* Gov. Pat Quinn was asked today about the disgusting scandal at the Department of Human Services. As I’ve told you before, the Belleville News Democrat discovered that the DHS Inspector General refuses to investigate suspicious deaths of people in home care because dead people no longer qualify for government services.
Quinn said he was “disturbed” and “saddened” by the reports. The governor promised to “take charge” of the situation.
“We’re visiting with the department and its folks who work there to review their work and improve upon it,” Quinn said. “Work needs to be done.”
“I think whatever is necessary to get to the truth is what ought to be done. And I think that ought to be the policy of every inspector general in every part of state government,” the governor said.
* DHS already appeared to be backing away from its indefensible stance as of late yesterday. From the Belleville News Democrat…
The Illinois Department of Human Services is “reviewing and re-evaluating the role” of its Office of the Inspector General following a Belleville News-Democrat report that the agency failed to investigate after 53 disabled adults died amid allegations of neglect and abuse.
“These are serious issues of concern. The department is currently reviewing and re-evaluating the OIG’s role, authority and practices under the program, both under current law and in coordination with law enforcement and other investigatory agencies,” Januari Smith Trader, a Department of Human Services spokeswoman, said in a statement released Friday.
The newspaper reported that, since May 2003, at least 53 adults were the subjects of statewide hotline allegations of severe neglect and abuse, were hospitalized on an emergency basis, and died, usually within a few days or weeks. But none of those deaths were investigated by the OIG, which is charged under a 2000 Illinois law with preventing the abuse of disabled adults ages 18-59 who live outside state facilities.
The reason stated for not investigating, according to OIG documents, is that once people die, they are “ineligible for services.”
During the fall legislative session, Quinn said he will press lawmakers to use those savings [from closing the facilities] to restore most – if not all – of a $50 million cut the legislature approved for the Department of Children and Family Services.
About half of the lawmakers’ cut would force the agency to reduce its staff of 2,900 by about 12 percent, or 375 workers. The remainder of the cut would eliminate contracts that provide services to children and families, the agency said. The budget trims by lawmakers came on top of a $35.3 million reduction Quinn had proposed.
The Tribune has reported that the caseloads for DCFS investigators are often double what they should be and in violation of critical terms of a 1991 federal consent decree that sets monthly limits on new cases for investigators. The agency also is failing to inspect more than half of the state’s day care facilities on an annual basis as required by law, the Tribune has reported.
Quinn called the consent decree dictating investigators’ caseloads “a landmark decision.” […]
While Quinn can choose not to spend money the General Assembly sends him, he needs lawmakers’ approval to redirect the money to DCFS.
“I really don’t know what the governor’s thinking. Illinois’ prisons are already overcrowded. This decision is just going to make things worse. By putting the worst-of-the-worst, like the men at Tamms back into the general population, he’s risking the lives of guards and other inmates.
“He’s also not taking into consideration where these prisons are located. Closing Tamms will devastate Alexander County, which already has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. This is just another sign that Quinn is governing from Chicago and turning his back on Southern Illinois.
“The governor also can’t spend the money from Tamms and other prisons wherever he wants. He needs the General Assembly’s permission. I don’t think he’s going to get it.”
* The news coverage of Quinn’s announcement that he was reducing the budget by another $57 million by vetoing money for prisons and other facilities has overshadowed this line item he vetoed…
The amount of $11,300,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the Fire and Ambulance Services Revolving Loan Fund to the Illinois Finance Authority for Loans to Fire Departments, Fire Protection Districts, Township Fire Departments, or Non-Profit Ambulance Services.
This appropriation does not have revenues to support this expenditure, nor does the specified fund exist under current law.
*** UPDATE *** The governor’s budget office called back on Sunday to clarify that this was a double appropriation, and therefore the above language was superfluous.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Quinn also used a reduction veto to close the Centralia Animal Disease Lab.
* More links…
* Tamms state prison for sale to federal government: In a letter dated Friday and obtained by The Associated Press, Quinn tells the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons that the 14-year-old supermax lockup would be a “valuable addition” to the U.S. correctional system.
* I haven’t made a final decision yet, but I think I’ll be taking off much or all of next week. I do know that I won’t be posting again before the 4th, unless something big breaks (probably involving the governor’s pending action on the budget). We’ll see how it goes. As I said last week, I need to get the heck outta this place for a bit.
* Brooke Thomas & the Blue Suns will be at Sunday’s music festival benefit for Family Services Center of Springfield. The event will be indoors, thankfully, so come out to Brookhills Golf Course from 2-9 Sunday. I’ll be there if I’m in town. More info here.
* Meanwhile, I promised a very close friend last night that I’d post this song, so here goes…
I asked your staff earlier this week for comment on a Sneed item…
Making an exit? U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin telling pals he might retire in two years.
So far, I’ve heard nothing back. I guess it’s time to start up the speculation machine before somebody else beats me to it. Oh, wait. Nevermind.
*** UPDATE *** OK, I finally heard back. Here’s the response…
Rich – Senator Durbin has answered this question a number of times in the last few months and his answer hasn’t changed:
Press Conference – 1.3.12:
“My political future? I am exactly halfway through my term. So I have three years before I would be standing for reelection. I have not made any decision on this. If you ask me today, I’d say I’m announcing for reelection. But, at some point I will sit down with my highest counsel of advisors in my life, which would be my wife, and we will make a decision. But I enjoy the job and hope to continue doing it for a long, long time.”
Chicago Tonight – 10.10.11:
Q: Got to talk a little politics here. So, Senator Durbin, I’ve been hearing that in 2014, you’re not going to run again.
Durbin: Well, that’s just plain wrong.
Q: Is it?
Durbin: Where have you been hearing that Carol?
Q: You know, I’ll go back to those people and tell them that.
We’re two-and-half years away from the 2014 election and have five months left in the current campaign. One election at a time.
“The Court’s ruling that the individual mandate is unconstitutional and a tax goes against everything the President and his allies said as they were trying to pass the law, and puts an increased burden on working families. [Emphasis added.]
Your statement was e-mailed about two hours after the Supreme Court issued its opinion. There was plenty of time to check your work, dude. Try harder, please.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has approved a measure to help southern Illinois tornado victims rebuild their homes.
The Democrat signed a law Friday that creates a property tax exemption. It is equal to the difference in property values between a resident’s new home and the one destroyed by a Feb. 29 tornado in the Harrisburg area or another natural disaster.
Two main rules apply. The home must be rebuilt within two years of the destruction and the new residence must not be more than 110 percent of the previous home’s square footage.
The legislation was sponsored by two Democrats - Rep. Brandon Phelps of Harrisburg and Sen. Gary Forby of Benton.
Shockingly enough, there was no joint press conference yesterday.
* Dear Sen. Gary Forby,
While this could be more great fodder for your tough reelection bid, do you really want the General Assembly to have the right to force the state’s chief executive to spend money?…
State Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, said he’s prepared to resubmit a bill limiting the state’s chief executive’s ability to close facilities if Gov. Pat Quinn shutters Tamms Correctional Facility as expected on Aug. 31.
Quinn has statutory authority to close state-run facilities even if the General Assembly’s bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability recommends facilities stay open, as was the case with Tamms and Murphysboro’s Illinois Youth Center.
Forby’s bill would have given the House and Senate the power to accept or reject COGFA’s recommendation. Under Forby’s proposed legislation, Quinn would not have been able to overturn the General Assembly’s decision.
Forby said to expect the bill to reappear in November if Quinn shutters Tamms, the state’s only supermax prison.
Also, sorry about the multiple submissions.
* Dear Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady,
Do you really think that President Obama was “trained” by Speaker Madigan? From a press release you issued yesterday…
When Barack Obama ran for President, he promised no tax increases on the middle class. But the only way he could convince the Supreme Court to approve ObamaCare was to call it a new “tax.” Promise made – Promise Broken.
This comes as no surprise since Barack Obama spent his formative political years in Springfield being trained by Illinois Democrats like Mike Madigan, who through years of mismanagement, have led Illinois to having the worst budget deficit, credit rating, pension debt and business climate in the nation – and last year a 67% Tax Hike in the middle of the night on the last day of a lame duck session of the state legislature after many of his party members promised to oppose any such tax hike. Promise Made – Promise Broken.
Be careful what you wish for, dude. One day, the media may actually start including some of your goofier press release claims in its reporting.
* Dear Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.,
When you finally finish recuperating from “exhaustion,” here’s another question you should probably answer…
The timing of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s announcement on Monday that he had begun a medical leave of absence two weeks earlier has taken on new significance.
Frank Watkins, his Washington spokesman, said the news was released just before 5 p.m. Central Time on Monday. Five p.m. that day was the deadline for independent candidates to file nomination papers with the State Board of Elections for a spot on the ballot for the November election for the seat, said Rupert Borgsmiller, the board’s executive director.
Candidates typically bring their papers to the office, or have a representative do that, because they must be time-stamped by the 5 p.m. deadline, Borgsmiller said.
Watkins, in an interview, insisted there was no link between the delay in making the news public and the filing deadline. “That was not a factor at all,” he said.
An immediate disclosure of a leave of absence for “exhaustion” could’ve brought a major challenger out of the woodwork. Probably not, but whatever. I really doubt you wanted to take that chance.
* Dear Gov. Pat Quinn,
I understand your desire to deinstitutionalize the developmentally disabled. But could you please do something about easing the anxiety of the parents involved? C’mon, man. Get in the game here…
During hearings last spring, administration officials pledged that a transition plan would be individually tailored for each resident.
But Robyn Pannier, whose son lives at JDC, said no such plan has been developed for her son. She attended a meeting with Department of Human Services staff and representatives of a contractor hired by the state to develop the transition plans. Pannier said she asked questions about how her son’s medications would be administered in a community setting and about security.
“They haven’t come back to us with any answers,” she said.
“That’s why these families are here, because they kind of feel like they’re sitting out in the wind and nobody is helping them,” Watson said.
* It’s Friday, it’s too hot in Springfield to go outside and my 1997 automobile’s air conditioning system can’t keep up with the heat so it appears I am trapped at home for now.
* Yesterday, we discussed the Belleville News Democrat’s story about how the Inspector General for the Department of Human Services refused to investigate suspicious deaths of people in home care because they were dead and, therefore, under his insane interpretation of state law, no longer qualified for DHS services.
As you might imagine, legislative reaction has been furious…
“It is very disturbing to say the least,” said Sen. William Haine, D-Alton. “I think the OIG owes each and every member of the General Assembly a full explanation of these facts … I think this calls for some supplemental legislation that should involve other stakeholders like state’s attorneys and coroners.”
State Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, chairman of the House Human Services Committee, refuted the OIG’s interpretation of the 2000 law that gave it increased powers to investigate abuse and neglect of disabled adults who live outside of state facilities.
“It doesn’t seem to be that there’s any lacking of specificity in the law,” Harris said. “I don’t see this nonsense about, well, “We can’t provide services once they’re deceased.”
The OIG should be looking into cases of neglect and abuse of a disabled person, especially when a death follows an allegation, Harris said. The agency has a responsibility to investigate, Harris said, and to turn over cases where neglect or abuse is suspected of being involved to law enforcement.
“We need to find out how this is being allowed to happen,” Harris said. “We need to find out if it’s a failure of individuals, we need to figure out if it’s a failure of the system. Or, if it’s a failure of how a law or rule is drafted, whichever one of those it is or all three of them, we have to fix it.”
State Rep. Dwight Kay, R-Glen Carbon, said the OIG’s main purpose is to investigate abuse and neglect of the disabled.
“That someone dies is a lame reason not to follow through. They have always been tasked with this,” Kay said. “If we don’t have the ability to pursue causes of death in these cases to their logical end, then we should take it out (of the law). But it seems it was put there for good reason.”
* Meanwhile, the DHS Inspector General is expected to issue some sort of statement today. I’ll have it for you if it ever materializes. But I want to go back to a passage that was in the story we looked at yesterday…
Top state officials declined to talk about how the agency operates. OIG Director William M. Davis, a retired Illinois State Police regional commander, initially agreed to an interview, but [DHS spokeswoman Januari Smith-Trader] later said that neither Davis nor his boss, Department of Human Services Secretary Michelle R. B. Saddler, were available.
In subsequent emails, Smith-Trader accused a reporter of possibly breaking state and federal privacy laws by being in possession of private case summaries not open to the public. [Emphasis added.]
It seems to me that DHS was trying to kill a hugely unflattering story by using an empty threat of prosecution against two of this state’s best investigative reporters. Rather than rectify their incredibly stupid behavior, DHS lashed out at the people who were trying to expose this despicable policy to the public. It was a clear act of desperation on the part of DHS, and they need to be called out on it.
The governor also needs to be dragged into this mess. He needs to be pressed on it until he agrees to push DHS into compliance with the law. Some firings wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.
And, frankly, the entire Inspector General concept needs to be revisited by the General Assembly. You’ve got some IG’s making sure people don’t eat sandwiches at their desks and others refusing to investigate deaths.
* We talked the other day about the very testy joint appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program by Congressman Aaron Schock and Gov. Pat Quinn.
The two then appeared separately on the Don & Roma Show and went after each other hard. “I’ve never heard so much gibberish and nonsense,” Schock said. Listen to Schock go off on the governor…
Schock was supposed to appear with Quinn in Springfield at an Executive Mansion kickoff luncheon for Illinois’ Special Olympics. The Quinn administration contacted event sponsors and tried to get Schock removed from the program or to shift things so the two wouldn’t appear together, said event officials who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
When the program went on as scheduled, organizers were told Quinn was running late and that Schock should appear on his own.
Brooke Anderson, a Quinn spokeswoman, said the governor’s late arrival was due to travel, not Schock. She also acknowledged the spat.
“Considering the congressman’s comments (two) days before in which he stated blatant falsehoods about the federal transportation bill … we did have concerns about the congressman politicizing the event,” Anderson said.
The second incident involved a central Illinois planning agency that had secured Schock’s attendance for a fall transportation conference in Peoria. Last Monday the organization was told by state transportation officials to disinvite Schock.
In an email to Schock, Mike Phelan, chairman of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, said the agency got a phone call from IDOT official Tom Kelso “specifically telling us to uninvite you apparently due to (His words) your appearance on a Morning Joe show last week with Gov. Quinn.”
* House GOP Leader Tom Cross had this to say yesterday after the US Supreme Court upheld Obamacare…
Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms a federal law that has the potential to pile billions of dollars of additional expenses into our state budget that we cannot afford. We are encouraging Congress to repeal Obamacare at the federal level as soon as possible, and provide Illinois the ability to administer an efficient Medicaid program.
Aides [to Gov. Pat Quinn] say under the law, 500,000 more people will qualify for Medicaid coverage, which initially will be funded complete by the federal government. Illinois will be required to pick up 10 percent of the costs by 2020, but state budget officials say it should not cost the state any additional dollars because the federal government will still be reimbursing Illinois for health care at a higher rate than before.
All of the cost of newly eligible Medicaid recipients would be covered by the federal government during the first three years. The federal subsidy is to drop to 90 percent in 2020 and beyond.
Illinois Medicaid spending is likely to increase by $1.2 billion to $2.4 billion over the five-year period starting in 2014, according to a report by the Washington-based Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, published in 2010. The range depends upon how many people actually join the program.
Officials estimate that another 1 million people will be able to purchase coverage through a state health insurance exchange, which has yet to be put in place.
The exchange is designed to create a competitive forum for people to buy insurance coverage, but state lawmakers have yet to pass legislation creating the online marketplace. Quinn said he will ask lawmakers to act when they return to Springfield this fall, but some health care advocates say Illinois is running out of time and Quinn should issue an executive order to set up portions of the exchange on his own.
Quinn dodged questions Thursday about using his executive powers to move forward with the exchange. But the governor did acknowledge that initially, at least, the state will partner with the federal government to run the exchange instead of operating the marketplace on its own.
* Cross blocked a bipartisan effort to create that exchange. And the going won’t be easy in the Senate, either…
Quinn said he is not worried about missing the deadlines. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, the named defendant in the Supreme Court case, told Quinn and other large-state governors in a conference call Thursday they had “great flexibility” in putting the plans together and complying with new Medicaid provisions.
The Republican whom Quinn narrowly defeated for governor, state Sen. Bill Brady, said he doubts any Republicans will be supportive of creating an Illinois exchange until seeing whether Congress votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“I don’t know what the Democrats are thinking, but I can’t see the Republicans supporting any exchange language that incorporates a tax and creates an expense to our budget,” said Brady (R-Bloomington), who co-chaired the health exchange panel.
Brady also cautioned Quinn that there would be a political price to be paid if he tries to enact the exchange on his own through executive order.
“I don’t think the people of Illinois support a tax on Obamacare. I think there will be repercussions for members of his party who let him do that,” he said.
State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka said the threat of fines could drive many of Illinois’ uninsured into Medicaid, costing the state $2.4 billion.
State Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady added, “Obamacare will lead to the implosion of our health care system, an explosion of our national debt and economic uncertainty for millions of job creators.”
“We can move forward with the insurance exchange. Basically, we can do it through legislation, which I think is a superior method. But other states have done it through executive orders through their governors,” said state Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago), who sponsored a Medicaid-reform package and was a member of the health exchange task force.
Two former elected public officials who served in legislative capacities for Cook County and the City of Chicago, respectively, are scheduled to appear at 3 p.m. today in Federal Court when new federal public corruption charges are expected to be unsealed against a total of seven defendants. Copies of the charges and a detailed press release will be distributed via email and the U.S. Attorney’s Office website after the charges are unsealed.
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Gary Shapiro, First Assistant U.S. Attorney and Acting U.S. Attorney-designate, together with officials of the Chicago Offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, will be available following the court appearance to comment on the charges. The media availability will be held either in the lobby of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse (219 South Dearborn St.) or in the U.S. Attorney’s Office 9th floor Press Conference Room, and the location will be announced later to the assembled media representatives.
The defendants will be appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Young Kim, who will be sitting in Judge Harry Leinenweber’s Courtroom – 1941 – on the 19th floor, south end, of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
We don’t know yet who’s been popped, so keep your speculation to yourself, please. We’ll all know around 3 o’clock. The US Attorney’s website is here.
The day before acclaimed federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wraps up his government career, he has fired a final volley of public corruption charges at seven people.
New public corruption charges were leveled Thursday afternoon at former Chicago Ald. Ambrosio Medrano and former Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno. Both ex-elected officials were arrested on corruption charges in a case that involves five additional defendants.
Medrano should know his way around the federal courthouse. He was convicted in a bribery case more than 15 years ago in connection with Operation Silver Shovel and served 30 months in prison.
Moreno was the 7th District commissioner until being ousted in 2010.
Joseph mario Moreno and Ambrosio medrano charged in three alleged bribery schemes
* From the US Attorney’s office…
Federal corruption charges were unveiled today in three separate bribery complaints. Two former local public officials, former Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno and former Chicago Ald. Ambrosio Medrano, each were charged in two of the three complaints. Three businessmen who allegedly participated in one bribery scheme, and two other businessmen who allegedly participated in another, also were charged.
The three alleged schemes involved:
an alleged effort by Moreno, Medrano, and three Chicago area businessmen to use bribery and kickbacks to sell bandages to public hospitals, including Cook County’s John H. Stroger Hospital;
an alleged effort by Medrano and two other businessmen, including James Barta, the owner of a Nebraska-based provider of prescription drug services that claims 11 million subscribers, to use bribery and kickbacks to obtain business from an unnamed out-of-state hospital system; and
Moreno’s alleged acceptance of $5,000 as part of a bribe to ensure development of a waste transfer station in suburban Cicero while he sat on a town economic development panel.
“Public officials who solicit and obtain bribes, and private individuals who pay bribes, undermine trust in honest government. The defendants in these cases are alleged to have done just that,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
Moreno, a Cook County commissioner for 16 years until 2010, and Medrano, the former alderman who later worked on Moreno’s county staff, allegedly agreed to receive kickbacks for using their influence as county officials to cause Stroger Hospital to purchase bandages under the brand name “Dermafill” from co-defendants Stanley Wozniak and Gerald W. Lombardi, who were agents of Chasing Lions, LLC, a disabled veterans-owned business in west suburban Lisle. The alleged scheme started in 2010 while Moreno was still a county commissioner and before he sponsored a county ordinance to benefit disabled veterans-owned businesses, such as Chasing Lions.
In early 2011, while the alleged Cook County scheme was still underway, the FBI introduced an undercover agent, who was posing as a third-party purchasing agent for the hospital system of County A, located in another state, to Medrano, Gerald W. Lombardi, and his son, Jerry A. Lombardi, who was also a Chasing Lions agent, as part of an alleged scheme by those three to provide kickbacks to a fictitious official of the County A hospital system in exchange for Dermafill orders placed by the undercover agent. After allegedly paying a kickback in connection with that scheme, Medrano introduced the undercover agent to Barta, the president and owner of Sav-Rx, and Gustavo Buenrostro, an associate of Barta and a former Sav-Rx employee. Barta, Buenrostro, and Medrano then allegedly agreed to bribe the undercover agent and fictitious County A hospital official — with Barta allegedly making a $6,500 payment to the undercover agent last week — to do business with Sav-Rx, a Fremont, Neb.-based national provider of managed care prescription medication services.
Moreno, also known as “Mario Moreno,” 59, of Chicago, and Medrano, 58, of Chicago, were charged together in one criminal complaint along with Wozniak, 49, of Chicago; Gerald W. Lombardi, also known as “Jerry Lombardi, Sr.,” 59, of Darien; and Jerry A. Lombardi, also known as “Jerry Lombardi, Jr.,” 33, of Downers Grove.
Medrano was charged in a second criminal complaint together with Barta, 70, of Fremont, Neb., and Buenrostro, 49, of Arlington Heights.
Moreno alone was charged in a third complaint charging the Cicero waste transfer station bribery.
Medrano, Wozniak, both Lombardis, and Buenrostro were arrested today and, together with Moreno, appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Young Kim in Federal Court in Chicago. An arrest warrant was issued for Barta.
Mr. Fitzgerald announced the arrests and charges with Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Thomas Jankowski, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The FBI’s Chicago City Public Corruption Task Force led the investigation with assistance from the Chicago Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, a task force member.
Details of the three complaints follow:
United States v. Moreno, Medrano, Wozniak, Lombardi, and Lombardi
Moreno and Medrano were charged with soliciting bribes; Wozniak and Gerald W. Lombardi were charged with offering bribes; and Medrano and the Lombardis were charged with bribery conspiracy in a three-count criminal complaint. According to the complaint affidavit, Wozniak and Gerald W. Lombardi communicated with Moreno in June 2010 about benefitting disabled veterans-owned businesses, and in September 2010, Moreno sponsored a county ordinance that gave a preference to such businesses. Later in September 2010, the FBI intercepted conversations between Moreno and Medrano about meeting with Wozniak and Gerald W. Lombardi, including one in which Medrano told Moreno that Wozniak and Gerald W. Lombardi wanted “to dangle a bigger piece of the pie in front of you.”
On Sept. 30, Moreno, Medrano, Wozniak and two other men met a restaurant in Chicago. During that meeting, agents intercepted a conversation between Moreno and County Hospital Official A, and from that point on, the defendants engaged in numerous recorded conversations in which they allegedly plotted to use Moreno’s and Medrano’s influence with County Hospital Officials A, B, and C to place bulk orders of Dermafill bandages. In a conversation on Oct. 19, 2010, Wozniak allegedly told Medrano that Moreno would receive $5 and Medrano would receive $2 for every “patch” ordered by Cook County. Wozniak explained that $5 a patch worked out to $70 a box, and that an order of 1,000 boxes would yield $70,000, with $24,000 of that for Medrano. In another conversation less than an hour later, Medrano told Wozniak that Moreno was using a calculator to try to determine how much he would be receiving from Wozniak and Lombardi, Sr. based on an order by Cook County Hospitals, the affidavit states.
The affidavit details further conversations in October, November and early December 2010 in which Moreno, Medrano, Wozniak, and Lombardi, Sr. allegedly persisted in efforts to influence Cook County Hospitals to purchase Dermafill bandages, but hospital officials would go no further than to discuss using a small amount of the product in a clinical trial beginning in January 2011. The defendants allegedly continued to discuss their efforts after Moreno left office in early December 2010. In February and March 2011, Lombardi, Sr. and Medrano allegedly appeared to conclude that although Moreno had done the best he could, Lombardi, Sr. no longer believed that Moreno had the ability to influence Cook County Hospitals to purchase the bandages.
At that point, through a cooperating witness (CW1), the FBI introduced an undercover agent, posing as a third-party purchasing agent for County A’s hospital system, to Medrano and the Lombardis. The complaint alleges that Medrano and the Lombardis:
agreed to provide kickbacks to the undercover agent and a fictitious official of County A’s hospital system in exchange for orders placed by the undercover agent on behalf of County A;
provided the undercover agent with an invoice for the sale of $9,360 worth of Dermafill bandages to be used by County A’s hospital system;
accepted payment from the undercover agent’s purported company with the understanding they would be providing a 20 percent kickback to the undercover agent and the fictitious County A hospital official; and
provided a kickback of 20 percent for the undercover agent and the fictitious County A hospital official.
After the initial purchase of roughly $10,000 worth of bandages, the defendants discussed receiving revolving $100,000 orders from the undercover agent. On March 4, 2011, Medrano allegedly gave an envelope containing $1,872 to the cooperating witness intending that it would be passed on to the undercover agent and the fictitious County A hospital official. In September 2011, conversations showed that Medrano and the Lombardis were expecting to receive four $100,000 orders a year, under the same kickback terms, from the undercover agent, according to the complaint.
United States v. Barta, Buenrostro, and Medrano
Medrano, Barta and Buenrostro were charged with conspiracy to commit bribery. According to the complaint affidavit, after paying a kickback in connection with the alleged scheme to influence the County A hospital system to purchase Dermafill bandages, Medrano introduced the undercover agent to Barta and Buenrostro. The complaint alleges that Barta, Buenrostro, and Medrano:
an alleged effort by Moreno, Medrano, and three Chicago area businessmen to use bribery and kickbacks to sell bandages to public hospitals, including Cook County’s John H. Stroger Hospital;
an alleged effort by Medrano and two other businessmen, including James Barta, the owner of a Nebraska-based provider of prescription drug services that claims 11 million subscribers, to use bribery and kickbacks to obtain business from an unnamed out-of-state hospital system; and
Moreno’s alleged acceptance of $5,000 as part of a bribe to ensure development of a waste transfer station in suburban Cicero while he sat on a town economic development panel.
In November 2011, Medrano allegedly contacted the cooperating witness to reach out to the undercover agent to set up a meeting with Medrano and Buenrostro to discuss steering Sav-Rx’s services to County A’s hospital system. From December 2011 through March 2012, Medrano, Buenrostro and the cooperating witness continued to discuss the scheme, resulting in a meeting attended by those three, Barta, and the undercover agent at a Chicago restaurant on March 21, according to the charges. During the meeting, Barta discussed Sav-Rx’s business, including a contract with Cook County that involved using a minority contractor as a pass-through. Medrano allegedly was recorded stating that the pass-through minority contractor was used to steer payments to then-Cook County Commissioner Moreno. Medrano allegedly said that every time the minority contractor “got paid, Mario [Moreno] got paid.”
The undercover agent explained the 20 percent kickback arrangement — 10 percent for him and 10 percent for the fictitious hospital official — if they were to succeed in expanding Sav-Rx’s services into County A’s hospital system. Barta replied that the arrangement was okay with him. In subsequent conversations, Medrano allegedly assured the cooperating witness and undercover agent that Barta and Buenrostro wanted to do a deal with the agent and were willing to provide an initial $10,000 payment in good faith.
The same group of individuals met again on May 9 at a Chicago restaurant and allegedly continued discussing steering Sav-Rx’s services to County A, including using Medrano and Buenrostro to be the minority participants in a contract, with Barta allegedly endorsing that idea. Barta directed Buenrostro to do research on County A and paid the lunch bill. The undercover agent said that the fictitious County A hospital official was not going to take any action until there was an agreement and the official saw some money. “We understand that and that’s not a problem,” Barta replied, according to the affidavit.
Following further conversations and emails, Barta told the undercover agent that Barta was “probably ready to move forward.” Buenrostro later told the undercover agent that Barta’s concern was that they would provide the money and not obtain the contract. Buenrostro stated that Barta wanted a written guarantee that the undercover agent would repay the $10,000 if they were not to receive the contract.
Last Friday, Barta, Buenrostro, and Medrano met with the undercover agent at a restaurant in Omaha. Before Barta arrived, Buenrostro told Medrano and the undercover agent that he had spoken to Barta and that Buenrostro and Medrano would be 35 percent minority partners with Barta in the contract they were allegedly scheming to obtain from the fictitious County A official. Barta then arrived at the restaurant and joined the others. The undercover agent explained that half of the good faith money they had been discussing was for his role in brokering the contract and half was for the fictitious County A official. The undercover agent assured Barta that the good faith payment would be refunded if Sav-Rx was did not obtain a contract from County A’s hospital system. After further discussion about the indirect manner that Barta’s payment would be funneled to the fictitious County A official, Barta wrote a check on a Sav-Rx operations account payable to the undercover agent for $6,500 and gave it to the undercover agent.
United States v. Moreno
Moreno was charged with bribery for allegedly accepting a $5,000 down payment on a plan to use his appointed position with the Town of Cicero to approve a waste transfer development in exchange for a stream of payments. Moreno was appointed in May 2010 to Cicero’s Local Business Assistance Committee, a panel that was created to attract businesses to the western suburb.
According to the complaint affidavit, Moreno used his position and influence with Cicero to assist CW1, who was cooperating with law enforcement, in the purported development of a waste transfer station in exchange for payment from CW1 and CW1’s associate.
Moreno allegedly met with CW1 on Sept. 3, 2010 and said he wanted “a little piece” of the proceeds from the waste transfer station, which was envisioned on vacant land at South 54th Avenue and Roosevelt Road in Cicero, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that Moreno told CW1, “I don’t want to be a hog, I just want to be a pig. Hogs get slaughtered, pigs get fat.”
Moreno allegedly accepted an envelope containing $5,000 cash from CW1 in CW1’s car on Dec. 16, 2010, with CW1 assuring Moreno that CW1’s associate was going to provide an additional $5,000 cash in a couple of weeks. Moreno allegedly believed that he had an agreement with CW1 and CW1’s associate to receive 10 percent of the revenue of the proposed waste transfer station on a continuing basis. In exchange for the bribe, Moreno signed a letter to CW1’s associate assuring his support, as well as that of Cicero officials, for the purported development, the charges allege.
The bribery scheme allegedly began on Aug. 5, 2010, when CW1 recorded a meeting with Moreno while they drove around Cicero in CW1’s car. When they arrived near the site of the proposed waste transfer station, which CW1 told Moreno his associate was seeking to develop, CW1 told Moreno that the station was “huge, big money.” Moreno allegedly responded that he was going to make money from the operation of the station, saying “we are going for a ride.” Moreno told CW1 that he would talk to Attorney A, a municipal lawyer for Cicero, to help the project along, the affidavit states.
CW1 told Moreno that CW1 would buy the land for the facility, and CW1’s business partner would pay rent. In further conversation, Moreno allegedly indicated that he knew a real estate broker and could structure his involvement by receiving kickbacks from the brokers’ fees to hide his receipt of any money. As Moreno was about to depart CW1’s car, he placed a call to Attorney A and left a voicemail message, allowing CW1 to record Moreno saying that he wanted to discuss a certain type of business, and “your friend here (Moreno) could make a couple of bucks.”
On Sept. 3, 2010, Moreno allegedly indicated to CW1 that he believed he was entitled to a significant payment from CW1’s associate because the waste transfer station would not be developed without Moreno’s influence in Cicero and his economic development position. On Sept. 20, 2010, Moreno allegedly told CW1 that Attorney A “said it’s a go,” and high-ranking Town Official A “is all for it.”
CW1 asked if Moreno would take care of the zoning, and Moreno allegedly replied that he would “do everything it needs to get done.” Moreno indicated that he would help CW1 obtain whatever zoning permits the project would need in exchange for payments spread out over time, despite any conflicts with his position on the town committee, the charges allege.
On Oct. 19, 2010, CW1 told Moreno that CW1’s associate was talking about $5,000 up front and then Moreno taking 10 percent of the profits after the station began operating. Moreno allegedly asked if the deal could be sweetened, saying he did not “want to be sloppy, and I don’t want to give it away either,” adding that “thirty-five would be fine. Fifty would be even better.” In a conversation on Oct. 29, 2010, Moreno allegedly said that $5,000 was a little low, but added, “I like the 10 percent going forward, and I like to get a nice pop up front. But I ain’t greedy. I’ll just be a pig.”
On Dec. 1, 2010, CW1 told Moreno that if Moreno gave CW1’s associate an official letter of support from Moreno’s town committee, that CW1’s associate would give Moreno a payment and CW1 would push for the amount to be greater than the $5,000 they initially discussed. On Dec. 9, 2010, CW1 received an email from Moreno’s email account containing a letter and Moreno’s electronic signature. The letter, which is quoted verbatim in the affidavit, assures town support for the purported waste transfer station. The following day, CW1 requested assurance from Moreno that his support was being given as head of the town businesses assistance committee, and Moreno allegedly complied by sending an email addendum providing such assurance.
When they met on Dec. 16, 2010, to exchange payment, CW1 gave Moreno a complete letter with the addendum cut and pasted into the original. Moreno signed the letter in CW1’s presence in exchange for the envelope containing $5,000. When CW1 said that another $5,000 would be paid in a couple of weeks, Moreno allegedly replied “excellent,” and CW1 confirmed that his associate had agreed to raise the initial bribe payment to $10,000 in two installments. As Moreno departed CW1’s car, CW1 made clear that Moreno understood that the cash was from CW1’s associate and not from CW1.
In all three cases, the government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Fox, Christopher J. Stetler and Steven Grimes.
Each bribery count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and conspiracy to commit bribery carries a maximum prison term of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that complaints contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
* The Village of Romeoville passed some major ethics reforms the other day that the state and other towns ought to consider…
The ordinance outlines that any family member of a full-time elected official is ineligible for initial hire or appointment to any full-time employment position with the village.
In addition, to avoid any conflicts of interest, vendors, contractors, and bidders must disclose to the village any interests that anyone associated with them might have in the government of the village such as employment or service on a commission. For contracts more than $100,000, these groups must report all individuals who hold more than one percent ownership and is related to an elected official or employee, if the contractor or vendor employs any elected official or village employee, or if they have any compensated independent contracting or consulting relationship with any elected official or employee within the preceding two years.
In terms of compensation, it clarifies that the village president (mayor) elected in 2013 will be calculated and paid in accordance within the provisions of this ordinance and also prohibits elected officials from receiving compensation from employment, consulting or independent contracting relationships with any city or village contiguous to the village of Romeoville.
* Business people are always looking for a way to make money. No problem there. But sometimes they do it by taking advantage of the way laws are written. So, for instance, the state video gaming law apparently doesn’t limit the number of licenses that people can have. Therefore, the way to make real money is to open up a whole bunch of small, inexpensive to operate storefronts that focus almost solely on the five video terminals allowed by statute per location…
A Springfield company is looking to capitalize on legalized video gambling by setting up a chain of storefront establishments offering video poker and other games along with food, wine and beer.
Lucy’s Place has plans for at least nine stores in the Springfield area and many more throughout central and southern Illinois, company head Chris Stone said.
Locally, the plans hinge on Springfield, Chatham and Sherman changing existing laws that ban video gambling, something all three communities are considering.
Lucy’s Place outlets will have “an upscale neighborhood pub and deli motif.” They will be located primarily in strip malls, according to a business plan the company submitted to the village of Sherman in support of a liquor license application.
The stores will sell prepackaged snacks and offer complimentary coffee, juice and soft drinks to customers, Stone said. There will be a four-drink maximum for alcoholic beverages.
I’ve seen the business plan for one of the proposed locations via a friend who’s not connected to the owners. It’s basically a narrow room with terminals on one wall and a few tables and a bar.
“Prepackaged sandwiches” means it’s not really an “upscale neighborhood pub and deli.” These are basically just mini casinos designed to have very low overhead costs. String enough of them together and you’re looking at some real money here.
* The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability estimates that each machine would generate $70 to $90 a day for the establishments.
So, that could mean, if all nine Sangamon County stores get liquor licenses and are then approved by the Gaming Board, the chain could make up to $4,050 per day, every day gross. And that’s just Sangamon County. The company has applied for liquor licenses all over the place, including the Metro East. If they end up with, say, 30 storefronts, they’re looking at grossing as much as $13,500 every single day.
The state tax rate is 30 percent (with local governments getting a taste of the state’s end) and there are some annual fees for the machines, but that’s still a pretty darned good daily after-tax gross, if you ask me.
* 9:37 am - As you’re probably seeing around the Web, the US Supreme Court has upheld most of the “Obamacare” law. From the SCOTUS Blog…
In Plain English: The Affordable Care Act, including its individual mandate that virtually all Americans buy health insurance, is constitutional.
There were not five votes to uphold it on the ground that Congress could use its power to regulate commerce between the states to require everyone to buy health insurance. However, five Justices agreed that the penalty that someone must pay if he refuses to buy insurance is a kind of tax that Congress can impose using its taxing power. That is all that matters.
Because the mandate survives, the Court did not need to decide what other parts of the statute were constitutional, except for a provision that required states to comply with new eligibility requirements for Medicaid or risk losing their funding. On that question, the Court held that the provision is constitutional as long as states would only lose new funds if they didn’t comply with the new requirements, rather than all of their funding.
* 10:33 am - State react is coming in. Sen. Bill Brady…
State Senator Bill Brady issued the following statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold key provisions of the federal Affordable Health Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare”:
“Unfortunately, the court’s ruling will have tragic consequences that will spread well beyond the issue of mandatory insurance and health care services. It will drive up health care costs and put yet another financial burden on our already struggling small businesses. We in Illinois will be exploring avenues available for implementing this sweeping law and still providing the greatest options and lowest cost for our families and businesses.”
Brady (R., Bloomington) co-chaired a legislative study committee on the formation of a state health insurance exchange as part of Illinois’ implementation of the law.
* 10:39 am - Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle…
“I applaud today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court upholding the Affordable Care Act.
“In accordance with this historic ruling, the Cook County Health and Hospitals System will continue to seek a 1115 Medicaid Waiver from the work Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This waiver, if approved by the federal government, would permit CCHHS to receive federal reimbursement for the costs of treatment provided to the tens of thousands of our patients who currently have no medical coverage but will gain access to Medicaid on January 1, 2014.
“CCHHS is the foundation of the safety-net health network in northeastern Illinois. Today’s decision by the Supreme Court will allow our system to proactively prepare for Affordable Care Act implementation in 2014.”
* Illinois Hospital Association…
The Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) applauds the United States Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. Illinois hospitals have long supported the expansion of coverage for the uninsured and reforms to eliminate exclusions for pre-existing conditions and coverage caps to improve the health and well-being of Illinoisans.
Strong communities start with healthy communities. Because of this legislation, people in Illinois will no longer have a diminished quality of life, be at risk of dying merely because they lack health insurance, or be forced into bankruptcy because of a devastating diagnosis.
While many organizations have been waiting for this ruling to act on health care reform initiatives, Illinois hospitals already have been working to transform health care by being more accountable and transparent. Through the IHA Quality Care Institute, Illinois hospitals are implementing quality improvement programs, improving patient safety and infection control, and reducing unnecessary utilization and readmissions. The goal is to create new and efficient models of health care delivery to improve outcomes and lower costs.
In partnership with Governor Quinn and the General Assembly, IHA will continue to help guide Illinois hospitals through the intricacies of health care reform including the implementation of the Illinois Health Insurance Exchange. With the health care reform law upheld, we urge the General Assembly to pass legislation authorizing and establishing the insurance exchange.
* Congressman Quigley…
“I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold health care reform and protect millions of our most vulnerable Americans. Now it’s time to put labels and political rhetoric aside and remember what this is about. An insurance company can no longer deny coverage to the 17 million children with a preexisting condition. Seniors no longer have to choose between paying the rent or buying their prescriptions. And college students will no longer lose their insurance on graduation day. It is our responsibility to provide access to affordable health care to Americans, and today’s victory should bring peace of mind to families across our country.”
* Campaign for Better Health Care…
“Today’s Supreme Court decision helps to strengthen our nation’s tattered social fabric and provides hope that constitutional law and democracy matters,” commented Jim Duffett, Executive Director of the Campaign for Better Health Care.
Duffett continues, “It is time for the obstructionists in the Republican Party in Congress and in Springfield, and a handful of insurance industry backed Democrats in Springfield to stop their crusade against Obamacare. It is time to put America and Illinois first, act like adults, and do something positive for a change that will help small businesses and hard working Americans by implementing Obamacare. Meanwhile, we are urging Governor Quinn to immediately sign an Executive Order and begin implementing the new insurance Marketplace (exchange) so Illinois’ hard working families and small businesses will continue to enjoy the benefits of access to affordable, quality health care.”
Duffett concludes, “Thank you Obamacare and thank you President Obama for keeping your word and delivering for the American people. The United States can now join the rest of the sane western industrial world that provides affordable, accessible and quality health care to its people.”
* 10th CD Democratic nominee Brad Schneider…
“Today’s decision affirmed that all Americans should and will have access to quality and affordable healthcare. After nearly two decades working with family-owned companies, I know we still need to improve the law, working to lower costs for small businesses and their employees. But we can’t afford to go backwards as some Tea Party Republicans in Washington are threatening to repeal the health care law and give insurance companies free reign to abuse consumers. In Congress, I will work to ensure that small businesses can receive tax credits for covering their employees, that young adults can stay on their parent’s health plan, and that denial of coverage for preexisting conditions is a thing of the past.”
* Congressman Schilling…
“Like many folks throughout Illinois’ 17th Congressional District I’m disappointed by today’s ruling, but the fact is that the President’s health care law will cost trillions of dollars while doing absolutely nothing to address the rising cost of health care,” Schilling said. “The opportunity remains for folks in Washington to come together in support of policies that address the rising cost of health care and put patients and their doctors back in charge of health care decisions, without this tax. I will continue working to roll back the harmful parts of this law so we can get health care reform done right. We can start over and in a transparent fashion work to enact bipartisan, step-by-step reforms that guarantee folks in Illinois and throughout the country are able to access health care that is affordable, convenient, and high quality.”
* 10:55 am - Illinois State Medical Society…
After months of uncertainty the U.S. Supreme Court has today affirmed the Affordable Care Act. It is good news that Illinoisans will have the responsibility and tools for obtaining health insurance coverage. It is also positive to note that important coverage provisions, such as the protection against denial for pre-existing conditions, remain in place. However, much work is needed before we can truly call our health system “reformed.”
Among the significant remaining challenges are:
Medicare Payment Reform – Our Medicare program’s financial health edges closer to a cliff each day Congress fails to enact reform. Currently, physicians face an across-the-board reimbursement cut of about 30% on January 1, 2013. Without Medicare payment reform, our Medicare patients’ access to care is in peril.
Medicaid Reform – We are still reviewing the section of the opinion that deals with Medicaid. The Affordable Care Act builds coverage through significant Medicaid expansion. This is not a sensible policy in states such as Illinois with struggling Medicaid programs. Patients already receiving care through Medicaid face hurdles that those with other forms of insurance do not. Illinois’ current Medicaid reimbursement levels rank behind 40 states when compared to the Medicare fee schedule. The ACA provides for a temporary and limited Medicaid reimbursement increase, but more must be done to fix this program.
Medical Liability Reform – Despite a dire need for reform, Illinois courts have struck down strong medical liability protections here on more than one occasion. Federal reform is needed to help Illinois with our medical workforce recruiting. Currently, half of physicians who train here leave after residency. Two-thirds of those who depart cite our liability climate among their chief reasons for leaving. National physician supply projections suggest we will soon have an inadequate number of doctors to meet the needs of our patients. Illinois needs medical liability reform as a component of a comprehensive policy to address our medical workforce needs.
Until we address these issues, our journey toward a sensible and cost-effective health care system is far from over. ISMS has developed our Health Care Reform Principles to assist Congress in crossing the finish line with health reform. We urge them to roll up their sleeves and finish the job.
* Congressman Dold…
“While this ruling speaks to the constitutionality of the ACA, the real question is whether the 2010 law makes for good public policy,” said Congressman Dold. “The American people missed a golden opportunity with health care reform when Congress rushed it through on a partisan basis. I believe that properly confronting the big issues and challenges in this country requires input from both sides and bipartisan support. There are positive provisions in the ACA that should remain as law, but there is more we can do to increase quality and access to care, while reining in skyrocketing costs to the health care system. As health care reform continues to take shape, I am committed to working in a bipartisan way to find positive solutions to the rising costs of health care.”
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 1,914,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 15 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Illinois has received three federal grants to study and start building its health insurance exchange, but the Legislature has failed to pass a law establishing it. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, has considered an executive order to do that, but now may pursue a federal-state partnership instead.
* 11:20 am - US Sen. Mark Kirk…
“While I respect the Court’s decision, the health care law threatens our economic recovery by raising taxes, imposing new regulations and creating a drag on the economy,” said Senator Kirk. “Congress should repeal the health care law and replace it with common sense, centrist reforms that give Americans the right to buy insurance across state lines and expand coverage without raising taxes, while blocking the government from coming between patients and their doctors.”
* 12th CD Republican candidate Jason Plummer…
“The Supreme Court’s decision today does not change the fact that Obamacare is an unworkable and unaffordable piece of legislation that is not right for the American people,” Plummer said. “The Court’s ruling that the individual mandate is unconstitutional and a tax goes against everything the President and his allies said as they were trying to pass the law, and puts an increased burden on working families.
“This bill must be repealed before it causes any more damage to the economy. Not only does it cut $500 billion from the Medicare program, but it also raises taxes on the middle class in the midst of a recession,” Plummer added. “Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office have even shown that the legislation could reduce employment by 800,000 workers.
“The American people need true healthcare reform, not government-run healthcare. Doctors and families need to be in charge of making healthcare decisions, not unelected bureaucrats. We need to continue the fight to repeal this law and then work together to pass true healthcare reform in a transparent manner than helps improve individuals’ coverage and gets costs under control for all Americans.” [Emphasis added.]
* 11:26 am - The NCSL has a great summary of the decision. Click here to see it.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling examined the Constitutionality of the health care law, but the Justices could not take into account the practicality or effectiveness of a government takeover of our health care system and one-sixth of our economy—on that score, the verdict was in long ago.
“The American people are disappointed in this law and fearful of its full effects because so far, the rhetoric does not match up to the reality. Remember when the president said, ‘If you like what you have, you can keep it?’ Some estimates say up to 30 percent of employers will definitely drop their employee health coverage, forcing many into state exchanges.
“Remember when we were promised the law would lower costs? Family premiums have already increased by 9 percent, with costs predicted to rise for years to come. And what of the promise that the law would bend the cost curve down? Recent studies show that government spending is expected to explode to half of all health care spending in the United States. One of the few promises that came true was when then Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, ‘We have to pass the law to find out what’s in it.’
“President Obama’s takeover not only made our health care system more complex and expensive, but stalled our already tepid economic recovery by creating tremendous uncertainty for job creators and small businesses.
“The House of Representatives is as committed as ever to full repeal of the disastrous health care law, and replacing it with common-sense, patient-centered solutions that families can afford. The American people deserve better than what President Obama’s health care law provides. We can do better and we will do better.”
John Tillman, executive director of the Illinois Policy Institute, a right-leaning think tank, disagreed, saying the Affordable Care Act will strain the health-care system as the federal government struggles to come up with the money to pay for it. Tillman said the law as is will force “children with throat cancer or other serious conditions to compete with even more people for fewer and fewer doctors.” […]
“The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold ObamaCare – and specifically the individual mandate – was a severe blow to restoring Constitutional limits on federal power,” Tillman said. “Congress must repeal all of ObamaCare and replace it with reforms that put patients first.”
Even if the law survives additional attacks, Thursday’s ruling was only the start.
“It is impossible to enact the act as written,” Robert Slayton, president of the Illinois State Association of Health Underwriters, which lobbies on behalf of health insurers, said. Congress “will spend the next 10 years modifying the act to make it work the way it needs to work.”
* Excerpted from an SEIU Healthcare release…
Now that the court – in an opinion authored by its conservative Chief Justice – has given its seal of approval to this law, the time has come for Republicans to put the economic interests of working families ahead of the political interest of their party. The time has come for a bipartisan commitment in Washington to fully implement the Affordable Care Act, so we can help cure the ailing U.S. economy.
We call on Illinois’ Republican Congressional delegation to join in that commitment. Any energy spent on a futile and time-consuming effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act will only divert attention away from the issue foremost on the minds of Illinois residents: our state’s economic recovery.
And the Affordable Care Act will be instrumental in aiding the state’s economy by making health care more affordable and accessible. For instance, in Illinois alone, the law as already generated the following rewards:
Ø More than 3.6 million residents became entitled to preventative medical services, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, without having to pay deductibles or co-pays.
Ø More than 100,000 uninsured young adults under the age of 26 became eligible for coverage under the parents’ health insurance.
Ø More than 150,000 seniors with Medicare received a $250 rebate to cover the cost of their prescription drugs once they hit the so-called donut hole.
* 11:56 am - Congressman Joe Walsh…
“Today, I, along with most Americans, am disappointed with the Supreme Court decision. It is now clear that the only way to repeal this law is legislatively,” Walsh said. “Today’s decision only affirms what we have known all along - the President’s health care plan is a massive tax increase. The President insisted that his health care plan would not cost the American people anything, but that is just untrue. To be clear, this is not a tax on wealthy Americans who already have insurance. This tax hits the 44 million uninsured Americans, who are already struggling and cannot afford to pay more hard-earned income in taxes.
“The American people deserve a choice in their health care plans, not government mandates. The President’s health care plan is an unworkable mega-bill that will destroy small businesses, kill jobs, stunt economic growth, and bankrupt the nation.
“My opponent, Tammy Duckworth, a true tax-and-spend liberal, supports this new tax on the Middle Class. In fact, not only does Tammy support the President’s current tax and spend health care plan, but she is on record supporting a single-payer socialized system. I, however, will make it my top priority to repeal this massive tax increase and the President’s entire health care plan.
“As a new member of Congress, I turned down my gold-plated Congressional health care plan. Instead, I chose to buy my insurance on the open market, and I know firsthand how difficult it is to find affordable, quality health insurance. The Supreme Court’s decision has finally ended the debate in Washington. The American people will decide where we get from here.”
* 12:36 pm - Comptroller Topinka…
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka warned lawmakers on Thursday that the Supreme Court’s ruling on the federal Affordable Care Act could lead to hundreds of thousands of new residents enrolling for Medicaid coverage, and cost the state up to $2.4 billion over the next six years.
The forewarning from the state Fiscal Officer comes after the Court ruled that the federal government can tax residents that do not have health insurance. Given the decision, uninsured residents that qualify for Medicaid are expected to increasingly enroll in the program, and cost the state up to $2.4 billion over six years in the process.
“There is no doubt that this will cost the state, the only question is how much?” Topinka said. “We have thousands of residents around the state that are eligible for Medicaid but have never enrolled for one reason or another. We expect they will increasingly come forward, and I urge lawmakers to start saving now for those added costs.”
Medicaid currently accounts for more than 20 percent of the state budget and continues to grow. Underfunded, the program will end the fiscal year June 30 with an estimated $2 billion in unpaid bills. In an attempt to address those realities, members of the General Assembly this Spring voted to limit services and cut an estimated $2 billion from the program.
“Illinois is a textbook example of what can happen if financial challenges are not proactively addressed,” Topinka said. “The state needs to learn from experience, and take steps today to address the increased Medicaid costs that will occur in coming months and years.”
* 2:23 pm - I’m just getting back from a late lunch, but this came in around 1:30. Democratic congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth…
“As someone who survived a serious health crisis I understand how important it is to have affordable and quality healthcare. The ruling today is a victory for children with preexisting conditions who can’t be denied coverage, women who can’t be charged a higher premium, seniors who won’t suddenly find themselves without coverage, and young adults who will be covered under their parents until they are 26. However, I’m still concerned that ACA places an unfair burden on employers, especially our small businesses. We will need to evaluate these provisions as we move forward. I look forward to getting to Washington, rolling up my sleeves and getting to work.”
* Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky…
“Today is a historic day when the Supreme Court declared that the Affordable Care Act and the health security it brings is the law of the land. With President Obama’s leadership, Congress enacted the most significant law in half a century. The law ends insurance industry abuses in the health system, improves Medicare and Medicaid for seniors and the disabled, and covers millions of uninsured Americans. Today, Republicans need to finally put to rest the relentless, partisan attacks against a landmark law that is already working to provide affordable, high-quality care.
Over 86 million Americans have already received one or more free preventive services because of Obamacare, while 6.6 million young adults up to age 26 have taken advantage of the law to obtain health insurance through their parents’ plan. This positive decision by the nation’s highest court in the land should resolve any doubts that Congress can and should act to ensure that Americans get the health care they need at a price they can afford. It will allow us to move forward and maintain our commitment to real health care security.
Today’s Supreme Court decision is a victory for Illinoisans like 11-year old Olivia, who suffered a stroke at birth and no longer endures private insurance company abuses like pre-existing condition exclusions. Thanks to Obamacare, up to 17 million children nationwide with pre-existing conditions are no longer denied coverage by insurers and being a woman is no longer a pre-existing condition. Today is a victory for Illinois seniors like Ann, who is saving about $1200 this year because Obamacare is lowering her drug costs and closing the Medicare donut hole. Over 5 million American seniors in the ‘donut hole’ have saved $3.7 billion on their prescription drugs, including 152,170 Illinois seniors.
When Obamacare is fully implemented, exclusions for pre-existing conditions like cancer, heart disease, and AIDS will be a thing of the past. No longer will families be bankrupt because someone gets sick. People with mental illness will get the care they need.
Today is a day for celebration. Tomorrow we will get back to work ensuring that every American can take advantage of the benefits of Obamacare and have access to affordable, comprehensive and high quality health care. ”
* State Rep. ason Barickman (R-Champaign)…
“I stand with my colleagues at the Congressional level and here in Illinois in support of repealing Obamacare. The American people have in large part rejected the components of Obamacare and have repeatedly stated that they do not want their personal healthcare decisions to be dictated by Washington politicians. We need responsible health care reform that allows families to choose their own physician and have access to the care they need.
Obamacare has only acted to make our economic problems worse. The President’s health care initiative imposed burdensome regulations on our jobs providers, making it more difficult for small businesses to hire workers. We continue to see health care costs rise at unaffordable levels for Illinois families under Obamacare. This law will drastically limit our ability to manage state finances and implement the necessary cost controls to our health care programs that are needed to erase our multi-billion dollar budget deficit.
Today’s decision is another reminder that the best way to insure a limited and fiscally responsible government is at the ballot box this November.”
* ILGOP…
When Barack Obama ran for President, he promised no tax increases on the middle class. But the only way he could convince the Supreme Court to approve ObamaCare was to call it a new “tax.” Promise made – Promise Broken.
This comes as no surprise since Barack Obama spent his formative political years in Springfield being trained by Illinois Democrats like Mike Madigan, who through years of mismanagement, have led Illinois to having the worst budget deficit, credit rating, pension debt and business climate in the nation – and last year a 67% Tax Hike in the middle of the night on the last day of a lame duck session of the state legislature after many of his party members promised to oppose any such tax hike. Promise Made – Promise Broken.
It’s now up to us, the voters, to stop these reckless tax hikes and spending schemes that will lead to the implosion of our health care system, an explosion of our national and state debt and economic uncertainty for millions of job creators.
Here in Illinois, we are leading the fight by opening victory centers throughout the state to help elect more anti-tax Republicans to Washington and Springfield to keep Nancy Pelosi from becoming Speaker again and to end the decades-long rule of Mike Madigan, who is more interested in raising taxes and lining his pockets from his campaign contributors and law firm clients than he is in turning around our economy through fiscally conservative, pro-economic growth policies.
Our Victory Centers in 2010 led the nation in calls made and doors knocked on to reverse the Democratic tide right in Barack Obama’s own home state and we can continue the momentum in 2012 – with your help.
Please go to ILGOPDonate.com to make a quick, secure online donation to help stop the ObamaCare/Madigan Tax Hikes. For a long-term, sustaining commitment, you can become a member at ILGOPMember.com
Please give whatever you can afford – every donation helps our cause!
Thank you!
* House GOP Leader Tom Cross…
“We have made tremendous efforts this year in Illinois to reduce our state run healthcare program, because we could no longer afford to provide the services that were once promised. Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms a federal law that has the potential to pile billions of dollars of additional expenses into our state budget that we cannot afford. We are encouraging Congress to repeal Obamacare at the federal level as soon as possible, and provide Illinois the ability to administer an efficient Medicaid program.”
* Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno…
“While the U.S. Supreme Court has settled the legal argument, the debate over whether it is good policy or not will continue for months. We will be very carefully reviewing the decision for opportunities to reduce any negative impact of the Affordable Care Act and its tax on Illinois citizens. The Senate Republican Caucus has worked to cut costs in the state’s Medicaid program – targeting the waste, fraud and abuse that costs taxpayers hundreds of millions each year.”
* Gov. Pat Quinn…
“Today is a great day for Illinois and a great day for our country. This decision means that millions of working families across Illinois will continue to receive better healthcare.
“These historic reforms that are strengthening our healthcare system will continue to benefit young people, those with pre-existing conditions and care providers.
“We took a big step forward today as a nation and state, and I will continue to work with President Obama to help working families get the healthcare coverage they need.”
Thursday, Jun 28, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
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The state agency created to prevent neglect and abuse of disabled adults who live at home rejects hundreds of hotline calls for help each year and doesn’t investigate when people die after severe mistreatment. […]
But when the subject of a hotline call is hospitalized and dies soon after, the OIG closes the case without investigating the circumstances surrounding the death because of the agency’s interpretation of state law. According to OIG documents, the agency is prohibited from investigating the moment a death occurs.
The OIG considers such an investigation a “service,” and the dead are “ineligible for services” under the agency’s interpretation of Rule 51 — a legislative directive that governs the Adults with Disabilities Abuse Project, the OIG documents state.
What the Office of Inspector General is saying is just bizarre. If the person surves the alleged abuse, then there will be a full investigation. But if the patient dies, possibly of extreme neglect, then there will be no investigation because the dead person is “ineligible for services.”
That sounds like something right out of Kafka.
What the heck is going on over at the Department of Human Services?
Nurses, doctors, social workers or hospital staff called the state abuse hotline in nearly half of the 53 deaths examined by the News-Democrat. But even demands from medical professionals asking why a disabled adult ended up in their emergency room, often in horrible condition, did not prompt the OIG to investigate.
Those deaths included Barbara Coleman, a 56-year-old Pittsfield woman dying from kidney failure who was taken to a Springfield emergency room on Nov. 18, 2009, with a large abscess on her neck filled with maggots. She died two days later.
“Based on the facts here, we conclude the following: (Coleman) passed away at the hospital and the assessment could not be completed. Therefore, we stopped this assessment process without a finding,” the OIG case file concluded.
Bonnie Matyasik, 51, who was suffering from end-stage cirrhosis, arrived at an emergency room Jan. 26, 2009, near Chicago with dried feces in her hair and under her fingernails. Matyasik was bruised and scraped along one entire side of her body from being dragged across a concrete floor by her mentally impaired caregiver. She died two days later.
On May 6, 2011, authorities responding to a 911 call found Kevin Kage, the 1986 Illinois muscular dystrophy poster child, lying in a bed soiled with feces and urine, unable to move and covered with bedsores that had eaten through flesh to the bone. The 33-year-old Kage died four days later in the intensive care unit of a Wisconsin hospital.
The law in part reads: “This Act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes, which are to prevent, reduce and eliminate abuse, neglect and exploitation of adults with disabilities.”
“It breaks your heart to see anybody subjected to this kind of abuse and the state not taking appropriate action,” said former state Rep. Lee Daniels, R-Elmhurst, who helped guide passage of the bill. “To allow this to continue is criminal inaction.”
Thomas F. Coleman, the attorney for the Disability and Abuse Project in Los Angeles, a private coalition of medical professionals and volunteers dedicated to assisting the disabled, reviewed the 2000 Illinois statute and Rule 51.
“These laws do not state that an investigation need not be done if the victim is not receiving services. So the ‘no services because they are dead’ excuse is just that — a shallow and meaningless excuse for closing a case. There is no statutory authorization to close an investigation or refuse to initiate one because the victim is dead,” he said. “Whoever came up with that rule should be exposed.”
