* Legislators of all stripes are so thrilled to finally have a governor who isn’t a schizoid criminal that even the Republicans are gushing about Gov. Quinn…
Two local state lawmakers say they’re already seeing progress with Illinois’ new governor, Pat Quinn. At a Republican breakfast [last week] in Washington [IL], State Senator Dan Rutherford and Representative Keith Sommer say the state is facing some serious problems.
Senator Dan Rutherford says Governor Pat Quinn is already making progress that’s benefiting central Illinois. […]
Senator Rutherford also gives Quinn an A+ for digging out what some called a problem for the Department of Natural Resources.
Both Republicans say the newly seated Democratic governor is helping steer the state the right way.
Sommer said, “It’s a whole different atmosphere, now people connect with the governor.”
* But it’s a different story with Republicans who never had to deal with Rod Blagojevich on a daily basis…
New Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn may not get much of a honeymoon. Republican Party officials peppered Quinn with criticisms the moment he was sworn in, and they promise to keep up the pressure as the 2010 election approaches.
The state’s top Republican, Andy McKenna, demanded immediately after Quinn took the oath of office that the new governor apologize for his relationship with scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich. McKenna’s office also published a booklet detailing alleged hypocrisy in the Democratic party.
Quinn’s critics insist Blagojevich’s departure won’t change the direction of Illinois politics unless they pressure his replacement.
“Just because we put a new horse in the race doesn’t mean, to me, that we’ve got a new jockey,” said Richard Stubblefield, Jefferson County Republican Chairman.
That’s actually not a bad strategy. Let the GOP legislators praise Quinn (they will anyway because, as I noted at the top, everybody at the Statehouse is just pleased as punch right now that Blagojevich is gone) and have the other Repubs whack him.
* Quinn will announce his new chief of staff today at 11, and it can’t come soon enough. Things have fallen through the cracks for a very long time…
Illinois hospitals and state government are poised to collect about $1 billion a year through a complicated maneuver involving the federal government, but the money hasn’t begun flowing because of the ex-governor’s legal troubles and the state’s cash crunch. […]
The first step in the assessment program, however, requires the state to come up with some cash - about $1 billion as of Friday. That hasn’t happened. […]
Annie Thompson, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, said payments to the hospitals should start by March 14. The law that authorizes the assessment plan gives the state 100 days to begin making payments, once the federal government approves the plan. The 100-day mark is March 14.
“The department is currently working with the governor’s budget office to identify resources available to begin making those payments,” Thompson said.
Quinn spent much of last week on a media market tour of Illinois. But now it’s time to get to work. Here’s another reason he needs to stay on top of things…
When the tollway board picked a new chief Friday to run the multibillion-dollar highway system that rings the suburbs, Gov. Pat Quinn knew nothing about it.
He read about it in the paper - and said he was “disturbed.”
“We are not going to take it quietly,” Quinn told the Daily Herald Sunday. “You can tell them, ‘I’m on my way.’”
Quinn should’ve had a chief of staff in place right away, or at least nearly right away. It’s the most important job in the administration and it can’t go unfilled for long.
* Related…
* Quinn says death penalty moratorium stays
* Gov. Quinn would continue moratorium on executions
* Quinn to host open house for bicentennial
* Schoenburg: Walker hired Quinn, Burris in ’ 70s
- VanillaMan - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:13 am:
Sorry - we cannot afford a honeymoon.
- Cassandra - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:24 am:
It’s interesting that the person speaking for the Tollway board didn’t even feel it necessary to
offer a mild apology for not doing Quinn the courtesy of advance notice. Maybe they think he’s not worth it.
It’s time for the no more Mr. Nice Guy approach. Quinn should slap the Tollway folks….hard.
- hmmm - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:25 am:
Some things he has done just raise eyebrows.
I.E. A 28 year-old new agency director with only a year and half of work experience? Yea, he’s a veteran, but isn’t this a slap in the face to thousands of military veterans who are far more qualified?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:29 am:
===but isn’t this a slap in the face===
Take a breath.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:29 am:
Cassandra-
First, you are correct that the Gov’s office should have been engaged.
Second, this is just an “acting” appointment…the person may be just a placeholder until the “real” tollway chief position is interviewed for and appointed.
Third, the Tollway Board of Directors are 4 year appointees, and the Gov does not have any real power over them other than the power-of re-appointment when their terms are up. Plenty of time to kiss and make up for this little slight.
- One of the 35 - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:31 am:
Our new Governor faces huge problems. I think we should give him a short time to ascertain the scope of the problems and develop a strategy to deal with them. Having said that, I am surprised that he did not have a chief of staff already picked out during the Balgo impeachment time frame. A good governor should have had that choice already in place the day he took office.
- Doug Dobmeyer - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:33 am:
Good for Pat on keeping the death penalty moratorium in place!
Doug Dobmeyer
- GOP'er - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:38 am:
It might be a good strategy if Andy McKenna had any credibility. He doesn’t.
- curious minds - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:39 am:
Rich: Any names yet for Chief of Staff? Is Hamer off the list?
- Captain Flume - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:40 am:
I’ve made several comments here about the lack of a chain of commnand in the new Governor’s office. People left over from the former Governor seem to be free-lancing, or at least continuing doing what they had been doing through inertia. Some statements from Gov. Quinn in this regard earlier would have been helpful, but the de facto secretiveness of how the office is functioning is not good. Glad to see that the issue is being addressed. Let’s see how much we learn today. There are a lot of state policy concerns that need to be aired.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:40 am:
Patience. We’ll know in 20 minutes. I already told subscribers who I think it’ll be.
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:44 am:
“A 28 year-old new agency director with only a year and half of work experience?”
I’m not sure what that means-does he only have a year and a half experience because he was in the military-and since when does military experience not qualify as work experience, especially when you are talking about veteran’s issues?
- Cassandra - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:54 am:
I’m thrilled about the 28 year old. I think we need more young people in top state agency jobs and besides, its the 20 and 30 somethings who have borne the brunt of the Iraq war. They should have a lot of say over how we now will deal with the
consequences to returning troops as well as other vets.
Maybe the Tollway’s failure to alert the new guv is a “little” slight but it comes at a critical time, when many are forming impressions of the new guv including his toughness and resolve. It’s not the end of the world, but not so “slight” either.
- wordslinger - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 10:57 am:
The tollway likes it better when people aren’t watching. This is the place that employed an Outfit guy who stole millions — in change! — when no one was watching.
- hmmm - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:02 am:
Ok, I won’t overreact.
I will just say that I know veterans at that agency who would have been more qualified.
I just struggle with the thought that the best person Quinn could find just happened to be his legislative aide who worked on a handful of veterans issues over the course of the last year and a half…
I hope I am proven wrong. But this is twice now that he has picked mid-level aides from his Lt Governor office to run multi-million dollar agencies.
I had no problem with the first pick for DNR, but this one seems to be begging for problems, and starting a bad trend.
This stuff ain’t child’s play. The state needs people who can hit the ground running right away.
- Secret Square - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:10 am:
I usually don’t say this, but I do agree with Cassandra on this one… the Iraq and Afghanistan vets are most in need of immediate and serious help unique to their situations (e.g. multiple tours of duty), so having a young vet running the agency is not a bad choice at all. As for lack of administrative experience, how much did Tammy Duckworth have before her appointment at DVA?
- Narcoleptic - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:13 am:
Now wait a minute, hmmmm. The implication that because someone is a “mid-level” aide they are immediately disqualified from administering the agency is in itself Blagojevichesque.
Rod’s people didn’t want mid-level people cause they weren’t somebody’s somebody–a lobbyist’s pal or a golf chum or both. They also couldn’t or didn’t want to network to raise bundles of cash. They also didn’t have 10 or 15 relatives who had nothing to do with state government or policy to drop on the payroll.
Where is Union for Mid-Level Aides when you need them?
- anon - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:18 am:
who is the governor’s new chief of staff?
- Narcoleptic - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:19 am:
Some mid-level aide, I bet
- Chicago Cynic - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:21 am:
And the winner is…????
- Concerned Observer - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:22 am:
>>how much did Tammy Duckworth have before her appointment at DVA?
Watch it, SS. I got scolded for asking similar questions about Duckworth last week
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:26 am:
Narcoleptic-
Since the state’s work force is becoming rapidly unionized at the mid-management level, they may already be represented!
- chiatty - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:31 am:
Schizoid criminal. Nice.
- anon - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:47 am:
Did he have the press conference? Is there a link?
- do we know yet - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:49 am:
Who did Quinn name Chief and General Counsel?
- You Go Boy - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 11:49 am:
Doug Dobmeyer = you don’t have to repeat your name at the end. It’s already noted at the top under “Name”. Signed You Go Boy.
- Scooby - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 12:38 pm:
With an impending budget address, I would have thought that a fiscal team would have been among the first moves. Not a good sign.
- Irish - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 1:23 pm:
Following the logic of the “other Republicans”, and I must say I am very disappointed in them, The votes for Blago in 2006 were the proper way to go. They are saying that since Quinn was affiliated with Blago and both were Democratsthen we all should be suspicious of Quinn because of that affiliation. Ergo, since JBT was affiliated with George Ryan and both were Republicans it was the right thing to do to re-elect Blago. How ludicrious can a thought process be, and did they not see that they were setting such an anology in place when they made those statements? The sad thing is no they did not and that is the state GOP party in a nutshell. WE will never see viable candidates or viable campaigns come out of that party until they get rid of those who have made it what it is today and who make ridiculous statements like the above.
- 20+ yr Veteran - Monday, Feb 9, 09 @ 4:45 pm:
Ethic of service by a 28 yr West Pt Grad?
Give me a break!!!
He got the best education our nation can give at taxpayer expense. He was then OBLIGATED. Let’s see how eager he remains to “serve/deploy” now with wife and child.