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* We’ll get to more on the Bob Flider controversy in a second, but the end of today’s SJ-R editorial needs to be talked about first…
Contrast the support Flider now is receiving from the administration to that of Chicago Ald. Joe Moore, Quinn’s prospective nominee to head the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Moore has not even been announced as a nominee, but has been lobbying state senators on his own to drum up support for a potential nomination. A coalition of business groups, meanwhile, has organized an effort in opposition to Moore’s appointment — all this before he’s even been nominated. In the meantime, the IEPA is working its way through its second interim director. The same story applied at the Department of Insurance until a recent permanent appointment was made.
And then there was Jonathon Monken, who was 29 and had no previous police experience when Quinn chose him in 2009 to head the Illinois State Police. Monken had no chance of confirmation by the Senate and finally resigned — when it appeared the state no longer had legal authority to continue paying him — to take the helm of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency last year.
From our perspective, all this adds up to a rather haphazard pattern of assembling leadership in some of the most important jobs in state government. It doesn’t inspire confidence in this administration’s overall management, and it certainly doesn’t help those, like Flider, who are tossed into it.
The vast majority of the governor’s appointments have been non-controversial. But the SJ-R is right that Quinn’s process is just too haphazard. I happen to like Bob Flider. If he surrounds himself with decent people, he’ll probably do OK. But agriculture is such a hugely important industry in Illinois that appointing somebody with a lot more direct ag and/or export experience would’ve been preferable here, despite what the governor’s office claims…
Brooke Anderson, Quinn spokeswoman, called Flider extremely well-versed in exports, rural broadband development and farming. “The governor makes his decisions based on an individual’s records in public service,” Anderson said.
* On to the controversy. As expected, the appointment has given Republicans a chance to bring up the tax hike again and given reporters a reason to write more stories about said tax hike. Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady was the most outspoken…
“This is just another ‘Quinn Pro Quo,’” said Brady. “Governor Quinn and his Democratic pals thought they could wait a year for no one to remember Bob Flider’s lame duck, late night flip-flop on Pat Quinn’s 66% tax hike but our state’s economy is still suffering the consequences of Flip Flop Flider’s ‘Quinncidence.’”
“Agriculture is one of our state’s most important industries. It’s an insult to every Illinois farmer who has to pay taxes that the Governor would appoint an Agriculture Director who would oppose a proposed tax hike when he was running for re-election but then cast the deciding vote for an even larger tax hike just a few months later,” said Brady. “What key agriculture issues will Flider flip-flop on for political expediency?”
* Rep. Adam Brown (R-Decatur) defeated Flider in 2010 and also weighed in…
“It’s a slap in the face to my background because I am a fifth-generation family farmer, somebody that truly prides himself on advancing agriculture across the state” Brown said. “But to take a look at former Rep. Flider’s background in agriculture, I think it leaves something to be desired.”
Rep. Brown doesn’t list any income from that family farm on his Statement of Economic Interest.
* Flider defended himself…
In an interview Wednesday, Flider said his experience representing farming communities and large agricultural businesses like Archer Daniels Midland and Tate & Lyle give him the ability to carry out Quinn’s mission of boosting exports, expanding broadband and developing rural Illinois.
“I hope he looked at my track record of working hard,” Flider said. “I trust the governor knew my work ethic.”
Flider, 54, said he never talked to Quinn about getting a job based on his vote on the tax hike.
“It was never part of the discussion,” Flider said.
* Expect some, but not all, Senate Republicans to make loud noises…
Republicans on the Senate Executive Appointments Committee said they will be looking into whether the appointment is payback for Flider’s support of the tax hike.
“It is certainly going to come up,” said Sen. Tim Bivins of Dixon, the ranking Republican on the committee. “The governor is creating an appearance by repeatedly doing this.”
“It certainly has an appearance that doesn’t look good,” said Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, R-Okawville. “I really don’t know what kind of background he has in agriculture.”
Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, doesn’t serve on the committee, but said he might be able to support Flider if the nomination goes to the full Senate.
“There’s always the concern of quid pro quo, but we don’t know if that is the case here, and we hope that it isn’t,” Bomke said. “The only question I have is his experience or lack of experience. I think he will probably be OK as ag director. I think he will be professional.”
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 10:36 am
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Why would Brown list income from farming on the statement of economic interests? You write as if there’s something amiss there.
Comment by Econ101 Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 10:51 am
Because if he’s a “fifth generation family farmer” he’s implying that he’s a farmer for a living, as in he makes his income from farming and that’s what gives him credibility on the topic. So if he’s a family farmer and making income from it, that should be on his SOIE. Brown has trouble putting a sentence together, but when he does, it often exposes a bigger problem. The last “slap in the face” was when the Speaker “took all his voters” and put them in a district with “inner city people”. I’m not saying Flider is a perfect fit or anything, but he’s a decent guy who probably will try hard to do a good job and won’t hold petty grudges over past elections. Too bad Brown can’t say the same.
Comment by just 'cause Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:03 am
Yawn-a-ramabama
Does Adam Brown have the same problem as Jason Plummer (i.e. he doesn’t report income cause daddy only gives him an allowance and not a salary)
Just asking
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:10 am
“Moore has not even been announced as a nominee, but has been lobbying state senators on his own to drum up support for a potential nomination. A coalition of business groups, meanwhile, has organized an effort in opposition to Moore’s appointment — all this before he’s even been nominated. In the meantime, the IEPA is working its way through its second interim director.”
I think the lack of support from Quinn’s folks has been the most surprising. Give Joe Moore credit, I haven’t ever seen someone be that aggressive in meeting State Senators. (Which only feeds to Rich’s point this process is haphazard - what Governor appointee (prior Quinn) has had to do this?)
I wonder if Moore’s outreach might get him support where others who took their appointment for granted wouldn’t.
Comment by Kyle Hillman Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:15 am
What this really proves is that the monolith of state government will move forward, no matter who is in charge or who gets delegated the authority or the competency of either. The B team of medium and long time managers (”I B here before you were in charge, and I’ll B here when you leave”) will keep the gears of government grinding away. The consequences of how a private enterprise would do if managed this way do not apply here.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:38 am
The real problem with Flider ( besides his voting record that put Illinois in this horrendous shape) is he campaigned as an anti tax guy for eight years and then sold out. He will have to explain at his confirmation hearing his vote to decrease to 2 milion inheritance tax exemption. I dont know if good ole Bob has checked but land in Central Illinois is going for 10+grand an acre.
In restaurant in Decatur last night when news came on regarding Fliders appointment. Loud boos throughout.
Comment by Decaturguy Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:41 am
== The governor makes his decisions based on an individual’s records in public service,” Anderson said ==
wha?
- If I work hard and do a good job milking the cow, I do not necessarily know how to run the entire co-op. Or:
- Just because I work hard and do a good job changing my neighbor’s oil and helping mow the lawn, that does not make me the best qualified to build her a new house.
Comment by Shock & Awww(e) Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:48 am
I am actually with Quinn on this. You win the election you get to pick your people and you get held accountable for them. Whether a guy knows an area he’s working on inside and out isn’t always an indicator of how good he’ll be see cheney, iraq war.
Comment by Shore Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:52 am
So is/was he a lobster? Attorney?
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:55 am
By this standard, PQ probably asks kids who do a good job washing his car to then cook him a 5-course meal.
Or maybe sing him an opera.
“Well, he did a good job for me before. I thought he deserved a chance and would do a good job again.”
Except this case plays with other people’s livelihoods. Not just PQ.
Comment by Shock & Awww(e) Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:56 am
OneMan, “representing” means as a legislator. But he lobbied for Ameren back in the day.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 11:59 am
OK so he’s “not a farmer”. Last time I looked there were maybe 2 farmers who were also legislators. A good Agency Director understands the issues, understands the process of how things get done, is a good administrator/delegator, and is a gladhander to his staff and peers. It would seem to me that Bob Flider fits in all of the above.
From the press release: “Bob Flider served … on the House Agriculture & Conservation Committee, the Energy & Environment Committee and the Ethanol Production Oversight Committee. Flider also served as chairman of the House Electric Generation & Commerce Committee and vice chairman of the House Renewable Energy Committee. He was named an “Agriculture Certified Legislator” by the Illinois Farm Bureau in 2004, and he was named a “Friend of Agriculture” by the Illinois Farm Bureau in 2006, 2008 and 2010. …is an associate member of the Macon County Farm Bureau. He is a past board Director of the Decatur-Macon County Economic Development Corporation.”
So this would mean he has an appreciation of the issues, is appreciated by agriculture groups, is certain to have a solid relationship with two of the biggest Ag-related businesses Illinois has (which are housed in his former district), and as a legislator understands the process. If you ask me, he’s a good choice.
Comment by Both Sides Now Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 12:00 pm
Thanks…
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 12:17 pm
There’s no requirement in illinois to report sources of income that don’t involve government or aren’t businesses with state contracts.
this would be a good time to revisit how stupidly written our sei law is
for those who believe it should be on the form what section would you put it in?
Comment by econ101 Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 12:29 pm
Plummer never had an issue with his economic interest statement. he just refused to release tax returns. the failure of the sei law to require disclosure of income is part of the reason people want to see tax returns
Comment by econ101 Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 12:34 pm
Plummer ducked the tax return issue so he did not have to admit that all he has was his allowance money not a pay check with withholding
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 2:10 pm
Don’t quite follow how Flider’s appt is a slap in the face to the guy who defeated him and his farm heritage….what does Brown want w/ his victory, destruction of Carthage and salt on the ground or did he want the job?
Comment by D.P. Gumby Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 3:40 pm
Quinn’s picks do seem haphazard, but in keeping with the statement I made last week about appointments, I will reiterate my point: unless the agency truly requires a “professional” in that field to be its director/secretary, politics will always play a role. Why in God’s name should the GOP be so shocked about this after 26 years of the same practices? Bill Brady essentially promised people jobs and agency posts before he lost and I’m quite sure that not everyone was up to the same snuff to which the GOP now wishes for Quinn to adhere. Ag policy can be quite subjective. How much do we spend on the State Fairs? How much does the state want to focus on the exportation of agricultural goods, services and equipment? Does Quinn want to tinker with horse racing and racetracks? Does Quinn want to link the Alderman Moore appointment to Ag environmental issues and have Ag and the IEPA work together on farm waste and cleanliness policy? The other thing to keep in mind when a nomination like this is made: most employees who handle regulatory and perfunctory jobs are unionized and have been at Ag for a long time. Their jobs and duties likely will not be impacted by this appointment.
Comment by Team Sleep Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 4:10 pm
So let me get this straight:
- Flider supported giving the citizens the right to vote on a Progressive Income Tax;
- Flider his local newspaper in an endorsement questionnaire he thought government need to rein in unnecessary spending before raising taxes;
- Illinois enacted hard constraints to rein in discretionary spending, and cut $3 billion from GRF;
- A tax hike vote was proposed to keep Illinois from going over a financial cliff;
- Flider was under the soulful stares of Democrats and Republicans who supported a tax hike, but still faced re-election in two years, and who were privately begging and praying for Bob to be the 60th vote;
And Bob Flider joined his Speaker, his Governor, and the vast majority of Democratic colleagues in supporting a tax increase?!?
I’m shocked. Absolutely shocked. It must have been a conspiracy.
Signed,
Alien from Another Planet Who Has Never Seen an Elected Official Change His Position On Taxes After an Election
(Because I was on Neptune when Jim Edgar did it!!)
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 4:29 pm
–Give Joe Moore credit, I haven’t ever seen someone be that aggressive in meeting State Senators. (Which only feeds to Rich’s point this process is haphazard - what Governor appointee (prior Quinn) has had to do this?)–
Quinn hasn’t appointed him to anything. He has been, in fact, silent on Joe Moore. Joe Moore is making a lot of noise about Joe Moore.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 5:36 pm
Well I highly doubt Joe Moore is doing this if he wasn’t seriously being considered. Telling your ward you might move on just to promote yourself would be suicide in 49th. People are already measuring drapes in the ward office.
I still contend it will be interesting to see if his outreach work made any difference. It is not normal to do this. If it gets him more votes, it could make this the new norm. If it doesn’t work it will be awhile before Senators get this kind of access again. Why would you do this if it it didn’t help?
Comment by Kyle Hillman Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 5:50 pm
YDD: right on all counts
Comment by mark walker Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 6:58 pm
Much ado about nothing. The governor should be able to appoint whoever he wants to head an agency. However:
++I happen to like Bob Flider. If he surrounds himself with decent people, he’ll probably do OK. ++
++The B team of medium and long time managers (”I B here before you were in charge, and I’ll B here when you leave”) will keep the gears of government grinding away.++
Thanks to Blago’s and Quinn’s attitudes towards managing state government, the B team is disappearing at an ever-accelerating rate, and finding “decent people” to replace them is getting increasingly harder.
Comment by anonymice Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 9:35 pm
Flider is a great guy, any agency would be lucky to have him head it up. But, Blago actually did one better with Jennings. He was an actual Dept. of Ag employee for 30+ years, and was a real director, not just a figurehead. Too bad the Quinn administration pushed him out.
Comment by mcb Thursday, Feb 16, 12 @ 9:42 pm
I’ve known Bob Flider for years and I have been impressed by his work ethic, integrity, openness, fair-mindedness and inherent decency as a human being. It should not surprise anyone that after serving several years as the state representative for a district that is largely comprised of farming communities, and is dominated by companies like ADM, CAT and Tate & Lyle, that Flider has an impressive understanding of the Agribusiness industry and rural/agriculture communities. If you really take an honest look at Bob Flider’s record of public service, it is extremely difficult to argue that this appointment is based on anything other than merit!
Comment by Downstat8r Friday, Feb 17, 12 @ 9:43 am