Lots of reform and renewal today
Thursday, Mar 9, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
I checked the records and they never spent any of this tainted money on any campaign, but you gotta wonder what the heck is going on here.
In 2002, candidate Rod Blagojevich seemed to be vigilant about vetting contributions from questionable supporters. For instance, Buffalo Grove businessman John Burgess and one of his companies gave Blagojevich $125,200 that year, but Blagojevich gave the money back. His campaign learned that Burgess had been convicted of attempted grand larceny and was disbarred in New York.
The campaign also learned that Burgess pleaded guilty to patronizing a 16-year-old prostitute and that two business partners at International Profit Associates had criminal records. […]
Since 2002, Burgess or one of the many entities affiliated with his management-consulting firm have given $200,700 to the governor’s campaign fund. That money was returned–eventually. A $25,000 contribution arrived on Dec. 30. Only after the Tribune editorial board asked about it last Friday was that money returned. […]
But then, explain this: Last year, the governor’s supporters created something called the Democratic Victory Fund. Its chairman is Doug Scofield, a lobbyist and the spokesman for Blagojevich’s campaign.
You’ve probably never heard of the Democratic Victory Fund, but, somehow, Burgess did. His companies gave four contributions to the fund on the same day last May, totaling $20,000.
Why was the fund set up? And why were its only contributions from Burgess’ companies? A spokesman for Burgess declined to comment.
“It’s something we haven’t really thought too much about what we’re going to do with,” Scofield said Friday. Later that day, he called back and said all the contributions were being returned that afternoon.
· Mismanagement and cronyism?
Crucial achievement testing is being delayed across Illinois because the company hired by the state to provide the exams has failed to deliver test materials to school districts on time.
Harcourt Assessment Inc.’s multimillion-dollar contract to overhaul the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests, beginning this year, was awarded in 2004. The contract is spread out over nearly four years and is worth $16.6 million this fiscal year alone. […]
Harcourt sealed its ISAT contract after hiring lobbyist John Wyma, a former top aide and adviser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Blake has said Wyma was retained in the summer of 2004, when the company was worried the state board might reopen bidding on a contract it had said would go to Harcourt.
Blake acknowledged last month that Wyma’s connections were “a consideration” but said Wyma ultimately was hired because he was recommended “as someone who was effective and capable.”
I wonder who recommended him?
· File this final entry today under: “And they wonder why they have a credibility problem.”
An Illinois Department of Transportation reorganization that the agency claims is saving nearly $2 million a year actually costs at least $440,000 more annually, data in an audit released Wednesday shows.
Auditor General William Holland reported that IDOT rushed the 2004 reorganization of its traffic safety division, having no written rationale for the revamp and not analyzing potential cost savings until after it took place.
IDOT laid off 17 employees from the division that uses federal money for highway-safety programs. The agency says it’s saving $1.9 million a year in those employees’ salaries and benefits. But that did not count costs associated with additional employees hired to take on the fired workers’ duties and others for expanded division programs.
The auditor general’s computation of costs since then shows the agency now is spending at least $2.35 million in traffic safety.
- road kill - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 5:39 am:
None of the long time professionals who work at IDOT are surprised by all the firings at the Division of Traffic Safety. I bet none will be surprised by the auditor’s findings either. Traffic Safety has long been known as a place where people with political connections get hired, despite Rutan. The firings were payback and so were the new hires.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 6:21 am:
I think you will find there are no savings in any agency. You simply cannot hire incompetent people at twice the salary of their predecessor and say you saved moned. You cannot replace one layer of management with two layers of extraordinarily well-paid incompetents. Then, after hiring all these idiots, they spend millions of dollars on consultants to run the place.
Absolutely insane, except in Blagoworld.
- DOWNSTATE - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 7:01 am:
All the state agencies have been done this way.Look at IDNR.As far as this slush fund they can use it to do all their dirty work making the Gov. look clean.
- DOWNSTATE - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 7:22 am:
Is this the same Scofield that fled Washington when Bush and the Repubs cleaned out the Clinton rat nest in the White House.
- Shallow Pharnyx - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 7:37 am:
6:21 is correct. Bill Holland knows it too. He already proved CMS claims were bogus now he just needs to look at the individual agencies. It wasn’t just headcount they lost. GOMB told the agencies what amounts they had to back out of their budgets and the amount did not always coincide with the headcount.
- Paul Powell - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 7:53 am:
Do ya all think the feds are looking at any of this? Let me get up off the floor! We democrats should be ashamed for not taking a golden opportunity to lead this state out of the Ryan corruption mess. RGod is at least as bad as old George and possibly even worse. What is being hidden that we don’t know about yet?
- grand old partisan - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 11:46 am:
I’ve said it before and today seems like a good time to say it again. Blago’s massive campaign fund won’t mean anything as long as the GOP nominee has enough cash to produce and air one ad over and over juxtaposing Blago’s promise to “rock the system†and “end business as usual†with headlines (preferably real ones) from stories like this.
This Governor is either stupefying incompetent or a bold face liar with no respect for the people of this state.
Either way, he has to go.
- Nice Suit - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 11:56 am:
Scofield left Luis Guttierez’ office as his Chief of Staff to come on board Rod’s 2002 campaign in January of 2002. So no, he didn’t “flee” DOWNSTATE.
I tend to think that we want more folks like Doug around the Governor, at least he has a cool head and thinks through issues…it’s safe to say that if he were still Deputy Governor that the Daily Show and the NOI stuff would not have happened.
Cut Doug some slack. He’s really oneof the good guys.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 12:07 pm:
Nice, I would agree with you on just about everything you wrote. But they gotta answer for this one.
- Cal Skinner - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 4:36 pm:
Rich, Think they spend the (2002, I think) money from the firm that indicted along with the outfit members before they returned it to the firm in 2005?
Wouldn’t you love to know who solicited it?
- Swami - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 6:31 pm:
Does anybody ever get disciplined for all these identified management errors in this (IDOT) administration? Somebody needs to be held accountable!!!! Don’t just move to some bogus position with the same salary. Special Assistant to the Secretary? What’s up with that? Can you say “lackey” or didn’t Blo-puffer-vich call them “cronies?”
- IDOT PRO - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 8:20 pm:
Even with the removal of Dan “thought he was untouchable” Stefanski, there are still way too many BlagoHacks that are infiltrating upper management jobs at IDOT and being paid very handsomely. But the hacks distance themselves when work is to be done and dissapear from the general workforce so they will not be approached with work related questions that they would not have a clue how to answer. Wait for the outcome of paralyzing traffic problems on the monsterous reconstruction project of Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway set to be started on April 1st, which surely could have been addressed and corrected years ago when the Blago administration took charge. Who’s accountable now?
- girl friday - Thursday, Mar 9, 06 @ 9:06 pm:
Dan Stefanski should have been fired last year after the initial (while on IDOT payroll) DUI incident. It is no way he should have still been on IDOT’s payroll. What kind of CREATED position is ‘special assistant to Transportation Secretary Tim Martin’? Why is he not listed on the IDOT phone directory? (Makes me wonder how many other ‘special assistants’ there are!!) This is absolutely pathetic. I wonder what is the next government agency that he will slide into now and will he be given a raise from his $105,000 salary.
- Not so nice - Sunday, Mar 12, 06 @ 4:01 pm:
Nice,
Doug is a hack. He quit deputy gov after several weeks to cash in. Has been ever since and doesnt have the decent ethics not to hold government and private positions at the same time!!!!