Pay raise case in a legal dodgeball
Tuesday, Jul 17, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Cook County Judge Richard Billik Jr. ruled last month that an arbitrator that had ruled in favor of AFSCME over Gov. Pat Quinn’s refusal to grant pay raises needed to consider whether the $75 million needed to fund the raises wasn’t appropriated by the General Assembly. According to AFSCME, the arbitrator declined and has kicked the case back to the judge…
Arbitrator Ed Benn has declined a Cook County judge’s remand of the case regarding Gov. Quinn’s refusal to pay negotiated wage increases, stating that the issues involved are beyond the purview of an arbitrator.
In late June, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Richard Billik referred the case regarding Quinn’s refusal to pay negotiated wage increases to Arbitrator Ed Benn for fact-finding. The judge said that he wanted the Quinn Administration to have the opportunity to establish its public policy defense and directed the arbitrator to make a determination regarding the Administration’s claim that there are “insufficient appropriated funds” to allow payment of the wage increases.
On Monday, July 16 Arbitrator Benn issued a decision in which he declined to accept the case. Benn wrote that unanswered questions in the case are matters of law that must be considered by the court. “[A]rbitrators interpret collective bargaining agreements and courts interpret statutes, the Constitution and public policy,” he wrote.
Consequently, Benn stated, he is returning the case to Judge Billik.
The arbitrator also underscored the gravity of the state’s claim that it is not bound by a contract should the legislature fail to appropriate what the executive branch deems are sufficient funds. “[T]his dispute has other ramifications of immense importance beyond this case and impacts the collective bargaining process in this State,” Benn wrote.
Benn had previously determined that Quinn’s pay freeze was a clear violation of the AFSCME collective bargaining agreement and ordered the governor to pay the wage increases. The case has been tied up in court for over a year after the governor refused to comply and instead filed suit to vacate Benn’s award.
In his decision, Benn emphasized the significant previous sacrifices made by state employees to help balance the budget, and Governor Quinn’s failure to keep his end of the agreement. “The concessions granted by the Union to the State … in the CSAs [Cost Savings Agreements] amounted to approximately $400,000,000. … [A]fter accepting the concessions … the State agreed to pay a 2% wage increase on July 1, 2011 … and then failed to make that 2% payment to all employees. That is a contract violation as I found.”
* AFSCME’s statement…
Governor Quinn has broken his word to the men and women who provide vital public services, he is directly violating a collective bargaining agreement, and now it is clear that he has provoked a legal challenge to the very bedrock of the collective bargaining rights of workers in Illinois. It is shameful that a governor who pays lip service to the best interests of working people has put in motion this litigious assault on the basic tenets of good labor relations. We shouldn’t have to win a court battle to make the governor respect workers, honor their contract and comply with the law, but we will do whatever it takes to uphold our collective bargaining agreement and protect workers’ rights.
Some background here and here.
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* From the US Attorney’s office…
Seven defendants arrested today will begin appearing at approximately 3:30 p.m. today – before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole in Courtroom #1838 in the Dirksen Federal Courthouse – with new federal public corruption charges expected to be unsealed at that time. 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.
Do not speculate in comments We’ll all know soon enough. Don’t get yourself banned for life. Thanks.
*** UPDATE 3:51 pm *** From Ben Bradley’s Twitter feed…
The 7 charged are all fairly low level government employees. At least one is a Cook Co Sheriff.
*** UPDATE 4:00 pm *** One of those charged is Dean Nichols, who was once former Sen. Rickey Hendon’s campaign treasurer. From the US Attorney…
SEVEN DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH BRIBERY CONSPIRACY TO OBTAIN
FICTITIOUS FEDERAL GRANTS AS PART OF FBI UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION
CHICAGO — Federal corruption charges were unsealed today against seven defendants who were arrested and charged with bribery conspiracy for allegedly paying kickbacks to a purported federal agency official, who did not actually exist, in return for awarding purported $25,000 cash grants from the agency. The charges stem from an FBI undercover investigation of the defendants, who include a campaign treasurer for a former Illinois state senator and two Cook County Sheriff’s Department corrections officers. The defendants allegedly believed that they were able to obtain multiple $25,000 grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in exchange for returning $5,000 to the fictitious HHS official and others involved in the scheme.
In fact, there was no corrupt HHS official and no federal agency grants were involved. Instead, those elements were involved only as part of the scenario of the undercover investigation. Acting at the direction of law enforcement, a Cooperating Witness (CW) informed defendant Dean Nichols that the CW had a friend affiliated with HHS who was willing to provide $25,000 agency grants in exchange for kickbacks. After being offered this opportunity, Nichols allegedly presented CW with several other individuals, including co-defendants Reggi Hopkins, Elliott Kozel, and Anthony Johnson, who were allegedly willing to submit applications to obtain these grants in return for $5,000 kickbacks, which would be divided into $1,250 payments to four individuals: the fictitious HHS official approving the grants; an undercover FBI agent who was purportedly associated with the HHS official; the CW; and Nichols, according to the criminal complaint unsealed today.
Similarly, Kozel, a Cook County corrections officer, allegedly presented several other co-defendants, including his supervisor, Mary Smith, along with Bryant Jessup, and Regina Hollie, who were allegedly also willing to submit applications to obtain these grants in return for $5,000, which would be divided into $1,250 payments to the fictitious HHS official, the undercover agent, the CW and Kozel, the charges allege.
Nichols, 62, of Oak Park, was charged with three counts of bribery conspiracy, and Kozel, 51, Chicago, was charged with four counts. Hopkins, 43, of Chicago; Johnson, 59, of Chicago; Smith, 54, of South Holland; Hollie, 48, of Chicago; and Jessup, 51, of Chicago, were each charged with one count of bribery conspiracy.
All seven defendants were arrested today and were scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole in Federal Court in Chicago.
The arrests and charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
As background for the investigation, the complaint affidavit states that Nichols was a treasurer of the campaign committee for a former Illinois state senator. While assisting the state senator’s campaign committee, Nichols allegedly helped steer State of Illinois grants to certain organizations, including a $50,000 grant to an organization operated by Nichols’ daughter from 2005 to 2006, and a $190,000 grant in 2007 to an organization operated by Hopkins with the understanding that a portion of the proceeds would go to Nichols and the state senator’s nephew.
The affidavit describes the CW as a Chicago police officer who began cooperating with the government in July 2008 during an investigation of public corruption and gun-trafficking in the Chicago area. The CW is not yet facing any criminal charges but will likely be charged in the future with attempted extortion and firearms-related offenses, the affidavit states. According to the CW, he has known Nichols for more than 20 years and they met when Nichols was an accountant for an auto repair business owned by the CW’s family. In the early 1990s, the CW managed a bar owned by Nichols. The CW and Nichols attempted to bribe a former Chicago alderman by offering $10,000 in exchange for the CW receiving a promotion within the Chicago Police Department, but, according to the CW and the former alderman, who confirmed the offer, neither the payment nor the promotion ever occurred, the affidavit states.
In July 2011, the CW recorded a conversation with Nichols in which the CW explained that the CW had “run into a friend” who was working for HHS and had authority to hand-out multiple $25,000 grants “like candy” in exchange for kickbacks. In discussing the opportunity, Nichols told the CW that they had to “get people that we trust,” the complaint states.
About a week later, the CW and Nichols met for lunch with the undercover agent, who was posing as someone working for a private agency that contracted with HHS to issue grants and who had the ability get $25,000 grants approved by bribing the fictitious HHS official. The three then allegedly discussed the volume of grants they could obtain and how the grants would be broken into installment payments, with a $5,000 kickback being paid after the grant recipient received the first $10,000 installment.
In August and September 2011, Nichols allegedly provided the CW and the undercover agent with grant applications for “Edutainment Services, Inc.,” listing Hopkins as president, and “Children’s Athletic Program,” listing Kozel as president. In a September 2011 recorded conversation, the CW told Nichols that Hopkins would be receiving the first grant and Kozel would receive the second grant. Nichols allegedly asked if the undercover agent could hand-deliver the checks instead of mailing them, and further conversation disclosed that Nichols was allegedly concerned about a federal investigation and avoiding federal mail fraud charges.
In a recorded meeting later in September 2011, Nichols allegedly provided the CW with 31 completed grant applications and said that he thought he and the CW could have as many as 40 grantees in total. Nichols allegedly calculated that he and the CW personally would obtain $100,000 from 40 grantees, and added that, together, they could buy “a big summer home” in Michigan if the grants worked out, the charges allege.
The complaint describes in detail the purported installment payments that were made to the grantees recruited by Nichols and Kozel and the alleged kickbacks that the defendants then paid from the proceeds. In November 2011, the CW audio and video recorded a meeting with Kozel in which the CW provided Kozel with a purported $10,000 grant payment, and Kozel said that he planned to take children who were purportedly going to attend his program “out for chicken wings, take them to Chucky Cheese“ and would also give them a tour of the Cook County Jail and talk about drugs, the affidavit states. In addition to recruiting Smith, his supervisor, as a potential grantee, Kozel said another potential grantee was his girlfriend and he had “made up” an organization for her, according to the complaint.
Nichols allegedly provided the CW with a grant application for Johnson’s organization, Children At Risk. State records show that Children At Risk received a total of $65,000 in Illinois state grants from 2006 through 2008. The affidavit cites a July 2008 published media report indicating that frequently no one could be found at an address for Children At Risk and quoted Johnson as saying the program was “in flux.” Kozel allegedly provided the CW with a grant application for Jessup’s organization, the J.A.M.A. Center NFP, which also received approximately $65,000 in Illinois state grants from 2006 to 2008.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Fox, Margaret J. Schneider, and Michael T. Donovan.
Each count of conspiracy to commit bribery carries a maximum penalty 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 a complaint contains only charges and is 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. [Emphasis added.]
*** UPDATE 4 *** Steve Rhodes published this passage from Hendon’s book “Backstabbers“…
It turns out [Dean] Nichols and [Patricia] Horton were candidates Hendon ran for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board. Their campaigns are Hendon’s prime examples in this book.
The way Hendon portrays it, the whole state was breathlessly watching.
Apparently delusional thinking isn’t the sole province of the governor’s office.
The funny thing is that - 40 pages later - after Hendon describes the painstaking process of getting his candidates on the ballot and surviving petition challenges, he decides later that “I now needed Dean Nichols to GET OFF THE BALLOT!!”
Why?
“It was clear to me from the beginning that we could come to this point. Both of my candidates filed on the first day and were in the lottery. Nichols pulled the third top ballot position and Patricia Horton pulled the fourth spot. There are twelve candidates running.
“I was trying to cut some deals and get other elected officials to carry my candidates but most of them would only commit to one of them.
“Some people liked Nichols while others preferred Horton. There was talk about me being greedy by trying to get two at one time. This can be disastrous to an elected official or a mover and shaker. Greed is not well received and ONE IS BETTER THAN NONE. So I met with Dean Nichols and explained our situation. If Dean agreed to step down Pat Horton would move up to being third on the ballot and this would give her a much better chance to get elected.”
Oy.
But that’s not all.
“I caught the opposition’s people checking out my sign sheets at the Board of Elections. They also requested my time sheets from my job at the Board of Review . . .”
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Drought politics
Tuesday, Jul 17, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Union members and southern Illinois legislators weren’t the only people attempting to garner a little media attention yesterday when Gov. Pat Quinn held a press conference about drought disaster relief. A northern Illinois legislator also tried to get in on the act…
State Rep. Jack Franks is calling on Gov. Pat Quinn to add McHenry County to the list of communities declared drought disasters.
More than 1,000 communities in 26 states have been declared natural-disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including some southern Illinois communities. The disaster declaration makes low-interest loans available to farmers to cover crop losses and provides other assistance for those struggling in adverse growing conditions. […]
“While southern Illinois farmers are facing the prospect of complete crop losses due to drought conditions, McHenry County farmers are also dealing with extremely dry conditions with no end in sight,” Franks said in a news release.
* From the latest update by the Illinois Water Survey…
As you can see, northern Illinois is in a drought, but it’s nowhere near as severe as central and southern Illinois.
* And here’s the trigger…
counties have demonstrated crop reduction losses of 30 percent or more, which is the USDA threshold for triggering disaster relief
* Quinn added several more counties to the disaster list yesterday…
* A photo from yesterday. Not good at all…
* But there is no doubt that this is a statewide problem…
Only two percent of the state’s topsoil moisture is adequate right now, and only four percent of the subsoil moisture is in that category.
Corn development continues to be stunted by hot and dry conditions. Many fields are turning yellow, which typically does not happen until mid-August. Nearly all of the corn is silking at 93 percent, compared to 52 percent at this time last year, which was about average. Corn in the dough stage is well ahead of the six percent average pace at 20 percent. Only 11 percent of the Illinois corn crop is rated good or excellent this week, down eight percentage points from last week.
The state is seeing 70 percent of its soybean crop blooming, compared to 37 percent last year and the five-year average of 42 percent. Fifteen percent of the soybean crop is setting pods. Just 17 percent of soybeans are rated good or excellent, down three percent from last week.
* And a national problem…
The drought gripping the United States is the widest since 1956, according to new data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Fifty-five per cent of the continental U.S. was in a moderate to extreme drought by the end of June, NOAA’s National Climactic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina, said in its monthly State of the Climate drought report. That’s the largest percentage since December 1956, when 58 per cent of America was covered by drought.
This summer, 80 per cent of the U.S. is abnormally dry, and the report said the drought expanded in the West, Great Plains and Midwest last month with the 14th warmest and 10th driest June on record.
Franks may well get his wish soon enough.
* Related…
* Illinois drought relief efforts expanded
* State law allows harvesting hay on rights-of-way
* Drought could have lasting impact on livestock production
* Drought likely to hit you hard in the pocketbook
* Mississippi River runs low as drought grips St. Louis region: At Ceres Barge Line, based in East St. Louis, 70 percent of the 200-barge fleet is tied up at the dock. Owner Mark Fletcher blames the drought, which also continues to ravage the corn crop and threaten the soybean crop. Prices are going up, and export demand is dipping.
* Stephenson County added to drought relief request list
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* A reader sent in this report from Gov. Pat Quinn’s southern Illinois press conference yesterday where he focused on the massive drought…
I just wanted to give you some information on Quinn’s visit to Waltonville. I went there with the union, I retired from [redacted]. Our plan was to give him a warm southern Illinois welcome. We wanted to bring attention to Quinn’s closing of the facilities, especially the danger of closing Tamms. He has no idea the danger this will bring to staff. I did 17 years at Menard and 14 at Pinckneyville I’ve seen what can happen. If God forbid a staff member would get killed because he closes Tamm’s, the blood will be on Quinn’s hands.
Anyway here is what he did at Waltonville today. We were waiting for him at the farm he was suppose to visit. Also the farmers, press and I would guess dignitaries were there waiting also. We were standing out by the road and then about 1:30 all hell breaks loose. All the news crews take off and a bunch of other people went running to there cars and took off.
I guess Quinn got scared because we were there. When I was standing out by the road earlier I notice a couple U plate state cars and a black Crown Vic with tinted windows cruise by a couple times just a short time before everybody took off. I don’t know if they were scoping it out before Quinn got there. We all got to our cars and tried to find out were they went. It took us a while to get to the car, we couldn’t park too close. I figured we could find him, Waltonville isn’t too big. But we never found them, they could have went down any farm road. We kind looked like the Keystone Cops running around.
* Illinois Statehouse News has more…
Quinn did not stop to speak with the protesters, which included both prison and developmental center employees, as well as families who have relatives who use the facilities slated for closure, according to Ed Caumiant, regional director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31.
A police officer turned away the protesters when they showed up at the entrance to a dirt lane that led to the site of the news conference.
“I think it’s, frankly, kind of cowardly to play hide and go seek with your event just to avoid people who have something to say,” Caumiant said.
Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said rumors the location for the news conference was changed to dodge the protesters were incorrect.
“The farm today was selected because the owner volunteered it to allow us to inspect the damage and make the relief announcement,” she said. […]
Quinn, a Democrat, said the closures will go forward, noting that some of the facilities are only half full.
“We are not building prisons or any center for the sole purpose of employment. We have to understand the common good comes first,” Quinn said.
“In our state, the Legislature funded those particular institutions, but they underfunded our Department of Children and Family Services, and we cannot have that. We cannot have abused children in dire straits.
“I have to make decisions, many times very difficult, but I make those decisions on behalf of the common good, and I stick to them.”
* Some Republican legislators weren’t happy with the way the thing went down…
State Sen. John O. Jones, R-Mount Vernon, in a statement blasted Quinn’s handling of the news conference.
“Neither Gov. Quinn nor his staff had the courtesy to reach out to local legislators to announce his presence; we read about his appearance on Saturday thanks to a reporter’s column,” Jones said. “Gov. Quinn’s flippant attitude about the facility closures is even worse than the way that his staff handled (Monday’s) press conference.
“He talks a good game about working with every legislator on fixing our state’s fiscal issues, but what we have here is nothing more than empty rhetoric. This was a fiasco and absolutely shameful.”
State Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, also said he was unaware the news conference would be at different location.
Luechtefeld said he and state Rep. John Cavaletto, R-Salem, tried to attend the news conference, but had to park near the back of the line and then were told the governor may not have been there.
“It sure was strange,” Luechtefeld said. “It just was.”
* Rep. Jason Barickman is frustrated that he can’t get a response…
Quinn’s office also cites what it calls $11.6 million in “critical maintenance needs” at Dwight, including roofing repairs, water treatment facility upgrades, building rehabs and shower repairs. Barickman said the village of Dwight has offered the state assistance on its water and sewer issues at the prison, with little or no response.
* Quinn was asked why he didn’t talk with the protesters…
Governor Pat Quinn is standing firm on his decision to close several large developmental and mental health facilities in the state, including Murray Center in Centralia. He was questioned by reporters about the closures and why he has not talked to the impacted state workers while in Waltonville Monday afternoon to discuss the drought.
“Basically our state is going to have less institutions when it comes to those with mental illness and those with developmental disabilities”, Quinn said. “We’re going in a different direction; we believe in independent living. The opportunity for everyone, no matter what their situation to have an independent life, and that’s a decision that I made, and I’m going to stick to it”, said Quinn.
In regards to closing Tamms Prison and other correctional facilities, Quinn says employees with the Department of Corrections will have the opportunity to work within the department for positions they can apply for, and says there will be substitute jobs for those employees.
* The governor also talked about the Dwight prison on a Downstate radio station today…
In an interview on WJBC, the Chicago Democrat said the state must trim spending anywhere it can, and he’s been given assurances from the Illinois Department of Corrections Director Tony Godinez that closing two under-utilized facilities, the all-female prison in Dwight and supermax prison in Tamms, would be an effective way to streamline operations.
“We’ve got to make sure in our budget we have facilities that need to be closed in order to save money to make sure we have a balanced budget. It’s the only way to go,” Quinn said. […]
Quinn didn’t give specifics on how Logan Correctional Center in Logan County would be retrofitted to house the inmates from Dwight. He only said the state would be “looking at what it’s options are.”
As for concerns that Pontiac Correctional Center would become dangerous to other inmates and staff by taking in the most violent offenders from Tamms, Quinn said, “We have to incarcerate the worst of the worst,” but added that sentencing reforms lawmakers have already approved would alleviate overcrowding.
* However, one facility may get a reprieve…
Governor Quinn did say he would take a look at closing the Centralia Animal Disease Lab once more because of the current drought conditions, and what the lab can do to help. “That’s something that given the drought that we may want to revisit with respect to our lab in Centralia. I think sometimes when circumstances happen, you have to deal with those on an immediate basis”, said Quinn. The lab does tests for water, nitrate, corn, as well as other vital testing that concerns agriculture and public health. The lab is scheduled to close August 31st.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Jul 17, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will host the nation’s lieutenant governors in Chicago this week as the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) convenes its 50th annual conference in Illinois.
Expected to generate over $600,000 in hotel, transportation, restaurant and tourism revenue, 30 lieutenant governors and their staffs will meet at the Drake Hotel on Wednesday through Friday to identify policies that can improve college completion rates, link veterans to employment, increase access to locally grown food and combat domestic violence, among other issues.
Simon, the NLGA’s Midwest Region Chair, and Governor Pat Quinn will conduct the conference’s opening ceremonies Wednesday morning.
“I value this opportunity to showcase Chicago and share innovative strategies to grow our state and nation,” Lt. Governor Simon said.
* The Question: What should be the National Lieutenant Governors Association’s Chicago convention slogan this year?
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The shameful details
Monday, Jul 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Belleville News-Democrat is drilling down into the details of those whose deaths were not investigated because the Department of Human Services had ruled that they were no longer eligible for services. Beware: This is sickening stuff…
Rajubhai Desai was sick.
His kidneys had stopped working because of severe diabetes. He spent hours each week hooked up to a machine that filtered toxins from his blood.
But it was a foot bath that killed him.
On March 12, 2007, the 59-year-old Desai went to South Suburban Hospital near Chicago because he was bleeding at a stent in his arm used to connect him to a dialysis machine. He returned home about 2 p.m.
His regular home health-care worker showed up a couple hours later. The worker gave Desai a sponge bath, then put his patient’s feet into a tub of water to clean off dried blood that had dripped from the stent, according to a police investigation report.
Desai’s wife, Deuyaniben, went to make tea. When she returned she found her husband’s feet were bleeding and the skin was peeling away.
Desai had slumped into a chair, unconscious.
As a severe diabetic, he had lost the ability in his feet to discern hot or cold and had left his feet in what a medical examiner would eventually rule was scalding hot water.
The caregiver wrapped Desai’s feet in a towel, put him on the bed and took the medical treatment sheet — normally left at the house — with him.
He told Desai’s wife that her husband would be OK and if he’s wasn’t to call 911.
“He just left,” said Sid Desai, the couple’s son. “He didn’t even call his supervisor.”
Mr. Desai died not long after and there was no state investigation…
The [Office of the Inspector General for the Illinois Department of Human Services] ruled that because Desai died soon after the alleged neglect, he was “ineligible for services.”
That meant it did not investigate whether he died because of neglect or abuse.
* Another one…
Margie Wade lay face down, her right arm crooked under her cheek. She was too weak to lift her head.
Wade wore only a shirt. Her legs were straight out and pressed together. Her eyes were open, glazed and unblinking. She could no longer feel the roaches that crawled over her in the bedroom of her stifling home.
After at least a year without medical care, and suffering from months of neglect, the 59-year-old woman’s body was so rigid it appeared to a 911 medical response team that rigor mortis had set in, according to a police report.
Medics Lillian McKinney, Teresa Reeves and Theresa Chambers thought Wade surely must be dead. The women fought not to vomit from the stench of human feces that had caused two first responders to flee the room — a firefighter who bent over and gagged on the front lawn and a cop who ran out the back door shouting, “It would be better if she was dead.”
McKinney brushed at roaches, sending them scurrying. Some hid in Wade’s hair. The medic prodded Wade’s cool skin with a pinlike device, a standard method to determine whether a person can react to pain. There was no reaction. She couldn’t find a pulse.
Chambers picked up the folding cot she brought to carry Wade and, stepping over garbage and trash, started to make her way back to the ambulance to get a body bag. She stopped when Reeves shouted, “Don’t leave with the cot. She’s breathing!”
‘Stinks in there’
It was May 27, 2003. Margie’s husband, Leonard D. Wade, called 911 because he thought his wife was dying.
Reports from the ambulance attendants and police were detailed. Witnesses said she was neglected by her husband, who refused to call for medical treatment and often left her in the care of a severely mentally impaired daughter. He told a neighbor he didn’t want a big hospital bill.
The details of the four months Margie Wade endured in the bedroom, often unattended for days at a time, unable to move, were available to investigators. But investigators for the Office of the Inspector General for the Illinois Department of Human Services closed the case on that same day — just hours after Wade died in the Hillsboro Area Hospital intensive care unit and three hours after the agency learned from an emergency room nurse’s call to its own hotline that Wade was suspected of having been neglected and abused.
* I do not believe I’ve ever said this before, and I don’t believe I’ve ever even thought this before, but today I’m ashamed to be an Illinoisan.
The DHS Inspector General has resigned. We need to know the names of everyone - everyone - who was behind this monstrously stupid decision to not investigate these deaths. This should not be papered over. A single resignation will simply not suffice. We, as a state, owe it to the dead and to the survivors to find the whole truth.
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The rumor patrol
Monday, Jul 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’ve received e-mails and calls about rumors on how much state retirees will have to pay for their health insurance as well, and they’re simply not true. The SJ-R takes a look…
Kelly Kraft, spokeswoman for Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget office, said no information will be released about future premiums while the state is still engaged in contract negotiations with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest of the unions representing state workers. One subject of those talks is the cost of retiree health insurance.
“The collective bargaining process is continuing, and as soon as that is complete, all of this information will be made clear,” Kraft said.
Linda Brookhart, executive director of the State Universities Annuitants Association, said she understands that a decision on premiums will wait until AFSCME’s contract is negotiated. Still, she’s encountered retirees who believe they’ve seen numbers for their premium charges. […]
“I have heard a premium amount from different retirees calling into our organization,” [Rudy Kink, a retired state worker who heads the Illinois State Employees Association Retirees] said.
The likely source of almost all the rumors is a bill proposed by SB 3918, which went absolutely nowhere…
That proposal, introduced late in the legislative session by Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, lays out percentages (although not actual dollar amounts) that retirees could pay for health insurance premiums. However, the bill was never called for a vote and consequently is not state law.
The bill was eventually tabled by its own sponsor. Several commenters here truly freaked out not long after Righter introduced his bill, but there was no way it was going anywhere. All Righter did was bring enormous heat down on his own head and create a lot of confusion.
* Other stuff…
* Both sides right — kind of – on health care’s cost to Illinois
* Editorial: Wisdom, compassion can work in conjunction
* Editorial: The competition - Quinn wants to shift money from prisons to abused kids. Some people have other ideas.
* Editorial: Veto this defiant bill
* How ComEd defections are killing green power in Illinois
* Gov. Quinn Pardons Former Niles Trustee
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Question of the day
Monday, Jul 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* One of the more intriguing rumors of the past few months was that Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle might run for governor. Nope…
Ms. Preckwinkle’s take: Time is on her side. She likes her job and intends to keep it. “I’m going to run for re-election,” forgoing a bid for governor or any other spot that’s been dangled in front of her, she says. “I like to sleep in my own bed.”
* The Question: Would you like to see someone challenge Gov. Pat Quinn in the 2014 Democratic primary? Who would that be, and why? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
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Sen. Brady, family sued over loans
Monday, Jul 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sen. Brady’s family is in a cyclical business, and home building and housing development have been hit extremely hard over the past several years. These things happen in business…
State Sen. Bill Brady, his two brothers and three of their real estate development companies and are being sued for about $2.4 million by a bank that says they defaulted on 13 loans.
First Financial Bank acquired Freestar Bank, formerly known as Pontiac National Bank, as of Jan. 1, 2012. It contends Bill, Ed and Bob Brady guaranteed loans made to their companies, Brew of Illinois LLC, Pinehurst Development LLC and Web Construction Co., from 2006 to 2010.
The lawsuit, which was filed June 27 in McLean County Circuit Court, was scheduled for a Dec. 6 case management conference. It seeks unpaid balances of $2.38 million, additional interest and legal fees.
More…
The loans ranged in size from $1.2 million to Pinehurst in 2010, to $66,937 to Web Construction in 2008, according to the lawsuit. Ed, Bill and Bob Brady are listed as guarantors — or financial backers — on at least 12 of the loans, the lawsuit claims.
It probably doesn’t matter how understandable this is to people like me. If Brady’s companies don’t turn around by the time he runs for governor again, he won’t be able to position himself as a trustworthy, business-tested manager.
* Other stuff…
* Analysis: In the U.S. housing market, recovery or Lost Decade?
* Judge OKs Tribune Co. exit from bankruptcy
* Tribune restructuring plan approved
* Midway Airport’s privatization prospects still unclear, despite new contract award
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Duckworth, Bustos outraise GOP incumbents
Monday, Jul 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Duckworth sets a record for the cycle to date…
Democratic 8th Congressional District candidate Tammy Duckworth has raised a record amount of money in the second quarter, her campaign said.
Duckworth, who is running against Republican Joe Walsh, will report raising at least $885,540 for the second quarter of 2012, her strongest fundraising quarter yet. Her campaign said this is believed to be the highest quarter for any House challenger from either party.
Nearly 92 percent of the individual contributions Duckworth received this quarter were for $100 or less, with the average individual contribution being $79.97.
* Congressman Joe Walsh says he raised $318,121 and had about $750,000 in the bank. From a press release…
Duckworth’s figures reveal her campaign raised only 4.6% of her funds from the new or old 8th district, which was far less than her totals from New York and California. Duckworth’s cash on hand figure showed itself to be similar to Walsh’s keeping this a highly competitive fundraising campaign.
Ironically the numbers posted by the Duckworth campaign are near identical to the numbers she posted in 2006, when she raised $850,000 for the quarter and $4.56 million for the entire campaign. Yet despite those strong numbers and Democrats posting huge wins across the country, Duckworth lost handily to Peter Roskam.
Walsh added, “I will give my opponent Ms. Duckworth credit, she is the darling of the liberal elite, and they will gladly open their pocketbooks for her. However, as we learned in 2006 when she raised over $4 million, Ms. Duckworth cannot hide from voters and buy this election.”
* Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Bobby Schilling raised $360,000 in the second quarter. His take…
U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-Colona) today announced impressive fundraising totals for the second quarter of 2012. The Bobby Schilling for Congress campaign has now raised more than $1.5 million during the 2011-12 election cycle, a record for a Republican candidate in the Illinois 17th District. Additionally, the campaign holds more than $945,000 cash on hand.
Schilling said that the vast majority of his campaign’s donations come from individuals within the Illinois 17th District, a stark contrast to his opponent.
* Schilling’s Democratic opponent Cheri Bustos outraised him and is closing the gap on cash on hand as well. Her take…
This strong fundraising report follows a strong $420,000 first quarter for Bustos, which also bested Congressman Schilling’s showing. Bustos has significantly narrowed the fundraising gap having, though having to fight her way through a primary, and finishes the quarter with more than $820,000 cash on hand.
I really doubt that Walsh can win this one, but the Bustos-Schilling race will definitely be a hot one. Schilling is a much better candidate than he’s often given credit for being.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
A new poll taken last week has downstate Republican congressional candidate Jason Plummer leading his latest Democratic challenger by 11 points in a district that was designed to re-elect U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello.
The poll, taken July 9 by We Ask America, found Plummer ahead of Democrat Bill Enyart 45 percent to 34 percent. The automated poll of 1,510 likely voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent.
Plummer is significantly below 50 percent and 23 percent of voters are undecided, so he doesn’t have this one in the bag yet. Enyart was appointed to the ballot late last month, so he has barely had any time to make an impression on the 12th Congressional District’s voters.
The 12th District was drawn on the new congressional map to ensure the re-election of longtime incumbent Jerry Costello. When he dropped out of the race, he helped engineer the appointment of Brad Harriman as the Democratic candidate.
But Harriman was an incredibly weak candidate and couldn’t put a decent campaign together, so the district went up for grabs. Harriman had to go, and he dropped out last month, citing an unnamed medical condition.
Enter Enyart, whose newness is hurting him, for now, with fellow Democrats. While Plummer is backed by 79 percent of Republicans, Enyart is supported by just 62 percent of Democrats. More than 29 percent of Democrats are undecided, so as they “come home” Enyart should tighten this race up some more.
Just 43.5 percent of black voters are supporting Enyart right now, according to the poll, and that will definitely increase. And a full 28 percent of independents are undecided, compared with 25 percent who support Enyart and 46 percent who back Plummer. Again, we will probably see some of those folks move toward Enyart as he becomes better known.
Enyart retired as the Illinois National Guard’s top general shortly before he was appointed to the ballot. Generals, like mayors and sheriffs, don’t always make the best candidates because they are accustomed to barking orders, not taking them. He has never run for any office and also has no combat experience to highlight during his campaign.
And Enyart is a Metro East guy, which may not play well in the more “southern” portions of the district. His campaign points out that he led the National Guard’s efforts during the 2011 flood, which hurt several southern counties, and that he has family in the southern section (Sparta) and opened his first law office in Monroe County.
But he will be perceived as St. Clair County’s guy, which, in fact, he is. He also was appointed to the National Guard post by Rod Blagojevich, and his law firm twice contributed small sums to Blagojevich’s campaign fund.
Perhaps the best news for Democrats in this district is that President Barack Obama appears to be doing a little better than expected. Just under 46 percent of voters approve of Obama’s job performance, while 52 percent disapprove. Yes, he’s upside down, but Obama has not been doing well outside Cook County and especially badly in southern Illinois. A 46 percent approval rating is better than some had figured.
The president undoubtedly will be a drag on Democrats up and down the ticket in many areas of the state if he doesn’t improve his standing soon. Some Democratic legislative incumbents have been targeted for defeat in the 12th District, including state Sen. Bill Haine and state Reps. Dan Beiser and Jerry Costello II. They’ll need a stronger performance from Obama and a much better Enyart effort to help them hold on to their seats.
According to the poll, almost 54 percent of the district’s likely voters oppose “Obamacare,” the national health care reform law. Asked whether they “generally support the federal government’s increase role in this nation’s health insurance system, sometimes known as ‘Obamacare,’ ” just 38 percent of likely voters supported the law and about 8 percent said they are undecided. Only 70 percent of Democrats support the law, compared with 87 percent of Republicans who oppose it.
That’s obviously not great news for Democratic candidates.
* But that old problem is still nagging at Plummer…
Republican congressional candidate Jason Plummer on Friday said he won’t release his personal tax returns despite the decision of his Democratic opponent to do so.
Former Illinois National Guard Adjutant General William Enyart released 10 years of tax returns on Thursday and said he has asked the Internal Revenue Service for tax records dating back to 1982 with plans to release those.
Enyart and Plummer are seeking to replace incumbent Democratic Rep. Jerry Costello, who is retiring after 24 years representing the 12th Congressional District in southern Illinois.
“My opponent seems to be a lot more interested in my income than the lack of income of thousands of families throughout the district because of the failed policies of President Obama and Nancy Pelosi,” Plummer said in a statement while refusing to release his tax returns.
“The people you hire to write your tax policy, to write your budgets must be open and transparent about their interests in that tax policy,” Enyart said in releasing his tax returns. “The only way for that to happen is for candidates to publicly release their tax returns.”
* Plummer did release an outline…
The statement lists Plummer’s salary as vice president of R.P. Lumber at $55,289. Year-to-year, Plummer said he lives on his salary from R.P. Lumber.
The financial disclosure statement shows Plummer, a 30-year-old O’Fallon businessman and former candidate for lieutenant governor of Illinois, to have assets valued between $6.17 million and $16.83 million, and liabilities ranging from $3.6 million to $16.5 million. Included in the value of assets held are companies that Plummer owns or partially owns.
That’s a heck of a lot of liabilities.
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The governor of Cook County?
Monday, Jul 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I noticed this as well, but never got around to writing about it. Luckily, Finke did…
Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill last week to increase the tax credits an employer can claim by hiring veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It’s intended to help reduce the alarmingly high rate of unemployment among those veterans.
As you can imagine with a bill like that, many members of the House and Senate signed onto it as co-sponsors. Still, the lead Senate sponsor was Democrat John Sullivan and the lead House sponsor was Democrat Jerry Costello II.
Sullivan is from Rushville. Costello is from Smithton, south of Belleville. And where did Quinn hold the bill signing ceremony? In Chicago, of course. At Soldier Field, which some critics contend lost all semblance to a being a memorial for fallen soldiers when it was rebuilt a few years ago.
Quinn made several public appearances last week, none of them outside the Chicago metro area. It could make you wonder if the governor forgot that old state tourism slogan: Just outside Chicago is a place called Illinois.
* And, as it turns out, NBC 5 actually ran the numbers…
Quinn last ventured south of Interstate 80 on June 14, when he attended a ceremony to honor Illinois veterans at the Peoria County Courthouse, spoke at a Special Olympics barbecue in Springfield, and opened an international distribution facility at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah. The next day, he was in Rockford to sign a bill protecting letter carriers. Since then, all his public events have been in the Chicago area. Quinn couldn’t even find a small-town Fourth of July parade, a mainstay of gubernatorial photo ops. Instead, he marched in Des Plaines, less than 10 miles from his home in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood.
Throughout his governorship, Quinn has spent the vast majority of his time in Cook County. According to travel records obtained NBC Chicago through a Freedom of Information Act request, between January 22, 2010 and June 15, 2011, Quinn made 505 official appearances in the Chicago area.
Here’s how many events he held in other parts of the state (take a look for yourself on our interactive map):
Rockford: 21
Quad Cities: 12
Peoria: 13
Springfield: 68
Bloomington: 11
Champaign-Urbana: 10
Decatur: 4
Metro East: 16
Marion: 8
Cairo: 1
Carbondale: 0
* The map…
* Quinn is heading south today for a press conference…
It was puzzling last week when Gov. Pat Quinn said he would visit Southern Illinois on Monday to outline the state’s response to the ongoing drought.
Why would he wait until after the weekend to address the disaster?
On Friday, we got the answer.
Rather than outline the state’s response to one of the biggest issues facing downstate Illinois, the Chicago Democrat was scheduled to travel to Williamsburg, Va., to rub shoulders with his buddies at the National Governors Association annual meeting. […]
Quinn’s visit to Waltonville marks the first time the governor has ventured south of Interstate 80 in more than a month.
It also represents the third time in about 15 months that he is heading to the region because of a disaster. He was in Alexander County during last year’s flooding and in Harrisburg earlier this year after a devastating tornado.
Apparently, the best way to get Quinn out of Chicago is to have bad luck befall your community.
Discuss.
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