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A few things to remember before you read this story and comment:
1) The movement of state government to Chicago started long ago, way before Rod Blagojevich was elected to any office.
2) This is a feel-good “headline” bill that has little to no chance of ever becoming law. Just because a bill gets out of committee (especially in the House) doesn’t mean it’s gonna pass both chambers.
3) The capital is Springfield, but most of the state’s people live in the Chicago area.
State agency directors would no longer be reimbursed for travel expenses to Springfield under legislation a House committee approved Wednesday. […]
The Blagojevich administration has come under fire from lawmakers and others who question why many agency heads who live in the Chicago metropolitan area get travel expenses when they commute to the capital city. [..]
Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, who chairs the committee, said he believed that in a legislative hearing last year, it was determined that the governor’s office spent $27 million overall on travel.
“I was appalled at that,” Franks said. “The government’s here in Springfield, and if people choose to live somewhere else, that’s fine. But I don’t think we should have to pay for that.”
Have at it.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 7:45 am
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I think it is important to keep the center of government in the center of the state. Springfield is not central to our population, but because of that it acts as a de facto “forward/spearhead capital.”
Let’s face it — if Chicago area legislators didn’t have to travel to Springfield, they would utterly write-off downstate Illinois. And that would not be healthy for our state.
– SCAM
Comment by So-Called "Austin Mayor" Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 8:01 am
I wonder what the situation is (where agency directors spend most of their time) in surrounding states, like Missouri (Jefferson City vs St Louis/Kansas City), Michigan (Lansing vs Detroit), Wisconsin (Madison vs Milwaukee), etc. Chicago is Illinois’ de facto second capital city (or nowadays, perhaps its first, with Springfield the second).
Comment by Doodles Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 8:36 am
Most of this travel is unnecessary and could be eliminated in favor of videoconferencing. The state no doubt has tons of expensive videoconferencing equipment, purchased from a campaign-contributing vendor.
They should use it.
Travel is a huge waste of business time….but it does provide our thousands of underworked state employees, especially the middle and upper management variety, a raison d’etre, so to speak.
Otherwise, how would they fill the hours.
And I imagine those travel vouchers submitted by state managers every month provide all kinds of opportunities to supplement one’s state salary.
Comment by Cassandra Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 8:37 am
Cassie,
You really have everything all figured out.I sure am glad that you are not my boss.
Comment by Bill Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 8:51 am
There is staff regularly spending 5 days a week in Springfield getting over $30k a year reimbursed for travel. I know this to be true at many agencies, especially CMS. Why won’t the auditors do anything about this?
Comment by He Makes Ryan look like a saint Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 9:50 am
Kaskaskis, Vandalia, Springfield,…see a trend here? Get ready to move the capital north. I suggest River Forest for the new capital.
Comment by Ali Bin Haddin Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 10:09 am
It is time to recognize that Illinois is composed of two different states and split it up. The reason our northern border was drawn where it is was to keep Illinois a Free State. Now that the Civil War is over, it is time to draw the border where it needs to go, just south of Kankakee.
Central Illinois should be annexed to Indiana. Indianapolis is far more compatible with Central and Southern Illinois than the backwards Blue State Chicagoans.
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 11:03 am
For once, I agree with Cassandra (except for the gratuitous insult to civil workers). I think videoconferening, email conferencing and collaboration software should be deployed as a way of reducing travel time. Travel wears on employees, wastes time that could be spent more productively, and increases air pollution and congestion.
Comment by cermak_rd Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 11:14 am
Yeah, I can see telling my company I will live in Chicago and I need you to pay for my travel/living expenses so I can get to the office(at about 2-3 hours each way plus hotels/meals) every once in awhile. Yeah, I can see that happening real soon.
Comment by zatoichi Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 11:35 am
Vanilla,
I hope that was attempted sarcasm, and not attempted insight.
Comment by Buck Turgidson Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 12:16 pm
VANILLA MAN YOU’RE RIGHT AND I’M READY.
Comment by DOWNSATE Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 12:33 pm
To Cassandra’s point, the business must be done. If the employees dont travel to Springfield, Blago will be accused of having a Chicago centric government. When they go to Speingfield, they are accused of running up travel expenses. Ultimately, when faced with a lose/lose situation, one must choose to do the work and accept the political arrows of couragous men like Jack Franks as inevitable. As Rich said, this disnt start with Blago. Its ridiculous that the same fight is had over and over.
Comment by Number 8 Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 12:44 pm
I knew a deputy director that lived in Springfield and regularly had 2 and 3 day meetings in Chicago. He flew up and back EACH day so he could accumulate frequent flier miles. He then used them for a vacation to Hawaii, California, and New York. Nice work, if you can get it.
Comment by A Citizen Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 12:47 pm
I am glad the move to end such travel is at least in its infancy. Honestly, I have no problem with the governor’s top aides working out of Chicago, but they don’t need to travel to Springfield 2-3 times each week when they have laptops, Blackberries, cell phones and any other form of wireless communication. If each mid-to-high level employee has a nice computer and either a combo device or cell phone, those costs add up enough without throwing in travel via plane or car.
Bill, what are you being defensive about now? Are you an upper-management type within the Blago Administration?
Comment by Team Sleep Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 1:09 pm
every legislator gets reimbursed for travel to and from Springfield once a week, during session - why should executive branch officials be treated any less during the year? Governor Thompson spent 3 1/1 days a week in Springfield most of his later years in office, and the rest of the week/weekend with his wife and daughter in Chicago.
Comment by capitol view Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 2:20 pm
Although this bill was sold in committee as applying to those “high paid” cabinet members, it actually applies to every executive branch employee. So if you run an office in Chicago, live in Chicago, but travel to Springfield once a month for a senior staff meeting, you’re on your own for expenses. It’s understandable why these goofy Springfield Reps would sponsor it; less so why the committee would vote it out.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 2:34 pm
Team Sleep,
Im not defensive, Im just glad Cassie is not my boss. What? Is today abuse Bill day. Better me than Rod, I guess.
VM and Down,
You two really need to work to develop a better appreciation of the diversity our state has to offer. If you just can’t stand it, Indiana is not that far away and look at all the taxes VM could avoid.
You really should get out of Petticoat Junction more often. Come to Chicago and experience a taste of all of the different cultures that thrive here. You may like it so much you turn into a democrat. Don’t bring your guns though.
Comment by Bill Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 2:45 pm
I’m not out ot get you, Bill. Cassie’s idea sounds pretty good. I would hate to have most of the governor’s high-level staff as my boss. I know quite a few people who work at various agencies and for the governor himself and they can’t stand it.
2:34, did you know that many Congressional and Senatorial staffs are not reimbursed for travel? And what about younger and lower-paid staff? How many of them get to fly around the state on an IDOT plane (or chopper, for that matter)? I’m not saying that low-level staffers are as important, but I’m sure they also have meetings and would like to travel as well.
Comment by Team Sleep Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 3:06 pm
Diversity?
What diversity?
Every freaking statewide office holders live within a shout from Mayor Daley. Same with the General Assembly leaders. The entire Illinois leadership at this time lives in Chicago. There is NO diversity!
The Illinois Democratic Party is a ONE-CITY party. I don’t care what city that would be, but there is no diversity when there is only ONE.
You don’t know what diversity is if you think it is reflected in this administration.
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 3:28 pm
This is probably one of the more silly bills. Agency Directors and senior staff have to travel from one end of the state to the other. To try and run state agencies from just Chicago or Spingfield and ignore local offices (which virtually every agency has) is just short-sighted. Rich, you were correct in calling this a “feel-good” measure. It should be defeated…come on people there are bigger fish to fry.
Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 4:58 pm
===”Every freaking statewide office holders live within a shout from Mayor Daley”===
You’d have to have pretty strong lungs to shout from the North Side to the (near) South Side.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 5:05 pm
If Rep. Poe is serious, then why doesn’t the bill cover the legislative branch since they are on per diem when in Springfield. Oh wait! This is politically motivated and I do not have to justify my votes for the utilities this way.
Comment by Iwonder Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 5:41 pm
All Blago apologists should be barred from ever using the “they did it, too” defense, shouldn’t they? It’s so pathetic, makes me embarassed for them. And let’s all not forget that lots of that travel goes on during work hours…the $120+ million figure, or whatever it is, doesn’t factor that in what-so-ever. Oh yeah, every one of these folks works untold hours outside of the standard schedule, right? Isn’t that part of the rationale for the management-level salary? Guess not.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 6:41 pm
Vanilla Man. I’m with you. I-80 makes a nice dividing line. When do we start? If we start soon, there can be another state voting just in time for the Presidential elections.
All those in favor, say yea.
Comment by Division Commander Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 7:41 pm
Rich’s gonna have a cow over this talk of insurrection! It’s about as likely as Blago governing instead of campaigning.
Comment by A Citizen Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 7:52 pm
Exactly right AC. If you don’t like the way the state map is drawn, and you’d rather live under Indiana’s government, my advice is… MOVE!
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 8:18 pm
All this separatist talk is good for filling dirigibles, etc. Matter of the fact is, for the short term Chicago is in control due to a perfect storm of random political events. The long term demographics favor the rest of the state. The population balance between Cook County and the other 101 has been drip, drip, dripping towards the 101 for the last 40 years, and there is no reason to believe it won’t continue for the foreseeable future.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 10:00 pm
A commenter on this story in the Sj-R pointed out that this administration moved MANY of the agency director positions out of Springfield and into Chicago which significantly increases the amount of traveling from north to south for those agencies that are primarily based in Springfield and not Chicago. But all of the FoRoEs (friends of Rod or Emil) that live in Chicago weren’t interested in positions that were based in Springfield. For the rank and file, travel expenses are gone over with a fine tooth comb. For chiefs of staff who bill for hotel rooms when they are renting apartments in Springfield, well, that’s another story…
Comment by cynically anonymous Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 10:16 pm
The largest percentage of all state agency employees are based in Springfield. Why would the manager of these employees not have his/her headquarters in the same facility.
Plus, this is not just a Chicago vs. Springfield question. This admin. has had directors reside in Rockford, Rock Island, Metro East, Collar Counties, etc. How many actually have resided in Springfiled? Live anywhere….who cares what it costs your employer….
Comment by Reformed Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 10:17 pm
“many agency heads who live in the Chicago metropolitan area get travel expenses when they commute to the capital city.”
OK, cut it out then. We’ll just pay them travel expenses when they have business in Chicago instead. And at the end of the day, we’ll be ahead about $0.43…..
Comment by OAD Thursday, Mar 15, 07 @ 11:26 pm
I’m a born and bred Chicagoan, a real city boy. I love my fair metropolis…
That being said: it has always pissed me off how Chicago area lawmakers and bureaucrats REFUSE to move to Spfld when they take state jobs.
If you have a job based at the Thompson Center, that’s one thing.
But if you truly belong in Springfield, you should pick your butt up and move your family to Springfield. Or get a job that ISN’T with the State of Illinois.
Springfield is our capital, folks. And guess what? It ain’t such a bad place. Quite charming.
Comment by Lakeview Voter Friday, Mar 16, 07 @ 1:35 am
“You really should get out of Petticoat Junction more often. Come to Chicago and experience a taste of all of the different cultures that thrive here. You may like it so much you turn into a democrat. Don’t bring your guns though.”
Bill, Bill, Bill: So rude. What do you really know about Springfield? I lived in Chicago for years and I love it but it has its foibles also - the costs of entertainment are out of control; parking is non-existent or you have to leave your firstborn to pay for it; traffic is awful everywhere. However, it is a beautiful city, the museums and art galleries are world class.
Springfield has it’s own beauty - gorgeous parks, low cost of living and housing, close to Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis; great restaurants and the new Lincoln Museum and Library, along with his home and proximity to the town where he first made his name as a politician.
You need to stop sounding like a snob while looking down your nose at the capital city (and it it still is the last time I checked)and state employees who work in the trenches instead of travelling I-55 or the skys of Illinois and calling it work. And stop assuming that everyone south of I-80 is a Republican and is fully armed!
Team Sleep: It’s the “low-level staffers” who keep the state planes and all the rest of state government running while the managers are in flight to and from Chicago. To the people who look to the state for various things, these “low-level staffers” are the MOST important people who do the real work of government - responding to the people who elected them.
Comment by Disgusted Friday, Mar 16, 07 @ 5:50 am
Disgusted,
You are not paying attention. I made no comments about Springfield. I was insulting VM and Team Sleep, not our beautiful capital city. I always enjoy myself when I’m there. I don’t think abolishing travel expenses is a good idea. The state has offices in many parts of the state and I see no reason why all dept. or agency heads should be based in the capital. Read their comments about our state before you call me rude.
Comment by Bill Friday, Mar 16, 07 @ 6:44 am