Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Nov 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Black Lillies will play us out…
So, I’ll shoot ‘em while I’ve got ‘em
Give it all ’til I’m dead
Though there’s storm clouds arising
And lightning flashing ahead
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* I wish Director Calica nothing but the best, even though things look really grim right now. From a press release…
Governor Pat Quinn today announced that Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Richard Calica will resign due to serious illness. Director Calica has been diagnosed with cancer and today informed the Governor of his medical condition.
Calica has served as Director of DCFS since December 2011, leading an overhaul and major reorganization of the agency at a time of major budget challenges. DCFS Chief of Staff Denise Gonzales will become Acting Director effective immediately.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve under Governor Quinn,” Director Calica said. “This has been the most exciting and rewarding time of my career in child welfare. The reforms that we’ve put in place will maximize this agency’s ability to ensure the safety of children who are at risk of abuse and neglect for years to come.”
“My prayers are with Director Calica and his family during this very difficult time,” Governor Quinn said. “Director Calica has taken this agency in the right direction and he always put the safety of our most vulnerable children first. We are deeply grateful for his dedicated public service, which has saved countless lives.”
Under Director Calica’s leadership, DCFS has added 138 new investigators to the frontlines, reducing caseloads from as high as 20 to nine per investigator. Director Calica streamlined the department’s operations to focus resources on front line case workers while eliminating an entire layer of middle management. He also eliminated the backlog he inherited of more than 2,500 overdue investigations.
The director also established a new system of performance measures across the agency to increase accountability, and modernized the agency’s 30-year-old hotline system, which has led to 40 percent increase in the volume of callers who immediately reach a child protection specialist.
Director Calica will work with agency leadership to transition over the coming days.
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* The Obamacare mess in context…
In explaining the relatively low figures, administration officials cite problems with the federal website that have prevented people from signing up. But they also say experience shows people wait until the last minute.
When Massachusetts expanded health coverage in 2007, only 123 of the 36,167 people who ultimately signed up did so during the first month of enrollment. But more than 7,000 signed up in the final month.
OK, fine. So why wasn’t that made crystal clear by the administration long ago? Plus, that website. Ugh. And the lie that everybody would be able to keep their insurance if they wanted to? Disgusting. Oh, and then there are all the howls and crocodile tears from the loyal opposition which offers zero truly constructive alternatives. Can’t anybody play this game? The idea is to govern.
* From Obamacare to driver’s licenses…
The phone lines ring busy, the website isn’t much help and nerves are fraying for residents hoping to book appointments to apply for a Temporary Visitor’s Driver’s License from the Illinois Secretary of State.
Complaints about the sign-up process are mounting, days after the state opened a long-awaited appointment booking website and telephone hotline to non-U.S. citizens who want to apply.
More…
“We had to design the system in a way with four pilot facilities available launching on Dec. 3 and 10, that we could study how this works in this controlled environment,” said Secretary of State spokesman Henry Haupt. “And this is giving us the opportunity to make any adjustments.”
Haput said the pilot program is working as planned. The state intentionally limited the appointment numbers to 117 a day. Twenty-one additional facilities are scheduled to open in January, and Haupt said that will allow the state to increase its capacity for appointments starting later in December.
Until then, people can continue trying to sign up on a daily basis until slots are full.
Ere Rendon with ICIRR said about 10 out of 100 people her organization worked with were successful in scheduling an appointment.
She thinks the pilot program could have been communicated better from the beginning so people wouldn’t feel panicked when they couldn’t get through.
No kidding.
* And on to the Philippines…
Surrounded by mountains of boxes of donated goods and dozens of volunteers — some of whom openly wept — Gov. Pat Quinn declared Friday: “We are all Filipinos today, all across Illinois!” […]
But that relief effort has hit a snag, organizers at the center said Friday. A military contractor bringing supplies to the Philippines was supposed to be providing room on his aircraft, which hasn’t yet got off the ground.
“We believe right now that he’s caught up in red tape,” said Rose Tibayan, one of the relief effort organizers. “So we’re trying to find other means to get it over there.”
Quinn said his office is working with the U.S. Department of Defense to allow an Illinois National Guard transport plane to deliver supplies.
Oy.
*** UPDATE *** Oh, for Pete’s sake…
Countless local state retirees hoping to learn more about enrolling in a Medicare Advantage health plan have been left without the help meeting they were promised, because the meeting location was way too small for the crowd.
Traffic was jammed around the Illinois Terminal building where a 9:30 a.m. meeting was being held, and crowds of people were turned away while others stayed in the lobby to argue with an apologetic State Sen. Mike Frerichs who was scheduled to speak. […]
Frerichs spoke only briefly, and also had the unpleasant task of telling people who managed to get some of the limited seats that if they parked in certain places they were subject to finding parking tickets when they got out of the meeting. [Emphasis added.]
What. The. Heck.
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The big tent revisited
Friday, Nov 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois Republican Party Chairman Jack Dorgan, speaking of the divide within his party…
“People who believe in one single issue, and will fall on the sword and lose an election because of one single issue, I don’t think are good political thinkers,” he said. “I really don’t. I respect what they say. I respect what everyone says.
“But because someone’s different or means something (different) or comes from a different part of town and they want to be Republican, the only thing I can say to them is, ‘Welcome.’”
* This, however, may be too big of a tent for some GOP primary voters…
Republican businessman Bert Miller’s entrance into the primary race that will decide who takes on Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster is his first run for office, but he’s not necessarily new to elections.
As owner of Naperville’s Phoenix Closures, Miller took a turn last decade as chairman of the powerful Illinois Manufacturers Association and has given campaign donations to mostly Republicans, including Jim Oberweis, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and former U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo — and most recently Kirk Dillard on Oct. 30, records show.
But his primary opponents have seized on two gifts to Democrats: $1,000 to then Democratic Senate candidate Barack Obama in 2003 and $1,000 in 2002 to Rod Blagojevich.
“Giving to those two figures does not help our country move in the right direction,” said Chris Balkema, a fellow Republican candidate for the 11th Congressional District and Grundy County Board member.
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Not so hard to miss
Friday, Nov 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Twitters…
* It may not be as hard to miss as Dave thinks, particularly if you’re a member of the Springfield Diocese. Television is the main source of news for well over half of Americans. So, check out Springfield WICS TV’s lede…
When Gov. Pat Quinn signs the recently-passed same-sex marriage bill into law next week, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield will hold a special prayer service.
Later in the very brief piece, it’s mentioned that the Bishop “will offer ‘prayers of supplication and exorcism in reparation for the sin of same-sex marriage’ at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield.
Kinda on the buried side.
* WAND TV’s ten o’clock broadcast made no mention of the Bishop’s comments. The station covers Decatur and Springfield as well as Champaign. The story isn’t on WCIA’s website. The Champaign TV station also covers Springfield news.
Springfield’s newspaper did cover the story, however, and even gave it to Statehouse reporter Doug Finke.
* One of the more interesting stories I’ve seen on this topic, though, was from Quincy’s WGEM TV. The station interviewed Quincy Msgr. Michael Kuse about Paprocki’s plans…
But not all Catholic leaders are taking a hard line against gay marriage.
Local Monsignor Michael Kuse says he takes the same stance on gay marriage as Pope Francis when it comes to treating gays as equals in the eyes of God.
“I think that’s our role as the church, to help people grasp this new way of acceptance into our life and to say ‘well you know, I can love, no matter who it is.’ And I hope that’s in the heart of everybody,” said Kuse.
* Click here to watch the story if the embedded video doesn’t load…
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He’s ba-ack!
Friday, Nov 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I was talking to Paul Green yesterday about my speech to the City Club of Chicago next month (we’re gonna use this as a charitable opportunity - more details later) and he told me that Todd Stroger was speaking in his class. We both wondered if Stroger would make any sort of announcements.
He didn’t disappoint. Stroger will be running for the county board…
“I’ve had almost four years to kind of relax and think about things, and I think it’s time to get back in,” said Stroger after the paid speaking engagement.
The announcement is not a surprise. Beavers’ seat on the County Board was still warm when Stroger began reaching out to Democratic committeeman in March in hopes they would appoint him to fill the vacant position. The seat ultimately went to Stanley Moore.
Stroger said he will maintain his job as an insurance salesman during his upcoming campaign.
The nonchalant announcement came several minutes after he told the college class how much he disliked being County Board president. “It was four years of just hell. I was fighting all the time, the newspapers were just crucifying me,” he said.
He most definitely was not a good county board president. But he wasn’t a bad alderman at all. He was a classic “Peter Principle” case.
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* I’ve been hearing for months that there is quite a large opposition research book on Democratic congressional candidate Ann Callis. So, this story might be the tip of the iceberg…
Ann Callis of Edwardsville, who stepped down as chief circuit judge earlier this year to run for the Democratic nomination for Congress, currently is delinquent on her taxes on two Scottsdale, Ariz., properties, according to a review of online statements at the Maricopa County treasurer’s office.
In Illinois, Madison County records show Callis was delinquent on her 2009 property taxes for a home in Troy, requiring her to pay about $679 in added penalties in 2011 to fix the problem.
Callis spokesman Marshall Cohen said Thursday the campaign was reviewing tax records.
“We are trying to clarify all this,” Cohen told the Lee Enterprises Springfield Bureau.
He suggested the tax snafu with the Troy home may not have been Callis’ fault.
“She paid it as soon as she realized it was due,” Cohen said.
This isn’t a lot of money we’re talking about here, but why the heck were those Arizona taxes not paid before she launched her campaign? She’s the DCCC’s pick in this race, so you’d think they’d get her personal finances in order before launching her out there.
According to the story, Callis listed assets totaling at least $3.3 million, including stock in John McGurk’s Irish Pub in St. Louis. Republican incumbent Rodney Davis listed his assets at $85,000.
* The 13th District Democratic primary has a new candidate, by the way. Bill Byrnes is a a retired “college educated trucker” and part-time school bus driver and union steward from Bloomington. He probably doesn’t have a chance. But check out his plain-talk rhetoric…
“Today people are sick and tired of the BS. They want congressmen who will change the situation by working together,” said Byrnes. “That’s my hallmark.”
Byrnes added, “I’m not a lawyer. Isn’t the last thing Washington needs is another lawyer? There’s thousands of lawyers in Washington, D.C., and every congressman has a staff of them. Also at 66 I’m not exactly part of the youth movement so I’m not going to be a career politician.”
He said that electing him would “send a message loud and clear to Washington: get to work. Give me the chance and I’ll work with the other side to hammer out solutions to tough problems. I will never obstruct this democracy, conducting the day to day business of serving all of the people.”
* Meanwhile, this should help both Davis and Cheri Bustos. From a press release…
Leaders of the Transportation for Illinois Coalition today offered congratulations and support to Illinois U.S. Reps. Cheri Bustos and Rodney Davis for their appointment to help negotiate key policy decisions on America’s waterways in Washington.
Bustos, D-17th, and Davis, R-13th, were named Thursday as members of the congressional conference committee that will negotiate a new Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), critical to speed up repairs and upgrades to locks and dams on key waterways in Illinois and around the nation.
TFIC – an umbrella organization of labor, business and construction groups – recognizes the importance of two Illinois representatives working to resolve differences over WRRDA’s direction between the U.S. House and Senate. Bustos and Davis were strong supporters, along with Illinois U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk, of the version of WRRDA that passed the House in late October. They had worked to ensure key repairs and upgrades for aging locks and dams on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers were included in the House bill.
TFIC leadership is confident Bustos and Davis will bring a sense of bipartisan commonsense and a keen awareness of the importance of strong waterway transportation networks to the negotiating table.
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Give the Green Light to Shovel-Ready Clean Energy Jobs
Friday, Nov 15, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
According to the nonprofit wind energy advocacy group Wind on the Wires, there are thousands of megawatts of shovel-ready wind energy projects in Illinois that represent over $4.7 billion in potential investment in our state. They’ve leased land, lined up their permits, and applied to connect to the grid. What’s the holdup? A crucial update to Illinois’ Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).
The Green River wind farm near Walnut, Illinois is one example. Mainstream Renewable Power leased 12,000 acres of land and lined up their siting, transmission and environmental approvals.
But here’s where Mainstream hit a snag: our energy market has changed since our RPS was enacted in 2007, creating a real challenge to projects like Green River which are trying to sell the power from their turbines and bring these benefits to the Illinois economy:
• About 200-400 construction jobs
• 5-10 full-time operations jobs
• Approximately $1.4 million annually in property tax revenues to Lee County alone
And its not just about wind - solar is poised to skyrocket if we free up the Renewable Energy Resources Fund to invest in Illinois projects, as originally intended.
The Green River project and many others can move forward if we take action and update the RPS to create a more stable, transparent clean energy market. We all win when Illinois moves to clean energy, and we can do it without touching the existing cost cap that protects consumers.
It’s time to update the RPS.
www.ILikeCleanEnergy.org
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* The Sun-Times’ Dave McKinney asked the four gubernatorial campaigns whether they’d support repealing the gay marriage law (once the bill is signed into law, that is). None of them expressed any interest…
“As you well know, our agenda is an economic agenda,” [Sen. Bill Brady] told the Chicago Sun-Times, when asked if he would move to repeal the measure as governor. “My opposition [to same-sex marriage] is pretty clear. It is what it is. But I don’t see the Legislature putting a bill on the governor’s desk to repeal it.”
State Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, another GOP candidate for governor, also said through an aide that he had no intention of trying to repeal same-sex marriage if he wins the Executive Mansion. Before voting against same-sex marriage, Dillard had said he would work to repeal the state’s civil unions law.
Dillard believes the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act faces “constitutional questions raised by several law professors who argue it will end up in court,” but he won’t work to repeal it if elected governor, campaign spokesman Wes Bleed said Thursday.
Treasurer Dan Rutherford, who is also in the race for governor, said Wednesday he had no intention to try repealing it if elected. Venture capitalist Bruce Rauner’s campaign said the same thing.
“Bruce has repeatedly stated his view that the issue is better decided by the people in a referendum than by the politicians. That said, it’s not an issue Bruce plans to spend time on as governor,” Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said. “His focus is on growing the economy, solving the budget mess, fixing our schools, and enacting term limits because those are the most pressing problems facing Illinois.”
If the law is of questionable constitutionality, as Dillard apparently believes, then why leave it on the books?
* Anyway, Brady said essentially the same thing on Allen Skillicorn’s radio show this week. His comments come at about the 15-minute mark…
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