Hey, kids, let’s build a website!
Monday, Sep 21, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Most media sites ran this AP brief last night or this morning…
* Gov. Pat Quinn names 2010 Census liaison, launches Web site
WBBM radio had a little more…
* Push on to make every American count in 2010 census: Quinn said a new Web site with information about the census and how residents can get involved can be found at Census.Illinois.gov.
The governor’s office issued a press release…
Governor Quinn also announced a new website with information about the census and how residents can get involved. Residents can go to Census.Illinois.Gov for up-to-date information regarding the Census and Illinois’ efforts.
Oh, wait. That wasn’t just a link to a press release, that was a link to pretty much the entire website, which, right now, consists almost entirely of that aforementioned press release and a link to the US Census.
The site does have a nifty slogan, however…
* Another issue, another website. This time it’s the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which is trying to gin up support for fully funding MAP grants next semester. From a Daily Herald story…
Just last week, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission put up a Web site, saveillinoismapgrants.org., to arm students and parents with information about the cuts and ways they can lobby for a fix.
“We took a lot of calls as students went back to class, prompting us to start the site,” spokesman Paul Palian said.
Scrolling through, students and parents can access a toolbox that tells them how to find their local legislators; ways they can access local news outlets; how to pitch blogs and draft letters to newspaper editors.
Not quite. There’s a form letter for legislators, but nowhere to find their addresses. The press kit is full of details, but not a lot of practical advice on how to pitch the story. There are also some comment sections, which are fairly underwhelming.
It takes more than a web page.
…Adding… I looked all over but somehow missed this page. Oops. Thanks to a commenter, I’ve now found the info touted in that story. Sorry.
* Other Quinn news…
* Quinn Won’t Back Down On Prisoner Release Plan - Governor Says Public Is Not In Danger
* Vandalia officials plea to governor to keep jobs at prison, but layoffs appear imminent: Face to face meetings with Gov. Pat Quinn and a public pressure campaign have so far failed to derail scheduled layoffs at Vandalia Correctional Center, which city officials say will devastate the city’s economy.
- Rob_N - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:14 pm:
When do they fix the ISBE mess?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:18 pm:
You mean elections or education?
Both have problems. Elections has big problems with its website. It’ll probably get fixed after it kills me.
In fact, that’s what I want. No tributes, no death resolutions, no flowers. Just fix the board of elections website and i’ll rest in peace.
- siriusly - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:20 pm:
If that is what you want you’re sure to be an un-restful ghost, haunting Springfield for decades.
- Anonymous - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:22 pm:
Then I doubt that Rick will ever rest…
- Anonymous - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:22 pm:
Darn! I wanted to type “Rich”…
- Ghost - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:31 pm:
=== In fact, that’s what I want. No tributes, no death resolutions, no flowers. Just fix the board of elections website and i’ll rest in peace. ====
We can sprinkle your ashes inside the server….
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:34 pm:
Anonymous, pretty soon, you’ll be able to edit your comments so you can fix egregious errors like that.
The new site is gonna be cool, if i can ever work out all the bugs and don’t go nuts first.
lol
- Obamarama - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:52 pm:
===Elections has big problems with its website.===
Using multiple tabs is for show-offs.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:54 pm:
===Using multiple tabs is for show-offs. ===
In 1996.
- PP - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:55 pm:
Rich, A little guidance in using the saveillinoismapgrants.org Web site…You can find all of the information described in the Daily Herald story (the toolbox that informshow to find local legislators; ways to access local news outlets; how to pitch blogs and draft letters to newspaper editors)on the resources tab in the main Nav under “toolbox”.
http://www.saveillinoismapgrants.org/?page_id=195
Just click the dropdown menu for all of the options, including the legislative lookup tab you were searching for.
The site has averaged between 300-400 unique visitors a day since its launch.
- Wumpus - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 1:07 pm:
Quinn says he won’t back down…is he even believable anymore?
- Ghost - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 1:25 pm:
=== you’ll be able to edit your comments ====
speel checkur bi chance?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 1:29 pm:
Hope so. Not quite there yet.
- cassandra - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 1:36 pm:
I think Quinn deserves credit for proposing the early release of 1000 nonviolent offenders. In fact, if they are non-violent, what are they doing in jail in the first place, now that the technology exists for extensive home monitoring. But we have to start somewhere. Or should we wait, a la California, until the courts order us to release tens of thousands of prisoners because of inhumane conditions in California jails.
As to the Vandalia officials, perhaps they should be working harder to attract businesses to their
area instead of proposing, in essence, that we keep folks in jail to provide jobs for the surrounding communities. It’s easier to rely on good old state government to come up with the jobs, I guess. Other people’s money.
And the union, which always claims to champion the disenfranchised of society, should be ashamed of itself for the scare-mongering.
- Anonymous - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 1:55 pm:
=========
Anonymous, pretty soon, you’ll be able to edit your comments so you can fix egregious errors like that.
=========
Trust me. You have no idea what egregious is, Rich. Feeling punchy after a weekend of sitting in a car for hundreds of miles…I got extremely egregious last night.
I think no one noticed though, so I should be okay.
- Obamarama - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 2:07 pm:
===speel checkur bi chance?===
Google’s web browser, Chrome, has a spell-checker built in. Anytime you type something it red-lines just like in a Word document.
- Cindy Lou - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 2:31 pm:
Cassandra states “And the union, which always claims to champion the disenfranchised of society, should be ashamed of itself for the scare-mongering”.
–”AFSCME doesn’t dispute the state’s right to hire and fire but said everything is being rushed and proper procedures, which ensure fairness, are not being followed. Among other claims, its lawsuit says the state is endangering prison staff by cutting their numbers” [from linked to article].
What exactly, Cassandra, was scar mongering in what was stated by AFSCME in this article? You seem to be really quick with your little winded accusations which you routinely state as fact, yet I rarely see where you tout solid facts. Am I to assume from your posting that you have recent and up to date facts and figures to back up your claim of ’scar mongering’ on the safety of workers issue?
- cassandra - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 2:53 pm:
I believe unions representing prison employees are also claiming that the community will be at risk if these offenders are released. That’s what one rep appears to be saying.
In fact, they will be released with monitoring, which is hardly the same as releasing them with no oversight whatsoever.
If we wait until we are in a situation like California, court-ordered to release thousands of prisoners because conditions are so bad in the prisons, we’ll have a lot less time to do this responsibly.
And I would hope that DOC already has a research-based risk assessment protocol for determining who should be released early. After all, we taxpayers, locally and national, have spent millions funding various research projects on corrections over the year. Quinn should not dawdle on this plan.
- Brian B. - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 2:56 pm:
Back in the day, I worked on prisoner re-entry issues as a legislative staffer. While I was at this job, I had the opportunity to tour several state prisons, talk with countless law enforcement officials and visit agencies and non-profits who deal with prisoner re-entry.
Cassandra makes a great point, that given technological advances in home monitoring equipment, it is indeed cheaper for the state to place non-violent offenders under a home monitoring program rather than to keep them in over crowding jails that can cost up to 50k a year to house one prisoner. From a fiscally conservative perspective, monitored home arrest is an idea that saves the taxpyaer money. It would be nice to see more legislators on both sides of the aisle view this as a common sense cost savings issue instead of trying to score cheap political points with scare tactics.
- Cindy Lou - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 3:36 pm:
Actually, Brian B., I don’t have a problem with implementing a heavier program of home monitoring for non-violents as long as there is a well funded over-all system in place to deal with supervision, individual assistment programs ect.
- The Prophet - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 4:47 pm:
That’s the ticket, Pat!Let all of the prisoners out of the state prisons and then we won’t need the state prison guards and employees. Think of the huge savings to our state. Now, here we have a man who is able to think “out of the box”. This guy should be running a Fortune 500 firm!
Next, Pat said that he is going to do away with mowing along the state roads because the grass and weeds just continue to keep growing up alongside of them. Then, he is going to legislate a law that says that nobody is to wash their faces each morning because they always just get dirty again. This guy is a visionary. How could we even consider electing a Republican candidate for Governor to replace him?
- math geek - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 4:50 pm:
If they’re releasing 1,000 prisoners, why are they only saving $5 million? It must cost more than $5000 per inmate to feed, house, clothe and guard them, right?
- state worker - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 5:15 pm:
Is this the same Governor that “on paper” bragged about reducing DOC corrections deputy directors from 22 to 2? And left out the part where they are all still employed , given different titles at the same pay. Great job Governor!
- illinois democrat - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 7:47 pm:
Cassandra,
Don’t you think Vandalia has tried to get other companies? We just lost a factory to Missouri because of better state incentives. We are a poor, rural area that doesn’t draw a lot of interest from companies. The mayor and economic development coordinator are doing their best. Your advice implies we have done nothing and want people locked up. Come down sometime and talk to us sometime…then maybe you can play judge.
- Anonymous - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 8:02 pm:
I’m conflicted.
You release 1,000 prisoners for a net savings of $3 million. That’s not a lot of money, but it is a lot of prisoners.
If they can be released with no problem, they probably should have been done so already. If not, I guarantee you there are no jobs for them and they’re going to have time on their hands.
- southern illinoisan - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 8:15 pm:
What the general public needs to realize is that non-violent 1st offenders are not necessarily new to the criminal justice system. Most have previous arrests and have served time in county jails. Home monitoring is a nice idea except for the drug dealer who can still sell in his living room. And forget violating offenders who test dirty for using drugs, we don’t violate them now. This will make a mockery out of the justice system in Illinois.
- AA - Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 8:38 pm:
Well, Quinn still has time for a flip-flop, folks. Don’t get the T-W’s bunched until you see people walking outta the joint on TV.
The lovely foliage along the highways Quinn is advocating (that which is not prairie grass or Patti B’s flower gardens, all of which are by now as dead as Rod’s career) goes nicely with the lousy road surface and no cops in sight to give folks passing through The Great Land of Lincoln a special welcome. The “no cut” idea really sounds Filanesque to old AA, as he battled (successfully) against new State Police cars for years, saying “if we buy them new cars, they just go out and tear them up.”