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* Pat Quinn has a notoriously brief attention span, so I’m not sure whether he’ll follow up on this or not…
A war of words and finger-pointing broke out Veterans Day, as Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn asked Gov. Rod Blagojevich to investigate the firing of 17 veterans and three others from security jobs at National Guard armories across the state. The governor blamed federal cuts and asked Washington to change its policies.
“The governor proclaimed this ‘Hire a Veteran Month,’” Quinn said at a Sunday morning news conference. “He didn’t say ‘Fire a Veteran.’”
Later, Blagojevich offered criticism of his own. […]
“It’s an outrage that at a time when we are working to support our veterans and make their lives better, the federal government would change the rules and cut funding to make it harder for veterans to work,” the governor said in a statement released after Quinn’s news conference. “We are calling on our United States senators and congressional delegation to reverse the Bush administration’s cuts.”
* I’m hearing that the Illinois Federation of Teachers, which represented those fired workers, may be planning some action, so the story may not go away soon…
Terry Reed, field service director for Illinois Federation of Public Employees Local 4408, which represents the union guards, believes the layoffs have less to do with funding and everything to do with retaliation.
The union has filed grievances regarding the department’s decision to contract with private security companies, and that still is tied up in arbitration, Reed said. He also is critical of the department laying off the guards, 17 of whom are military veterans themselves.
An attempt to lay off the state security guards several years ago was blocked at the final hour by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The union is calling on the governor to do the same this time as well, but Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said there appears to be little the governor can do since it was the federal government that decided to pull federal funding.
* There appears to be a long history of bad blood between the union and the people who run the program. The governor stressed the money aspect of the situation, but that’s not how the layoffs were first explained…
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Military Affairs said the 20 guards laid off Wednesday were not trained to carry weapons and therefore didn’t meet required standards.
* However…
Under their job classification, the state guards do not carry weapons, but Siefert, a union steward at Marseilles, said he and others have repeatedly asked for training so they could be re-classified.
Something definitely doesn’t smell right there.
* The majority of those vets have found other state jobs, but the complaints continue…
State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, said he wondered why Blagojevich, who cut hundreds of millions from the state budget in an attempt to fund health care programs couldn’t have found more.
‘’Gov. Blagojevich certainly found $500 million pretty quickly for a healthcare program,'’ he said.
A Department of Military Affairs spokeswoman said that of the people laid off, 12 had taken other jobs within state government and three retired. Others are either on disability or still awaiting a resolution.
* Daily Herald…
No matter how the details of the fired guards play out, there’s little doubt those in charge at all levels are far more interested in pointing fingers than actually supporting troops.
We ought to be embarrassed and angry and demand that there be real truth behind the easy words. Instead, we’ll slap a yellow magnetic bow on our cars and call it “support.”
* Meanwhile…
Now, with the specter of a recession looming over the economy and talk of a troop withdrawal still swirling in Washington, D.C., many veterans’ advocates fear a repeat of the devastating aftermath of the Vietnam War, when unemployment among young veterans rose as high as 19.8%, pushing thousands of ex-soldiers to homelessness.
“There isn’t any option,” says Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who’s been a vocal advocate for veterans. “We have to make a Herculean effort” to find them jobs.
A full-on troop withdrawal would bring as many as 9,700 service members home to Illinois. Only about 1,000 of those will return to jobs protected under federal law. Many of the others, having enlisted in the military straight out of high school, will enter the civilian workforce for the first time. Upon their discharge they get, at most, a three-day course of career advice and other counseling.
While many will have military experience they believe can translate into a valuable skill in the private sector, those who have already returned from the war have found employers to be largely unimpressed by service experience.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 10:01 am
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Any comments from Col. Duckworth?
Comment by Wumpus Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 10:04 am
were not trained to carry weapons and therefore didn’t meet required standards.
And in what nation’s service were they vets? All US armed force members get basic training in rifles and pistols.
It’s the old “that doesn’t meet OUR standards” BS.
Comment by Pat collins Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 10:16 am
My question - If all Quinn was doing was demanding the gov do something to help those 17, and just about all of them have already been helped, is there really any purpose to his hullabaloo?
Comment by GoBearsss Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 10:21 am
Good point, Pat Collins.
Aren’t there veterans’ educational benefits. Instead of getting them into do-nothing state jobs (and there are a lot of those) why aren’t veterans offered a range of educational opportunities with
living expenses attached. My parents’ generation, which was WWI vets, seemed to have a lot of members who went to school on the GI bill and they also seemed to support families while they were doing it. One hopes our veterans’ highest career aspirations are not to be security guards (or any job, actually) for the state government. That would be a huge loss of talent and experience.
Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 10:38 am
I mean, WWII vets! I’m not that old.
Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 11:00 am
If our country is being lead by a group of anti-war elitists, just how would you expect veterans to be treated?
This way.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 11:03 am
“The governor stressed the money aspect of the situation…”
REALLY !
But it’s OK for the gov to spend 100’s of millions of taxpayer money on his health program/folly - marvelous.
A LOT smells bad here, gov.
Comment by Hypocrisy in Action? Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 11:06 am
Hey Quinn.
Where were you when your adminstration was stealing state jobs from veterans all over the state and giving them to Chicago Democratic Machists wives?
You’re as phoney as your boss, Blago.
Comment by Disgusted Veteran Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 12:12 pm
…Something definitely doesn’t smell right there…
Are smokers standing within 15 feet of your doorway?
Comment by Disgusted Veteran Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 12:15 pm
There’s not one shread of evidence to show a cut in federal funding. IDMA has tried to get rid of these guys for years and all of the sudden they say there are funding cuts. If you look at it, no funds were cut to any other area accept for these guards. This is purely IDMA’s doing and has nothing to do with federal funding. Again, there is no evidence to show a cut in federal funding. Blago needs to take a closer look at the IDMA budget.
Comment by not right Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 12:32 pm
Does anyone have the true story on the positions guarding the facilities.
Are they truly properly compensated, or is that position a nice patronage position?
Did I hear correctly that the new seurity people are foreign based?
I am always suspicious when the unions get involved since we do not know the work rules etc. are.
Who can the citizens get the complete facts from?
Comment by plutocrat03 Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 1:37 pm
Lt. Governor Patrick Quinn is a goof and a fraud.
Patrick and his boss Milarod should be escorted out of Illinois, to never return.
You should be ashamed of yourselves, but I doubt if your egos could tolerate that.
- Old Vet
Comment by Lt. Governor Flashy Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 2:37 pm
I want to know what the contractor gave Milarod in exchange for its many security contract with the state.
Comment by Disgusted Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 8:14 pm
Adding veterans to the mix certainly fires up folks’ curiosity, but, as has been pointed out, an issue at the heart of this problem is the fed/state relationship at these bases.
To keep this as short as possible, I don’t think a “doesn’t smell right” can be used (at least where it was used). Gov office comments about funding and DMA comments about qualifications are related. Fed funding is the major source for these facilities at issue, and the fed funds have significant strings attached. (bringing it all together)Whether (1) funds are cut off that go directly to certain salaries, or (2)funds will be cut off if certain numbers, qualifications, type of patrols, etc. are not met, the funding and qualification claims both relate to fed funding and are not inconsistent claims by our [unfortunately tagged] suspicious state gov’t PR.
This issue is not for kindergarten political fodder.
COPN…can only post at night
To keep this as short as possible, I don’t think a “doesn’t smell right” can be used (at least where it was used). Gov office comments about funding and DMA comments about qualifications are related. Fed funding is the major source for these facilities at issue, and the fed funds have significant strings attached. (bringing it all together)Whether(1)funds are cut off that go directly to certain salaries, or (2)funds will be cut off if certain numbers, qualifications, type of patrols, etc. are not met, (…)the funding and qualification claims are not inconsistent.
This issue is not for kindergarten politcal fodder.
COPN…can only post at night
Comment by COPN Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 8:34 pm
Lt. Gov. Quinn and Terry Reed are the source of the stench. They have shamelessly exploited veterans ans Veterans’ Day to promote political and union agendas. The IL Department of Military Affairs, through its contractor, is providing security at IL National Guard installations to US Army standards and is doing so within its funding constraints. Incidentally, many of the contract security guards are also veterans.
Comment by ILVet who knows Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 9:12 pm