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From a press release:
Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today named Sheila Nix, his former senior advisor and deputy campaign manager, and Louanner Peters, previously his deputy chief of staff for social services and deputy campaign manager, as Deputy Governors effective December 15. Current Deputy Governor Bradley Tusk plans to return to his hometown of New York City for a position in the private sector. […]
Nix will be based in Chicago and will oversee the administration’s policy, legislative affairs, and communications efforts, while Peters will be based in Springfield and will oversee public safety and social service programs and operations. Governor Blagojevich is not the first to name two deputy governors; in 2000 under Gov. George Ryan, Katherine D. Selcke and Dr. Hazel Loucks simultaneously held the position with Selcke concentrating on programs and policy and Loucks focusing on education.
*** UPDATE *** Once again, I forgot to post my syndicated newspaper column. Coincidentally, it’s about Tusk’s departure and Nix’s ascension.
The consensus among insiders seems to be that the departure of Deputy Gov. Bradley Tusk this month will mean a less confrontational administration in the coming years.
[Thanks to “Bill” in comments for reminding me.]
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 10:43 am
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Congratulations Sheila and Lou. Its gonna be a great four years!
Comment by Bill Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 10:45 am
Work hard - lie harder!
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 11:00 am
You misspelled Scofield.
Comment by Snark Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 11:47 am
1) Re TWO deputy governors - I thought the Nim-Rod admin was about doing “more with less”? I guess this applies to everyone but the governor’s office.
2) I think I finally realized why this Nim-Rod flack goes by the name he does … ’cause after these buffoons get finished, we’ll be left with nothing but the “Bill.”
Comment by Two Things: Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 12:05 pm
They are about everyone else doing more with less, not them, silly.
Shelia deserves it as she worked extremely hard answering questions that GRod would/could not answer on the campaign trail. As she covered his rear, he was reelected.
Comment by Wumpus Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 12:17 pm
Two great choices. I am happy for both of them.
Comment by Roomie Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 12:25 pm
Is Tusk leaving town ahead of a posse?
Comment by Keyser Soze Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 12:26 pm
Don’t know much about Shiela except as Blago’s mouthpiece during the campaign, as for Louanner, she knows her stuff.
Comment by Shallow Pharnyx Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 12:26 pm
But didn’t Louanner preside over the DCFS meltdown (federal investigations, patronage hires, preventable child maltreatment deaths)
and haven’t there been serious problems with
DHS. Perhaps she has expertise in other areas.
I guess the message to the taxpayer is business as usual with respect to Illinois social services.
Comment by Cassandra Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 12:31 pm
Cassandra, I’m with you. I remember it very well, Louanner Peters, Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services.
Just like it was yesterday.
Well, to say the least, change is alway good. But will this change be what’s needed to open the Governor’s office from the veil of secrecy and defiance that has existed over the past four years. Will these two ladies make the difference or will they be a continuation of the past.
It all depends on Rod Blagojevich-
Will he sit back and allow business to remain as usual as he did the last past years?
We have yet to see a change in the Ethics Legislation and as a matter of fact, it doesn’t even seem to be an issue anymore, which is why it wasn’t on the legislative agenda at the last session.
Comment by One_Mcmad Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 12:57 pm
Brad, before you depart back to New York, please leave your orange jump suit here in Chicago for you will have to return to face judgment; divine justice.
….A day in a jump suit before a U.S District Judge or a U.S Magistrate Judge.
——-And I’m generally nice.
Comment by Tusk can leave his Orange Jump Suit here Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 1:00 pm
Bradley, if you hurry up you can catch up with Z. Scott even though she left over a year ago, she still hasn’t gotten too far. Both of yall gonna need lawyers.
http://www.mayerbrownrowe.com/lawyers/profile.asp?hubbardid=S080089749
Two departing crooks from the Office of Governor Rod R. Blagojevich, Inc.
Comment by Tusk can leave his Orange Jump Suit here Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 1:06 pm
You can say that again!
Comment by Once a Crook Always a Crook Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 1:18 pm
I don’t know much about Nix other than she is just another cronie that runs interference for Blago, as for Louanner Peters, she is probably one of the most non-ethical people in Blago’s administration. Louanner was almost running the Springfield office when Blago wasn’t around, anyway. Things won’t be very much different as when Bradley and Lonnie were there. There are a lot of these hidden closet cronies around.
Comment by WARDOG Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 1:20 pm
TCLHOJSH-
Bradley was never implicated in any of the hiring issues, Levine probe etc. So stop trying to make a connection there.
As far as Lou and Sheila, it’s interesting to promote those two to D-Gov; Sheila was a DC insider, Lou was a Cook County insider (at the least a Chicago insider).
Let’s give the two D-Govs a break for about a hundred days and then pass judgment.
Comment by Cornelius Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 1:44 pm
Is Tusk dumping President Blagojevich for President Bloomberg?
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 1:44 pm
Someone’s name is Louanner?
Comment by Shelbyville Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 2:11 pm
Louanna was responsible for the Sister Claudette Muhammned fiasco. The sister was her recommendation.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 2:21 pm
I googled Louanner Peters. Apparently she used to be an official of something called the UMOJA PARTY in Washington DC??
Weird. But not the half of it. In that position, she railed against raiding the DC pension fund!
Yes! From the lips of Louanner Peters, future Deputy Dog to Fund-Raidin’ Rod: “Like the corporate raiders of the 1980s, they want to loot a pension fund. They attack one of our city’s best-managed assets, the pension fund administered by the D.C. Retirement Board. This budgetary shell-game, a hostile takeover of our assets, is obscene.”
Write your punchline.
Comment by Get This. Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 3:20 pm
I wonder what Nix will come up with in terms of majority election policy, if anything.
Comment by Squideshi Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 3:49 pm
Does this mean that we are getting a two-fer, ie are they splitting tusk’s salary? Oops, what was I thinking, we’re getting 2 for the price of 2.
Comment by huh? Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 5:37 pm
My gosh, I go out of town for a week and she gets another promotion.
What happens next week, Governor Nix?
Comment by The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 6:23 pm
at least one of them is from Illinois originally. or is Shelia also from Illinois?
on the other hand, none of it probably matters.
Leadership starts at the top, and Rod is anything but.
Comment by Mike Williams Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 6:35 pm
Two Deputy Governor’s? How many people do we need running around the State with a xxxx - Governor title?
Not to mention all the high priced assistants they will have. Assistant, Assistant to, Chief of Staff to, Asst. Chief of staff blah, blah, blah.
Gotta love the smaller government that has been created.
Comment by Buck Flagojevich Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 7:34 pm
This gave me a great idea. Why don’t we have a Northern and a Southern Governor? I wonder how many State workers will have to go to pay for these two fools.
Comment by state worker Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 8:16 pm
Hey State Worker: Hope they let of lot you underworked,overpaid, GOP loving people go. They should start by re-opening the AFSCME contract, lay off a couple thousand of you, and then cut the benefits for those who are left.
Comment by Anon Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 9:09 pm
Cassandra - Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 12:31 pm: You are right. She allowed the Deputy of Personnel to run amock along with the Deputy of External Affairs. The rats are out of the cage since Director Samnuels has gone and Ms Personnel is running around saying “she’s back”. Is this what to expect the next 4 years will be????
Comment by concern citizen Monday, Dec 11, 06 @ 9:45 pm
Anon, you are so right. What a bunch of GOPer crybabies. Reading these posts one would think they are working in ” sweat shop ” conditions. Conditions that their ” what’s good for business is good for America ” cronies would love seeing back ! Do these GOPers belong to AFSME just so they have a union to back them when they file a grievance for having to wake up , get out of bed and stumble into work ? Surely must be the case because they don’t support any other types of unions !
Comment by bluedog demo Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 6:36 am
To bluedog demo - get a clue, just because AFSCME doesn’t support the Gov. (SEIU does), that doesn’t exclude state workers the right to collective bargining.
Comment by Ex-democrat Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 6:48 am
Ex-dem,
You are the one who should get a clue. They have the right to collective bargaining. They don’t have a guarantee of being successful.All that grandstanding by Henry and the boys is coming home to roost at a state facility near you very soon.
They just should of kept their big mouths shut,but NOOOOOOO…
Comment by Bill Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 6:58 am
Bill, Success is relative. What’s it like to be a lap dog?
Comment by Ex-democrat Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 7:41 am
Concerned Citizen
So, does this mean that the federal investigation into DCFS’ hiring practices has ended and nothing was found? Or is DCFS contemplating returning the
3 employees (who likely technically never actually left their Personnel jobs on the org charts) to their jobs in Personnel, including the Personnel Director. Perhaps the departure of Samuels gives Peters free reign to repoliticize DCFS hiring and management, including the 3 compromised Personnel employees.
Louanner’s appointment may not be good news for the hiring reform in state government crowd.
Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 8:45 am
Ex-dem,
Its fun. Now get to work.
Comment by Bill Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 9:08 am
Ex-Dem, No kidding, state employees should and do have the right to collective bargaining. What they DON’T have the the right to is collective WHINEing !
Comment by bluedog demo Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 2:45 pm
For your info I am a DEMOCRAT that did NOT vote for Blago. And the only whining I see is you merit comp wanna be’s that wish you were in a Union. When was the last time Blago gave you a raise? That’s what I thought, so don’t hate on us because we get what we DESERVE.
Comment by state worker Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 6:05 pm
Cassandra I work at DCFS and since the DIrector left the “old” Deputy of Personnel who actually never left is running the show along with her two frinds and got a hefty raise. It seems there is no shortage of cash when it comes to raise for the select noblitity
Comment by concern citizen Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 9:13 pm
Wasn’t Brad Tusk………a tad brusque??
Comment by Dooley Dudright Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 9:31 pm
I told him to go back to New York. It is to bad he waited so long.
He ratted folks.
Comment by howard Tuesday, Dec 12, 06 @ 10:18 pm