Bad press for the guv *** Updated x1 ***
Friday, Jul 20, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Oops…
A group of students wanting more money for their schools learned Thursday that getting into Gov. Blagojevich’s office is no easy task when all they have to offer is cookies and doughnuts.
Seven students from Chicago and the suburbs, one as young as 8, were blocked from entering a public waiting area in Blagojevich’s office by a “rude” security guard with “attitude,” they said. […]
The students were hosting a “Billion Dollar Bake Sale” in a lobbying effort organized by the school funding reform group A+ Illinois. Near the end of the mock sale, the students hiked up the stairs to Blagojevich’s second-floor office brandishing pastries.
But when they reached the glass doors to the governor’s office suite, a security guard blocked them, the students said, even though professional lobbyists regularly are allowed in.
The governor’s office says they will invite the kids back.
* Meanwhile, there was more bad press…
A Missouri-based group representing journalists who cover the U.S. health-care industry criticized the Blagojevich administration this week for withholding information on people enrolled in Illinois’ Medicaid, All Kids and other public health-insurance programs.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services has refused to release county-by-county data to The State Journal-Register, claiming that anything other than total statewide enrollment totals would violate individual patients’ federally protected privacy rights.
The Association of Health Care Journalists said the department’s contention that county-level numbers would violate the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is “unfounded.”
“HIPAA was intended to prevent the release of personally identifying patient information, such as names, addresses or specific medical conditions,” the association wrote in a July 17 letter to department director Barry Maram. “The law was not intended to block the release of data that the public needs to assess the impact of public programs.”
Mary Chris Jaklevic, writing on behalf of the 1,000-member association’s board, called on Maram to release the data.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s press office…
The security guard who spoke with the students is new. We did not know about the students’ visit to our office until hours later after a reporter called. We are in the process of trying to contact the students to make arrangements for them to visit with the Governor.
- fedup dem - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 9:32 am:
Hey Rich, could the reason the Governor does not wish to see any county-by-county figures released for his All Kids program is that in some counties Downstate, there may only be one kid enrolled?
- dan - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 9:41 am:
Unbelievable, the profesional campaigner that always what press/photo ops and his staff lets this happen????????????
- Capitalist Pig - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 9:58 am:
I’m sure the number in Cook County is not going to go over very well
- Papa Legba - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 10:01 am:
Perhaps Rod thought the “Billion Dollar Bake Sale” kids were actually short reporters dressed as children and would spring surprise questions on him.
Or, Rod didn’t want them in because he regularly loses to the fifth graders on “Are you smarter that a fifth grader” when he plays along at home.
- gulag - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 10:04 am:
One would think that the Governor would welcome all the human shields that he could muster.
- Bluefish - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 10:14 am:
How many kids are signed up for AllKids statewide?
- Oh Blago! - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 10:21 am:
Can we all say a handfull only?
- the Patriot - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 10:30 am:
Didn’t the kids know that they have to make the donation to the guv to get in the door. This is Government 101 in IL, fire their teacher for not educating them better on IL politics.
All Government programs work when you get to show all the people you helped and don’t have to show the numbers on whether the program is really working. He cannot disclose all the program data because it will show the programs are not needed as much as he says, and we are bankrupting the state with them.
- Eugene - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 10:39 am:
- Blagojevich won’t release any information on Illinois’ Medicaid, All Kids and other public health-insurance programs because they are all sham programs.
- security guard who spoke with the students, what’s his state salary? And did he get written up suspended?
- Little Egypt - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 10:39 am:
Bad press????? You say there’s bad press for this governor? I think not. He’s crazy enough to put a positive spin on a 107-0 down vote for his GRT. He doesn’t recognize bad press when it hits him in the face. But thanks for the laugh today.
- Justice - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 10:40 am:
This action by th guard doesn’t surprise one bit. It is simply a reflection of the guards boss, the governor, much like the bullying attitude demonstrated by many of his young, inexperienced, over paid hacks. In fact, this is the norm with his people these days. Hiding information is also one of the governor’s acquired skills. It is much easier to distort the facts if the public doesn’t have access to them. So essentially…whats new with this guy…nothing!
- Jaded - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 11:30 am:
Take it easy on the guard. He was probably told not to let ANYONE in without an appointment, and he was probably just doing his job. Plus, if A+ Illinois was on their game, they would have let the Governor’s office know to expect this and then if they got blocked it would have been a real story.
Also, the guys who guard the glass doors are supposed to have attitudes. That is why they are called security guards. The building is public, but the office is private.
- Captain America - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 11:44 am:
I don’t blame the Governor for the cookies incident - just seems like really bad judgemnt by the security guard.
But this incident did trigger a recollection of another infamous incident in Springfield when an arrogant, eogtistical “sun-of-a gun” made an obscene gesture to kids croosing the street because he was in a hurry to catch a plane.
- Emilatitagain - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 12:10 pm:
Hey Illinois elected a jerk now sit there and enjoy it. Who the heck do his henchmen think they are to treat kids like that. I thought you were all about the kids gov.? Why the change in attitude?
- Captain America - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 12:17 pm:
President Bush, Governor Blagojevich,and Mayor Daley, don’t seem to have any conception of the Public’s right to know/be informed. They seem not to believe in the federal and state Freedon of Information statutes.
Undoubtedly,HIPPAA is a complicated and convoluted law.I do have some knowledge of the original intent of the Freedom of Information Act laws. It’s hard to believe that there is a direct conflict between these laws that would justify the refusal to release of Information to the journalists. Their request for the information seems to be for a legitimate public purpose rather than than an inappropriate
fishing expedition.
Information like this is released to resaerchers all the time.It should be feasible to “strip out” all the personal identification information (names and adrresses). I have no axe to grind with Barry Maram, but the explanation provided is not very persuasive.One can only conclude that someone bleieves there is something about this county-by-county data that would not be positive. Personal confidentiality seems to be a totally bogus argument.
- Lainer - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 12:53 pm:
The “bake sale” incident reminds me of an event that I covered as a newspaper reporter. An 8-year-old boy from Pekin and his grandma went to the Capitol on the day of Blago’s budget speech to ask him for state funds to help the subdivision where the boy’s family lived connect to Pekin’s city water supply (the subdivision had only shallow wells which were beginning to run dry and were often dirty). Because Valentine’s Day fell during that week, they brought valentines from the boy’s classmates with them, along with a couple of jars of dirty water collected from the tap in the boy’s house. The three of us (I tagged along taking notes and pictures) parked outside the governor’s office and waited. He did stop to talk to them, then waved us all inside the office. I took pictures of the whole thing, and a week later, the subdivision got the money it needed for the water project.
I can think of several possible reasons why this boy succeeded where the A + Illinois group failed. First, the grandmother had been a legislative aide for many years and knew just how to get elected officials’ attention most effectively. Also, she had contacted the governor’s staff several times in the weeks before to try to schedule a meeting, but the staff hadn’t gotten back to her. Still, they knew who she was and what she wanted. Finally, the boy and the grandma were lucky enough to catch the governor in person, in a way that was bound to get his attention (the boy was dressed in his Cub Scout uniform) and, of course, provide him a favorable photo op.
- He makes Ryan Look like a Saint - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 12:58 pm:
They should have sent the kids to any of the Chambers…Those guys LOVE sweets!!!
- 312 - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 2:05 pm:
Maybe if the kids hired a lobbyist they could have gotten in…
- hmmmm - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 2:51 pm:
As someone who has read the HIPAA laws dutifully over the years, let me inform all of you uninformed whiners:
There is a provision in *FEDERAL* HIPAA law that specifically prohibits the release of healthcare enrollment data at the county level. It specifically says that you can’t do it by County.
Blame the Feds - not a bureaucrat that is just following the law.
Now, that doesn’t mean Blagos people can’t just release the information and disregard federal law. They have ignored the Feds in the past, and did you with much fanfare.
All the HIPAA attorneys would have a field day with that, and make a bundle off it.
- Concerned Voter - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 3:41 pm:
The kids forgot to say that the cookies were “gifts” for the guvs kids. I’m sure he would have seen them then.
- Anonymous ZZZ - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 5:01 pm:
Any group that thinks they can just walk into the Governor’s office unannounced and expect him to be able to see them on the spot is totally stupid. Let’s hope their schools do get more money so they can be taught some common sense, if nothing else!
- OAD - Friday, Jul 20, 07 @ 9:56 pm:
hmmmmmm -
OK, show us a link, or cite the text. What provision of the Federal HIPAA law prevents this disclosure?
- Diane - Saturday, Jul 21, 07 @ 2:24 pm:
I think the A plus people were looking for press. If they had gotten in, it would have been a story about the Gov being against a tax increase. The kids were props. I, for one, do not want my taxes increased. The Bake sale was a gimic. They should go back to their suburbs and run for the school board.