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“Governor Health Care” strikes again, and again

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Illinois

* Want more proof that Gov. Rod Blagojevich is only concerned about health care programs that he dreams up? We talked about this very topic the other day, and I used this gubernatorial quote to illustrate my point…

“We wish the General Assembly and especially the House would be less obstructionist and be more willing to embrace health care for children, health care for working families,” Blagojevich said.

* But here’s another case in point to illustrate the governor’s hypocrisy…

Without the Red Tape Cutters program, 73-year-old Margaret Dobrynski thinks she’d still be living through harsh winters in an unheated trailer, unable to afford her blood pressure and cholesterol medicine.

But the program, which helped her and thousands of other Cook County older adults, has been marked for elimination in this year’s state budget proposal. […]

Last year, on $251,000 in state funding, the Red Tape Cutters program procured $23.6 million in benefits for 14,000 seniors in suburban Cook County.

But in Springfield, Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s belt-tightening effort has led to the program’s funding being eliminated. […]

The idea was to link up eligible seniors with benefits and programs they were not aware of. It evolved into a more involved type of help - navigating complicated application processes with them or even picking up homebound people who can’t easily apply for certain benefits that require in-person registration.

* And here’s yet another example…

In honor of Autism Awareness Month in April, I strongly urge the governor to release $2.5 million to The Autism Program of Illinois, or TAP.

During the FY08 budget negotiations, the General Assembly approved to increase the TAP’s funding from $2.5 million to $10 million. However, the governor reduced the amount to $5 million through the amendatory veto process.

Unfortunately, TAP has yet to see any of the additional $2.5 million that we approved and to which the governor agreed. The money has been placed on hold by the governor’s Office of Management and Budget.

* During Blagojevich’s first term, the guv wanted to get rid of the Golden Apple program and replace it with something that looked almost exactly like it. There are plenty more examples of this behavior. The bottom line is that too often Blagojevich wants credit for creating bright, shiny new programs but isn’t much interested in continuing to fund programs pushed by others.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 12:54 pm

Comments

Of course Red Tape cutters is on the hit list. It wouldn’t matter if its benefit to cost ratio was $1,000,000 per $1 instead of $100 per $1.

I truly worry for the State of Illinois. What pieces will be left for Gov. Quinn to pick up and reassemble?

Comment by South Side Mike Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 1:07 pm
Sorry to harp on you Rich, but these seem like facetious arguments again.

I have never heard of Red Tape Cutters before, but they seem to do exactly what the State’s Area Agencies on Aging do - help seniors get benefits. That’s actually really good, and policy wonks everywhere should support more money for outreach activities like this.

However, the Red Tape Cutters people should just apply to be in that Aging network and get grants for outreach that way. I know many community organizations that are “AAAs”. They could probably get more money to help more seniors sign up for programs.

End of the day, though, cutting “Red Tape Cutters” does not mean you are cutting any of those seniors off healthcare. All you are doing is cutting out the helper agent.

So, your point there rings a little hollow.

Comment by JohnR Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 1:08 pm
from SJ-R 4-24-08: “When you’re elected governor, and I have had that opportunity and privilege twice now, it’s not like you get the chance to go to governor’s school,” Blagojevich said. “They don’t have a school for new governors, you just sort of have to figure out how to do the job.” I think this quote from GRod’s speach yesterday explains a lot of things. IMPEACH now, he admits that he is not qualified to to hold the office he was elected to.

Comment by Dan S, a Voter & Cubs Fan Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 1:11 pm
BTW - I wrote the above on the assumption that “Red Tape Cutters” was a legislative add-in. That’s why I suggested they go through the process to become a grantee in the state’s current network.

From a policy perspective, it is far better to support grant processes and coordinated networks to accomplish policy goals than special legislative add-in projects (which are often duplicative or inefficient).

Open to correction if I am wrong, however.

Comment by JohnR Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 1:12 pm
There were numerous examples of this is the budget cuts last year that were not overriden. Leadership by press release cannot take glory in existing programs…too bad the really worthy get jerked around.

Comment by Amy Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 1:15 pm
So we are paying for wealthy women, and insured women to get “free” breast exames, but we are unwilling to pay to help our seniors who are poor, or the Autistic.

Comment by Ghost Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 1:16 pm
While senior meals and a community hall for seniors is something I agree is a good thing, how did Rep. Tom Cross get a $50,000 grant released to ‘award’ the twp of Oswego when no one else seems to be able to a dime aprroved for release? I realize that the amount is a far cry from 18 million for extention offices/ programs but once again I see selectivly available. Cross gets a nice little media release this morning and 4-H kids got to walk the halls of the capitol and plead.

Comment by Princeville Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 1:36 pm
Favoring shiny new programs that you can attach your name to over existing ones is common for most politicians.

Most of the time, you just throw new money at it. Taking from the needy to give to the needy is extremely egocentric.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 1:40 pm
I said it yesterday, and I’ll say it again –

the Governor’s fixation on health care for working families is based on stroking his last remaining political base - the unions. More and more employers are not offering health care and other expensive fringe benefits, even to union employees, and so our governor wants to provide this union benefit for them.

This is not to say that health care eligibility is unimportant. It merely restores the issue to the political debate as one spending priority among competing ones, and ends the moral superiority of this one issue above all others.

Comment by Capitol View Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 1:49 pm
At what point do we start wondering if Blagojevich has the *brains* to govern. I say this seriously — and I rarely think this way about folks — but Blagojevich has made such a sustained mess of things that it strikes me that he may be truly inept. I mean, like: the guy simply lacks the brains to deal with this stuff.

I don’t mean to go ad hominem. I mean, he seems a savvy campaigner. But the mess that I’m seeing when reading these kinds of articles — and the brazen ethical conflicts that may (or may not) be illegal — lead me to believe that, truly, this guy is mentally out of it. Not “mentally challenged” — just *dim* in a serious, significant way.

Comment by Macbeth Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 2:02 pm
He had no problem dissolving the wine industry association begun by Jim Edgar - just to restart it a few years later with one of his minions in charge.
It caused an unnecessary stall in a nascent downstate agriculutural enterprise.
Pure politics and no one here raised one question about it.

YOU ELECTED HIM TWICE !
What were you thinking?

Comment by Blago is just a Democrat Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 2:09 pm
+++++
YOU ELECTED HIM TWICE !
What were you thinking?
+++++

And that seems another issue: what *were* the people thinking who voted him in twice? And why?

Blagojevich’s second term makes me re-evaluate a lot of stuff. But I can’t say what I’m re-evaluating without sounding like an elitist or — worse — some sort of fascist.

It’s peculiar. I’ll say that. And it’s probably best to leave it at that.

Comment by Macbeth Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 2:25 pm
I have also noticed the elimination or underfunding of programs he has created. After a year or two passes, they lose their shine and he forgets them…

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 3:11 pm
Get real. The last time I visited my 101 American Government book it states that it takes the House and the Senate to pass legislation and the Governor to sign it. All the side shows are good for the media, and for the “Do NOthing” politicians. Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame — Where is the beef. I guess the 400.000 plus kids and others who have been helped are irrelevant. We need more health care heroes Rich. The Senate has passed several substantial health care reform pieces of legislation so far and will pass another one shortly. Many State Senators are stepping up to the plate and show that they are health care leaders. Where will the House Dems be ?- probably calling for public hearings this summer to study the problem. Sounds like John McCain’s health care strategy. Every year that inaction occurs over 40,000 more working families loss their health care insurance, IL businesses and families spend another $3 billion in unnecessary health care, and the state’s budget crisis continues to grow. Punt and cover your eyes and hope the crisis passes. 22 hearings were held two years ago, 2500 attended and a bipartisan reform proposal was agreed upon by a Task Force. This proposal was supportd by Speaker Madigan’s appointees (all approved it) , President Jones’ appointees (all approved it) , Minority Leader Cross’s appointees (some, not all) , Minority Leader Watson’s appointees (some, not all) and the Governor’s appointees (all approved it).
Where is the fair and objective reporting???????

Comment by Health care for all Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 3:19 pm
Sorry, but some of us living with autism DO NOT think TAP should receive funding and have expressed many concerns regarding their activities with this grant funding. Funding for autism services needs to benefit the families directly -the CEO of the not-for-profit this program is administered through makes a staggering salary while families struggle with extraordinary costs. Employees of TAP are lobbying for more grant funding, it’s a sad mess. There is a better option of a medicaid waiver where funds go directly to the family of the affected child and can be matched by the federal Medicaid program.

Comment by parent of child with autism Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 3:21 pm
from SJ-R 4-24-08: “When you’re elected governor, and I have had that opportunity and privilege twice now, it’s not like you get the chance to go to governor’s school,” Blagojevich said. “They don’t have a school for new governors, you just sort of have to figure out how to do the job.”

Have you figured it out yet Rod??? If you had performed this miserably in a job in the private sector, you’d have been gone about 3 years ago!

TimB

Comment by TimB Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 3:24 pm
++++
Have you figured it out yet Rod??? If you had performed this miserably in a job in the private sector, you’d have been gone about 3 years ago!
++++

Actually, this says volumes about the public sector. (And the people — myself included — who enable these nutjobs by (mis)casting a vote.

My fault, I assume, for the single miscast. But I’ve learned my lesson. Others, I suspect, feel that Blagojevich is doing a fantastic job.

It’s a weird world.

Comment by Macbeth Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 3:32 pm
I am also a parent of a child with autism. Years ago I had kind of a bad experience with a support group that seemed to be far more focused on lobbying for government funding and fighting school districts than anything else.
I wasn’t looking to march on Springfield back then, I was just looking for somebody to reassure me that we could get through this, that it wasn’t the end of the world, and what we could do to help our child (that didn’t have to involve spending gazillions of bucks on lawyers, medical specialists, etc.)
I realize that activism has its place, and sometimes (okay, often) it is necessary to fight for your child’s rights.
But as the other parent said… it’s the PARENTS who really need the money, not the organizations.
Isn’t this reminiscent of the split in the labor movement between the unions who want to stay heavily involved in politics and those who feel it detracts from their real mission of negotiating the best deals possible for their workers?

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 4:09 pm
“parent of child with autism” makes a great point that can be generalized. A lot of these “add-ons” are more for the benefit of the providers who get the benny (and the legislator who gets credit for it) than the actual persons served. They are often duplicative of existing programs and steer money away from awardees based on the merits to awards based on the political sponsorship of the legislator involved. I know of one instance where the legislator was trying to dole out money to churches who would help his election campaign. Now, the money was theoretically to provide services to “needy people”, so cutting off those funds could be decried by hiding behind the skirts of the needy people, but the whole things was a crock. It may be a case of Blagojevich doing the “right” thing (eliminating wasteful spending) for the “wrong” reason (retribution against the legislators involved).

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 4:10 pm
Like Nixon spinning and waving his classic “V for victory” overhead salute before boarding the White House helicopter on the day of his resignation, Blagojevich will stand at the bow of his personal Titanic wearing his health care fig leaf, spread his arms overhead and shout out, “I’m king of the world!”, as our state strikes it’s 50th iceberg and goes under.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 4:11 pm
Whats ever weirder is I don’t see his hair blowing in the wind as he does this - it is frozen in place. Kinda like our state.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 4:12 pm
I do, however, agree that funds promised to an organization in the current year’s budget ought to be given to them and not withheld simply at the whim of the governor. The time to make cuts is before the budget is finalized.
If there is an unexpected shortfall, make a percentage cut across the board, don’t just target some agencies for political reasons.

Comment by Anonymous 4:09 Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 4:21 pm
Hollywood producer tells Rezko trial he saw trouble coming

http://www.sj-r.com/extras/
breaking/index.asp?ID=5438

CHICAGO (AP) - The Oscar-winning producer of “Million Dollar Baby” told political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s fraud trial Thursday that he warned years ago that corruption on a state pension board would wind up in court and Rezko would be sorry about it.

Thomas B. Rosenberg, chairman and CEO of Hollywood production company Lakeshore Entertainment, said he made the prediction in a phone conversation with Springfield millionaire lobbyist William Cellini.

Comment by Crimefighter Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 4:36 pm
“Its not like they have a governor’s school or something”

Maybe Rod should be wearing a “student driver” sign?

Actually, we DO have a governor’s school. High school civics class. Plus a term in the house of representatives watching other governors work. Plus watching more than one go to jail. I won’t give credit for him going to Pepperdine; that’s totally a party school only, it once hosted Battle of the Network Stars, for heavens’ sake.

Comment by Gregor Thursday, Apr 24, 08 @ 9:50 pm