajdak wanted to have a discussion with Quinn about the impact of [state budget cuts on schools] but got upset when the governor prepared to leave.
“You’re going to blow us off and run to a Hawks game and not discuss the issue at hand,” Sajdak said.
Quinn seemed taken aback by the accusation. “Woah, woah, woah, woah,” he replied.
But Sajdak continued. “Really? Honestly Gov. Quinn? That’s poor. That’s poor.”
Not long after that, Quinn boarded a Southwest flight for the Hawks game.
Click here for audio of the exchange between Sajdak and Quinn.
Sajdak appeared on a radio show the next day and talked about how she and her friends had “ambushed” the governor.
The well-regarded North Suburban Library System, which links local libraries into a large group, pretty much shut down at the end of May because the state didn’t make its payments. Now, another of Illinois’ multi-library systems has reached its last chapter.
The Metropolitan Library System, which links libraries in Chicago and suburban Cook, DuPage and Will counties, is suspending many services effective June 30. Plans call for ending consulting and continuing education and maintaining only a skeleton staff for back office operations.
The state’s regional library networks are going out of business not because the Legislature voted in favor of that but because the state just isn’t sending along the money it has appropriated.
* More…
The agriculture department sought bids starting in late April for a vendor to operate harness racing at both Springfield and DuQuoin for the 2010-12 fairs. It got no response, including from Balmoral Park and Maywood, the Chicago-area tracks that have run the races for the past several years.
Jack Kelly, a director at the tracks, said a big problem was that horse owners still hadn’t been paid their winnings from the 2009 state fair.
Oy.
* More…
Nearly a year after Gov. Pat Quinn signed the state’s capital plan, little of the local work it will pay for has started.
Agencies expecting thousands — in some cases, millions — of dollars each for building projects and other improvements are either fronting their own money to get started or, more commonly, putting off the work indefinitely.
The delay has effectively ruined what should have been a busy summer of capital projects, said Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford.
“Unfortunately, we are still really awaiting the release of projects that have been approved and have been already bonded for,” he said. “We don’t need all of it done, but with the economy the way it is, we ought to be releasing money for projects that are construction-ready so people can go to work right away.”
Syverson estimates the state has already issued $2.9 billion in bonds, but has only released $600 million.
“They’re sitting on $2.3 billion in the bank that we’re paying interest on that could be released,” he said.
What the heck?
* More carnage…
* Wheaton council reads library closings as problematic
* Illinois bill could save state police but hurt city departments
* Illinois cuts computer classes for prisoners
* SJ-R: Budget problems ultimately will cost taxpayers more
* Sun-Times: More Medicaid funding critical
* Rose frustrated by Springfield mess
* High-speed rail projects suddenly on fast track
* HSR Cash Hitting Illinois In Two Weeks?
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 1:19 pm
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Everyone is asking “where is mine?” THere is no more to go around. This is not an IL phenomenon, but a national issue. Insanity
Comment by Wumpus Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 1:23 pm
===Syverson estimates the state has already issued $2.9 billion in bonds, but has only released $600 million===
Does anyone here know if this estimate is accurate? I thought the Governor’s summer strategy was to cut ribbons all over the state and take credit for the new construction jobs.
$2.3 billion hasn’t been released? That doesn’t sound right. But if it is, what on earth is Quinn waiting for?
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 1:29 pm
Quinn unifies the state by attending a hockey game? Please. He was the proverbial gnat on the elephant’s rear end.
Comment by Vole Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 1:35 pm
jon stewart took a pretty good shot at obama last week on his show hitting him for all the time he’s spent with singers and athletes since the oil spill broke and criticizing him for not focusing on his priorities. The president stayed away from this morning’s event, but the governor does not look good flying to philly and celebrating on the stage for a day with the team when he has a whole host of problems.
Comment by shore Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 1:43 pm
High speed rail - I don’t think the money will make much of a jobs difference in at least one case. UP has been upgrading portions of the Chicago / St. Louis corridor for the past year plus with new ties and rail in anticipation of both increased freight traffic and HSR. They’ve also been working on their interchange yard up north.
I’m sure it’s mostly a matter of the lawyers making sure who’s responsible for what. Don’t blame them; anybody with any sense saw how the Interstate system turned out with the Feds paying the initial (low bid) cost and the states getting stuck with expensive ongoing maintenance.
And there is the still unresolved issue of which route through Springfield will be used for HSR …
Comment by Retired Non-Union Guy Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 1:44 pm
Maybe Sadjak and her friends can ambush the 177 members of the GA who dropped this mess in the Gov’s lap and left town.
Start with the House GOP members who spent the entire session doing nothing (still waiting to see Cross’ budget introduced).
Comment by Give Me A Break Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 1:55 pm
Give me a break??? I think we can lay this whole budget mess in the Lap of Quinn/Blago, Madigan and Cullerton/jones. We have an estimated budget hole of 13Billion. How did we get there? The constitution says we have to have a balanced budget every year yet we dont. The Dems have controlled the state with complete control for 6 plus years and have destroyed the states finances. The credit rating for the state keeps getting lowered. Face it the state is bankrupt and Quinn/Blago have been in control for the last 8 years piling on more debt with no thought sof the future.
Comment by Fed up Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 2:02 pm
Regardless of whether or not the funding problems are Quinn’s fault, he is going to get the blame from a large portion of the electorate. It will be hard for him to win the election because things will be even worse in November.
Comment by Pelon Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 2:11 pm
Yep, Friday afternoon in full swing. Leave it to the body politic to bring out the old, tired, boring =Start with the House GOP members who spent the entire session doing nothing= bs that tries to point out the long overdone hey kitty bit. Try as you might, the perception by many is that the current gang (read: democrats) blew this one big time and anti-incumbent fever is at a max. It does NOT matter any longer what the subtle facts are, it is time to throw the bums out. Bleating about how it is all the fault of the GOP won’t work no matter how many times you say it or how loud you are.
Comment by dupage dan Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 2:27 pm
“Regardless of whether or not the funding problems are Quinn’s fault, he is going to get the blame from a large portion of the electorate. …”
The “blame” in question is not the “funding problems,” but rather the education budget cuts. Quinn proposed those cuts himself, not the legislature.
Comment by Confused Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 2:28 pm
Confused,
You are exactly right. Would you agree that PQ did that as a ploy, trying to stir the affected constituents (parents, teachers unions, etc) to rise up and pressure the GA to pass the tax increase?
Better to pressure one group than to dilute the angst over the entire spectrum of recipients.
Comment by dupage dan Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 2:30 pm
BTW, I think the ploy was too obvious and, as a result, failed.
Comment by dupage dan Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 2:31 pm
Quinn and his buddy Blago really like their hockey games don’t they? State in crises? “Drop the puck!”
Comment by Joe from Joliet Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 2:32 pm
DuPage Dan-
I absolutely agree– the education cuts were a blantant ploy, which failed miserably. But the Governor should not get a free pass to act shocked and outraged that citizens are upset at his using their children’s education as a political chit.
Comment by Confused Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 2:44 pm
I find it interesting Quinn uses the word “candidate” to describe himself. The fact is that he is Governor now and should be doing someething about it instead of using it to try to win an election.
Comment by Southern Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 2:52 pm
We need to hear more bites from our elected politicians, like the one involving Sadjak. Then maybe citizens will realize how shallow are the people we elect. Lets get people running who will be honest and forthright.
Comment by bman Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 3:05 pm
Please tell me that Diane Sajdak has spent some time protesting
administrator costs at schools and not just ambushing a governor. is she a Palin “Mama Grizzly”? anyone, liberal
or conservative, who throws down the my poor kids card
drives me nuts. schools need to start spending money
more effectively and parents need to be more involved. also, not
every kid is going to be college smart. parents and
elected officials need to get a clue on that too.
Comment by Amalia Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 3:26 pm
“Lets get people running who will be honest and forthright.”
Let us … define us. How many of us here are involved in party politics? Our poor choices in candidates originates with the failings of both parties to farm and then choose the best candidates on their team. Instead we get people who essentially choose themselves to run, gear up the fund raising or break their own piggy bank, and then surprise us by winning their primaries. Then “we” get blamed for electing lousy politicians to lead us. The electoral system is broken and that includes the parties. I don’t see many of us rushing to get involved to revive the broken parties. If all the time we spend messing around on the blogs were dedicated to real politics we might be able to get the ball rolling. Until then, our only recourse is to complain about our poor choices.
Comment by Vole Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 3:34 pm
Amalia - She probably isn’t a Palin person from the sound of her. If she was, she’d be yelling at Quinn that he should abolish public schools and give everyone vouchers for home schooling or catholic school or something.
I understand her concerns, and Quinn did put the cuts out there in the first place. However, if she is so concerned about school funding issues, you would think she would at least have done enough research to know that he’s the only willing to hang for a tax increase that would get said money for her kid’s school.
Comment by Lester Holt's Mustache Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 4:45 pm
Vole,
Here, here. But it’s the dialogues that Rich’s blog encourages that help us truly understand the Starting Line. Rod is just one spoke in a very powerful and established wheel. The point is that few people out there grasp how out-of-line things are and that they should be able to do something about it. Some people don’t even see how out of line things are — or the actions and control of those they respond to and respect. Only those that grasp the void between where we are and where what we should be, can make a difference. The reality is, we will end up somewhere between what we aim for and where we are. And it will take more commitment than to an election cycle. It will take enduring commitment to aim high, consistently high, just to make it to a relatively good place.
Comment by KeepSmiling Friday, Jun 11, 10 @ 7:23 pm