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Where’s the bloat? Claypool can’t answer

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* Forrest Claypool, who ran and lost for Cook County Board President last year, has been a constant critic of Todd Stroger and the “bloat” at Cook County Hospital. Dr. Robert Simon, who runs the county’s health system, has been asking for a public debate with Claypool for weeks. Claypool finally complied yesterday, agreeing to a debate on a Chicago Public Radio show hosted by Gabriel Spitzer. He didn’t come off too well…

Three times host Gabriel Spitzer asked Claypool where he would cut spending.

Twice, Claypool declined to give specifics and instead pointed to an alternative budget that he and other opposition commissioners introduced for 2007 that he said “would have slashed patronage jobs” and “transferred those dollars to health care.” […]

On Spitzer’s third pass at Claypool to identify waste in the government, Spitzer asked, “Just one more time, specifically, where is the waste? Can you name positions? Can you name departments?”

Claypool: “We presented an alternative budget that would have given us a year to move forward. Obviously the system needs more money in the long run. But that would have bought us a year of stability.”

Simon said Claypool’s alternative budget would have cut workers needed to help the county fix its finance system. Simon said if Claypool could identify unnecessary workers he would investigate them.

* Stroger is also lashing out at other county officials…

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger made clear Wednesday he’s tired of standing alone in taking the heat over his plan to raise taxes: If other county officials want more jobs and money in 2008, they’d better “stand up” and take the heat with him.

Stroger singled out State’s Attorney Richard Devine for particular criticism, asking why Devine isn’t backing Stroger’s plan to raise the sales, parking and gasoline taxes — especially given the $113 million in raises Stroger and the County Board recently delivered to assistant state’s attorneys and others. […]

A spokesman for Devine said he supports “finding the resources needed to support” salary hikes but questions “the approach of raising more revenue than we need.”

That’s a good point, of course. Stroger wants to raise more taxes than the county has plans to spend. He’s promised to refund any overage, but nobody is buying it.

* Meanwhile, in the city, Mayor Daley is apparently scaling back his massively unpopular tax hike plan…

The mayor’s budget team has cobbled together a revised revenue package that incorporates some of the new ideas tossed out by aldermen while raising some of the non-property taxes in Daley’s original plan even higher. More budget cuts are also in the works, sources said.

* Related stories, compiled by Paul…

* Stroger rips lack of support from officials for tax hikes

* Health care workers back Stroger tax hike

* Stroger Hospital cuts the wait for mammograms

* Money from skyway lease won’t go into budget bailout

* Opinion: Why Toyota over Ford, Mayor Daley?

* Go private to boost minority firm pacts: black aldermen

* Daley has big plans to use casino cash for City Colleges

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 9:18 am

Comments

I suppose Claypool must be nothing but bluster then.

Comment by Levois Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 9:28 am
Daley cut the amount of the tax increase? Tossing out a shocking number only to retreat to a (to the big government types) not as shocking (or no longer as shocking) number?

I never saw that one coming. Daley’s still got it!

Comment by Skeeter Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 9:48 am
OK, certainly Claypool was not prepared to offer the specifics Simon demanded, such as the names of individual patronage hacks in the County health Dept. But Claypool was clearly thrown off his game by an ambush.

I would encourage all to please listen to the audio (it’s short) and not rely on the Trib blog account.

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/content.aspx?audioID=14209

Simon lured a Commissioner in claiming he wanted to debate budget cuts, but instead he prefaced his remarks by claiming he is not a political animal like Claypool, he’s just a humble country doctor, then he spent most of his time on a really rather vicious personal attack on Claypool. Simon had less to say about the County Health Dept. budget than he did a review of highlights of Claypool’s career and Claypool’s failings as a human being.

Apparently the Stroger administration has decided the way to answer critics is to get personal.

The audio of this panel is powerful evidence for the critical need to de-politicize the Cook County Health Dept.

Thanks to WBEZ for arranging this meeting.

Comment by Hugh Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 9:48 am
Claypool should have been able to avoid getting himself cornered like that.

The point he should be making is that middle class taxpayers who provide most of the government’s revenues are increasingly squeezed by high fuel prices, wage stagnation, and a drop in housing value. It’s not our job to figure out how the hospital can be run more efficiently, that’s the job of the people who run the hospital and the individual unit managers. So far, they have not provided a credible case for expanding hospital revenues.

Let’s remember that the “poor” in Illinois get Medicaid or Medicare, meaning that Stroger is not their only alternative. Cook County has many hospitals and they all take both; in additionl, most are nonprofits and mandated to provide charity care. And Stroger Hospital has a long-term reputation for not collecting bills from insurance companies or the government. Too much effort.

So, who’s left. Well, illegals and freeloaders from other counties which don’t bother to fund their public health systems (leading to lower taxes for their citizens). And middle class Cook residents who don’t want to pay for health insurance even if they could afford it.

Should Cook County’s middle class citizens add even more onto a crippling tax burden to pay for
illegals, cheapskates, and out-of-county freeloaders. I say no. We have to put our own families first.

This is a management problem, not a financial problem. And we’re paying Simon’s managers to fix it. That’s what they need to do.

Comment by Cassandra Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 9:51 am
Simon says give us more money.

Claypool says cut the waste.

The real right answer is Door #3: Immediately remove county health services from the political gamesmanship by appointing an independent panel of medical experts as temporary trustees to oversee the system for three years.

That’s Commissioner Suffredin’s solution, and it’s the right one. It would put truly independent management in place and give taxpayers the confidence their dollars are spent responsibly.

Comment by Reality Check Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 9:59 am
“Claypool should have been able to avoid getting himself cornered like that.”

The MODERATOR should have been able to keep Simon on topic. Simon spent more time talking about the Park District than he did the County.

Comment by Hugh Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 10:04 am
So what we know so far is that the County of Cook, the City of Chicago, and the State of Illinois have all run out of money, but the elected leaders have no other solutions than to raise taxes?

What is the matter with these people? We do not have any more money for them to take. These supposedly intelligent people cannot fill a room and come up with any other solutions than THIS? We didn’t vote these people into office for them to turn to us and say the billions we give them isn’t enough!

The situations we face shouldn’t be politicized into class warfare between those who have and have not, or between businesses and voters. The situations we face demand that the supposed leaders of these governments meet with other supposedly intelligent community leders and LEAD US OUT OF THIS MESS within the billion-dollar budgets we already provide them with!

No more taxes Mr. Mayor!
No more taxes Mr. Stroger!
No more taxes Mr. Speaker of the House!
No more taxes Mr. Governor!

I refuse to sacrifice my family and future in order to spare you overly-paid people from doing the jobs you wanted, were elected to do, and should be doing!

No more money gentlemen! Do your damn jobs!

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 10:07 am
Where’s the bloat? Claypool can’t answer

Rich, I don’t think your headline is fair.

Yes, Simon asked for NAMES and Claypool declined to name names.

But Claypool DID answer the question, where’s the bloat. Did you listen? Claypool explained the waste is not so much a short list of individuals as it is the net effect of the gross inefficiency of decades of hiring based on political work, management not hired on the basis having the best experience and expertise.

Comment by Hugh Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 10:14 am
Claypool = Blago lite

Comment by Ghost Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 11:01 am
“If you look at a budget, you can’t tell by looking at a budget, this is a patronage position, that’s a patronage position. There’s all kinds of fancy titles in Finance and everywhere else where people are not qualified. But it’s still very much there.

I just yesterday asked my assistant, just to go through and pick out some names in the Health Bureau bureaucrats and take a look. Just 90 names randomly selected, there’s $200,000 in contributions to Todd Stroger and the 8th Ward organization from these so-called “professional” individuals. And I’m sure many of them ARE very good. But it’s clearly, to say the Health Bureau is not a patronage haven, to say that patronage politics did not affect who stayed and who went last year. Bureaucrats being protect at the same time doctors and nurses are going is wrong.

And the issue is, yes, it’s waste, but it’s more importantly the ability to attract the type of top-notch talent that will collect revenues and run a professional system for the benefit of some of the most vulnerable people in our population. That will not happen as long as the reality is that politics controls medicine. It’s a combustible combination that should not exist.”

-Claypool

Comment by Hugh Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 11:27 am
Too bad they didn’t have Tony Peraica on that show. Simon would have gotten his answers, and then some. Hate Peraica if you will, but that man does his homework.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 11:33 am
Misleading blog. I don’t think the reporter understood what Claypool was talking about when he referred to the “alternative budget.” According to news reports, last year’s alternative budget would have cut hundreds of unnecessary bureaucrats that cost tens of millions of dollars a year.

Claypool should have made it clear–the alternative budget contains the list of hundreds of positions that shouldn’t exit and aren’t needed (except as patronage). I can understand why he didn’t want to read hundreds of names on the air.

Stroger beat back the alternative budget last year, but all those people are still there, sucking up tax dollars.

Comment by County taxpayer Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 12:59 pm
I believe strongly in the county’s health care mission. But my position is no more money for the county health system until the Cook County Commisioners turn over the operation of the Stroger Hospital and the rest of the health/medical system to independent trustees. No reform and restructuring of the governance/management, no money. If you give the County the revenue before the necessary changes are made, there will be no incentive for the Board to act opon the blue ribbon panel’s recommendations to change the governance.

The only increased revenue that I am willing to support for the county is the absolute minimal amount necessary to meet their increased labor costs associated with recent labor agreements.

Stroger can lash out all he wants, but the voters are going to lash back in 2010. The situation the county finds itself in is directly related to the lies that were propagated after John Stroger’s stroke and the related devious machinations to install Todd Storger in a position for which he was fundamentally unqualified. Stroger’s billion dollar tax increase proposal is absolutely ridiculous! He has no credibility.

It would be interesting to know why Claypool did not say that governance reforms were a prerequisite before any additional funding for the health care system would be considered.

Comment by Captain America Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 1:17 pm
Claypool is getting bad as Blago. Why is he so angry and doesn’t he come across as arrogant? Everyone knows Stroger inherited a total mess from his father. Claypool can’t come up with any numbers because where is there to cut? Sure patronage makes great headlines, but the hiring of a Stroger cousin or niece makes great headlines but it isn’t exactly breaking the backs of county taxpayers. Maybe folks should look at all the hacks Claypool hired in the Park District. Pinstripe patronage was rampant. No one wants a tax increase, but something’s got to give. Unless of course you live in a bubble as our current Governor does.

Comment by anon Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 6:08 pm
Daley’s 10 yr. contracts with unions giving 4% annual pay hikes with minimal union concessions will be Chicago’s albatross. Expect many more instances like these where Chicagoans take a back seat to Daley’s Olympic obsession. There will be large tax increases in every budget for the forseeable future, save in election years, of course.

Comment by Independent Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 6:37 pm
Peraica would have ate him up and spit him out on the technicals and then all the rabid hacks, operatives, apologists, leeches and phonies would have cried about what a mean guy he is.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 8:39 pm
Oh darn, duck here they come.. rushing for their keyboards, Hickey in the pole position.

Comment by Anon 8:39 Thursday, Oct 25, 07 @ 8:40 pm
Look at the occupancy rates for all the hospitals in the Medical District and then you’ll know where the waste is.

Comment by Bill Baar Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 7:23 am