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* The governor continues his quest to “persuade” Downstaters to support his half-billion fund sweep plan (over Speaker Madigan’s objections) by slashing their pet programs…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has put another 450 jobs on the chopping block as part of his latest budget feud with lawmakers.
Workers at the University of Illinois Extension program have been told there may not be money to pay them after May 1 because the governor is threatening to withhold an estimated $18 million.
The Extension serves an estimated 2.5 million residents each year, including nearly 300,000 youths who take part in 4-H programs. It has 77 offices located throughout the state. […]
Faced with what he claims is a $750 million shortfall in funds, the governor has begun threatening to squeeze state programs in hopes of convincing the Illinois House to give him more money.
He earlier said June payments to state universities may be cut. Soil and water conservation districts also could lose $11 million. Some vehicles used by the Illinois Department of Corrections are not being repaired.
Extension is a lifeline to Illinois farmers, so this threatened cut will not go unnoticed.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 9:27 am
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Wow? That’s bold!
Comment by The Rookie Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 9:31 am
Again, he cuts what he does not use.
Parks and now the extension. I may organize 4Hers in a march on his Chicago office.
He is killing downstate Democrats. If you ask just about anyone from outside Chicago about Gov. B, they will tell you he is the guy who doesn’t care about them and flies over occasionally in this helicopter.
The Republicans may be on the ropes in Illinois, but the Gov. is doing what he can to help them get back on their feet.
(Thanks for not making me say something nice.)
Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 9:34 am
Political extortion always a great way to build consensus.
Comment by lifer Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 9:42 am
Is this all about his feud with the state house. This is incredibly self-centered. The man doesn’t care about anyone but himself. I say this with great ignorance about the state’s agricultural programs.
Comment by Levois Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 9:43 am
It isn’t as much a threat as reality. Hynes can’t make payments when there is no money in the bank.
These are the things that happen when you have a deficit in the hundreds of millions, right?
Here’s an idea - let’s take Madigan’s approach and just pretend that we have the money.
There we go! Problem solved!
Comment by GoBearsss Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:02 am
I’m amazed, frankly, that people are still amazed at the child’s play antics of Blagojevich. I can’t even refer to him as Governor any more because he’s an insult to the office itself. This is yet another example of what he’s done to state government since Day 1. Nothing is sacred. No one can trust him and until the General Assembly has the huevos to zero-out the appropriation to his office, nothing will deter him from antagonizing anything and anyone outside the 312 area code.
What a horrible position to put university presidents and hard working employees at Extension Services. People are irrelevant to him, except to serve as a defenseless pawn in sickening game of political chess. It’s time for a major “check mate” that will return this baby back to the irrelevancy from which he came.
Comment by dc Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:06 am
“Extension is a lifeline to Illinois farmers, so this threatened cut will not go unnoticed.”
Haircut probably figures they hate him anyway, so no loss.
This guy is this biggest divider I’ve ever seen in state government!
Comment by Ken in Aurora Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:16 am
Blago does not need the votes of many down state democrats to win popular elections. Chicago has enough voters to tide him over. However, to govern he needs the votes of downstate’s elected representatives - a fact he has never recognized.
Throwing patronage jobs at Hoffman, Reitz, and Sam Flood is not enough to keep us regular goobers in line. We expected no more business as usual. Instead we got government at its worst and most inefficient. (I’ll leave the determination as to whether it has crossed the line into illegal to a jury.)
Comment by Leave a light on George Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:25 am
So much for his State of the State/Budget speech in which he was preaching working together we can get through this. This actually helps his opponants if they use it wisely. The people connected to the groups that he targets is becoming bigger due to the fact that up until they were identified they sat back on the sidelines and did not become involved in the debate.
Comment by Southern Illinois Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:33 am
===Throwing patronage jobs at Hoffman, Reitz, and Sam Flood is not enough to keep us regular goobers in line.===
Wanna bet?
Comment by Bill Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:46 am
So the Gov expanded health care and costs on his own running up an unfunded debt…now he is surprised to see the State is short of Money? Of course he is also giving away a million here to a nonexsiatnt school in CHicago, a million there for a ball park and so on…no wonder he has run out of funds.
As for no money in the bank, he is actually taking money in the bank and refusing to release it, not the same thing.
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:47 am
working together to accomplish what he wants to accomplish.
Also at this point may I suggest any law that is passed mentioning a ’special fund’ come with a disclaimer.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:47 am
Extension also does research on Chgo neighborhoods’ needs and tells you how to get rid of fruit pests inyour kitchen. It does others things as well.
Guess the Governor never has a fruit fly or worry about commercial development in his area of Chgo??!!
Comment by postie Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:52 am
I think a number of posters have hit on the head, Blagoejvich probably things that most farms don’t support him and wouldnt vote for him, so if they get screwed over in his attempts to push through his agenda against the opposition of the State House well then it sucks to be them.
Comment by RMW Stanford Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:55 am
Bill, whatever do you mean with ‘Wanna bet?’
Comment by Mad Brown Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 10:55 am
I wonder if Blago realizes there are Extension Offices in Chicago that will be affected by his shenanigans? How despicable that he finds it acceptable to threaten the livlihoods of Extension and University employees in order to get what he wants. So much for fighting for the working man and woman, because the last time I checked the people he will be hurting are just that!
Comment by Wish I was somewhere else Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 11:15 am
But $1 million to a non-existant church school is OK. Or is it $2 million now?
Comment by North of I-80 Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 11:48 am
Think impeachment will come up in the house this year? If they finally did get fed up enough to go that far would that force Emil Jones to take action or could he just sit on it like everything else he doesnt like.
Comment by Sick Of It! Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 12:30 pm
In rural counties, the children just cannot wait until the day they are able to enroll in 4-H. Extension and 4-H go hand in hand. In addition, Extension does so many other things in the ENTIRE state. Targeting agricultural is the wrong thing to do. You would have thought that Blago would have found that out last year with the GRT.
Comment by South of I-80 Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 12:56 pm
Maybe the farmers affected should withhold their crops from Blago until Blago releases the funds for them. I wonder how long starvation would take…..
Comment by Miranda Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 1:54 pm
Bill-
I’ll take your bet. Hoffman will stay in the fold but I’m not so sure about Reitz and Flood. Visits from federal investigators usually changes one’s perspective.
Comment by Leave a light on George Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 1:59 pm
Emil’s legacy as Senate President will be (for better or worse) tied to Blagojevich. He’s not going to let anything out of SRUL committee that could remotely be tied to punishing his money tree on the 16th floor of JRTC.
Comment by dc Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 2:14 pm
Leave a Light on is correct. The Governor is punishing those whose support he doesn’t really need.
The only response downstate can offer is to vote out every Democratic state representative. I think it’s why Kurt Granberg chose not to run again. He will get demolished.
Even the down state teachers unions are openly hostile towards Blago (a constinuency that’s tough to lose, if your a Democrat). But other than complain, there’s little they can do.
Comment by Downstater Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 2:44 pm
Is this a mean-spiritedness toward people who oppose him, or simply another consequence of the dwindling population of downstate and non-Chicagoland west State (because I refuse to call the entire non-Chicagoland area of IL downstate, it doesn’t make sense)? I was reared in Central IL and I’ve seen my hometown of Mattoon decrease in population in every census since the 1970’s. Assuming most other towns are doing that in Central and Southern IL, then over time, that part of the state would lose political power.
Comment by cermak_rd Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 3:01 pm
Cermak, you are astute in seeing how population changes influence power. Most So IL and Western IL counties are losing people. Peoria area is holding. Metro East is growing a little, Rockford and Blormal are the only real higher growth areas outside Chicagoland. The collars and their adjacent counties keep exploding (except for DuPage where high housing costs have slowed its growth), and Cook has apparently stopped the bleeding and is stabilizing as of last Census estimate of 2007.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 3:09 pm
wow.. cut extension services and 4-H?? 4-H is a great program for kids. this Gov is a piece of dung.
Comment by The Piper Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 3:18 pm
ok.. its easy to dump on Rod.. ( god knows he deserves it) however, why is extension sacred? Their purpose and reason for being has been / or in some cases easily could be supplanted by our bloated community college system.
Given that it was done by rod in such a obvious political power ploy, the real issue regarding the relevancy of extension in today’s world wont get any real play
yes, I am downstate rural, but truth is exension has become irrelevant ( ok, I’ll give you “except for 4h”).. but extension staff make state workers look like high achievers.
Comment by The Horse Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 3:18 pm
The Horse - I was referring more to 4-H. I was in it for 10 years. Now I live in Chicago and have more common sense and better work ethic than 90% of the people I work with. I honestly think 4-H had a lot to do with it my strong work ethnic. I was waking up at 6 or 7am every day to feed, water, clean and train my livestock. Rod would never be able to handle ‘real’ chores in life. I hope he is indicted soon.
Comment by The Piper Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 3:43 pm
The Horse,
If our Community College system is so bloated (I agree)why not just cut $500 million there. I have to admit though that some extension services are outdated and overpriced.
Comment by downstate hack Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 4:34 pm
To The Horse and The Piper. Community Colleges only get about 300 million from the state…..serve nerly 1 million students and you want to cut them 500 million. Seems ignorance prevails.
Comment by downhereforyears Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 6:29 pm
I would just like to remind everyone that the largest youth program in Cook County…is 4-H. 4-H and the extension programs are not just for farmers, and when Rod plays with things like this he is hurting Illinois families, inner city kids, rural youth, and even seniors who participate in the horticulture programs.
Comment by kyle Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 7:24 pm
Bill, I do believe that you just admitted to being a regular GOOBER?
Comment by Hey Andy............ Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 7:51 pm
Every year at the state fair, the first lady makes a big deal out of working with 4-H in their “4-H CAN make a difference” food drive, collecting canned goods to feed the poor. Guess they’ll need a new sign this year. And a new sponsor.
Comment by Mister Haney Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 7:54 pm
I’m sorry, there is no money for these programs. How many new people did we sign up for Medicaid today?
Comment by Truth Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 8:39 pm
Blagojevich should just hold a press conference with some downstate farmers and blame this whole mess on Madigan.
Comment by anon Tuesday, Apr 8, 08 @ 11:03 pm
Even the dumbest dog you’ve ever owned knows not to bite the hand that feeds him.
Comment by Disgusted Wednesday, Apr 9, 08 @ 6:02 pm
Hey Truth, Are you excited about the 450 people loosing their jobs? They will all be eligible for Medicaid soon. I agree healthcare is one ot the top two or three issues facing the country but without bringing more money I do the state could pay for it even if it slashed half its budget. Healthcare is a nation wide problem and cutting costs are half the issue so trying to pay for everyone who can’t afford it won’t solve the issue, just put the state more in debt. What the state can do is to continue to pay for services people expect. By the Blajo’s church project was 1/12th of the budget for Extension. I bet you think that was a good idea too.
Comment by The facts Wednesday, Apr 9, 08 @ 7:27 pm