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As I noted in the Capitol Fax today, the folks who run the private foundation for Starved Rock State Park are not happy campers. They recently sent this letter to the Freeport Journal-Standard:
As elected directors of the Board of the Starved Rock Historical & Educational Foundation, we are outraged at the layoff of the National Resource Coordinator, the resulting elimination of two seasonal site interpreters, and the reduction in force of other park staff at Starved Rock State Park. The Starved Rock Historical and Educational Foundation is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation. The purpose of the foundation is to facilitate the Visitor Center Program that includes education, conservation and recreation. We raise monies through membership, donations and profits from our 100 percent volunteer-run LeRocher Book Shop. During 2004 the foundation’s volunteer program, with more than 115 participants logging 4,731 hours, also provided hike leaders, trail walkers, information desk workers and raised more than $15,000 for benches around the visitor center, materials, equipment and programs.
When planning the $4.5 million, 12,000 square feet visitor center, it was agreed by all, including those in Springfield, that it would be staffed with three site interpreters, three seasonal interpreters, one clerical and one maintenance person. That staffing plan was never implemented. Starved Rock has lost six of 21 full-time employees since 2000, the visitor center lost three of its four staff as of Jan. 14, and will be down to a single employee! The Band-Aid approach of taking others away from their already understaffed positions, and bringing them into staff the visitor center is ludicrous!
And here’s the threat:
A single employee in the visitor center cannot adequately meet the needs of the public. Special events cannot be run with this reduction in staff. Volunteers are here to supplement not replace permanent staff! Therefore, foundation members and volunteers will NOT be available to work special events until the needs and safety of the public are met by reinstating the positions at the visitor center.
Angry, angry people.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 25, 05 @ 3:45 pm
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Let’s hope this anger manifests itself two years down the line at the polling place. Lots of people were angry at George Bush, too — but not enough, I guess.
All that really matters is your vote.
In the meantime, I doubt very much that Blagojevich’s advisors really care much about Starved Rock. Didn’t Bradley Tusk last week admit that, um, Illinois really is a big state and there’s like, um, four parts, really? To (loosely) paraphrase a recent interview with Tusk:
“There’s the, whaddyacallit, downstate area — which is, you know, a lot like the South. Because, I’m told, ya know, it’s near the South. I didn’t really think about that. Or if I did, um, it was in my social studies class.
And then there’s the central part of the state. Which is, like, very midwestern, you know? But it’s the central part. The place in the middle.
And then there’s the other two parts. Um, there’s the suburbs, and there’s … Chicago. Duh.”
Link here:
http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2005/01/23/top/doc41f3a78dbc0be568904964.txt
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 25, 05 @ 7:09 pm
And we need these people on the public payroll…why? “Interpreters?!” I first noticed this word in CA 2 summers ago.
When the warm front of drippy ‘Oprahfication’ meets the cold front of insipid ‘bizspeak’, the world suffers from a deluge of ‘re-naming’, mission statement re-writes (complete with PR consultants) and other such nonsense.
Interpret this. If you won’t cut spending where it needs to be cut (public education bloat) you will just have to do with a few less ‘interpreters’.
Comment by Bruno Tuesday, Jan 25, 05 @ 11:59 pm
Bruno,
Exactly.
When revenues don’t meet expectations it is time to cut.
Prioritize - education or someone to hold your hand while you are sniffing the flowers?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 26, 05 @ 3:41 pm
Angry people at Starved Rock, angry people in comments. I guess it never ends.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jan 26, 05 @ 3:54 pm
In their idea world, the DNR employees would all be able to keep those nice stafe state jobs with pensions and everything, including not having to work that hard-the true mark of nearly all state government jobs. And I’m sure the free housing is nice–especially when considering that most of us actually have to pay a substantial portion of our income for housing.
But the governor is actually trying to do something
productive here and cut staff where staff clearly aren’t needed. Most people never even go to Starved Rock, and, if they do, they should be able to get around without “interpreters.” If a few people have to have “interpreters” they should pay for them. Maybe
the Foundation should develop private funding for these positions or people who need them should, God forbid, actually pay for them.Taxpayers can’t pay for everything and state park “interpreters” would have to be way down on anybody’s list of budget prorities.
What this whining illustrates is that in Illinois we need a tax rebate. State employees and groups such as this educational foundation need to start living in the real world of people who have to raise kids, pay mortgages, feed their families ,pay for school supplies, pay for health care and who should not have their pockets picked by a bloated state bureaucracy full of “lifers” performing optional and often obsolete work tasks.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 26, 05 @ 4:37 pm
Rich,
I’m not angry, I’m simply supporting Blago’s attempt to prioritize and reduce expenditures in light of revenue not meeting expectation. (Anything that we can dream of to fund publicly is good for someone, but what is good for the whole and what can we afford?)
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 26, 05 @ 4:41 pm
Anonymnous who wrote “who should not have their pockets picked by a bloated state bureaucracy full of “lifers” performing optional and often obsolete work tasks” is probably on of the few angry democrats that is still looking for a state job. The “lifers” who he/she is referring to are the politically connected who are hired not based on their qualifications or education but who they know. I highly doubt interpreters fit that mold. I did some research at CMS and interpreters or Natural Resources Coordinators are technical employees that require at least a 4 year degree in the science field. They perform a number of job duties including conducting programs, guided hikes, managing visitor centers and assisting biologist in their duties. Sounds like a necessary job for a State Park like Starve Rock with visitation over 1 million people.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 26, 05 @ 5:32 pm
If they have “four year degrees in the science field”
they should be able to get better and more useful jobs than showing people around state parks–that is, they
should have real jobs requiring use of their scientific
knowledge. Showing people around state parks is a nice
concept but what the state and country need are truly
productive employees who actually use their education, which was probably at ;east partially taxpayer-funded. And the oversupply of state employees is not primarily a result of patronage. It’s a result of unionization and poor management. If the state payroll were cut by 10%, believe me, in terms of real need, nobody would
notice.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 26, 05 @ 7:17 pm
Anonymous, before the early retirement program took effect, Illinois had the lowest ratio of state workers per resident in the nation. Now, it’s even lower. Let’s tone down the goofy rhetoric, or I’m gonna banish you to the Leader boards.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jan 27, 05 @ 8:33 am
Ever heard of a degree in park management? or outdoor recreation? These are real degrees for real jobs. You and I agree one thing….if the state payroll was reduced by 10 percent nobody would notice. I agree with this statement because there are middle managers who got their jobs through patronage that are still employed with the state. These employees were not hired based on any real skill or education and could be dumped tomorrow and nobody would notice. But it is not these people who are gone, it is the front lines people like maintenance workers and park intrepreters who have been layed off. And the public will notice when a professional employee is not there to manage a brand new 4.4 million dollor visitor center which runs 20,000 visitors through it on a holiday week-end (according to the articles I have been reading). I visit a state park in my area on a regular basis….they hired a new guy to run the park. He was a democrat player in the area. What does he know about wildlife management, park management or outdoor recreation? Probably nothing. This park has the potential to draw alot of people to the area if only it was managed properly. But it will never reach its potential hiring the average joe off the street. And Starve Rock will never reach its potential without the professionals to run it. Sure, it can get by with volunteers and minimum wage staff but is that how the real world works?….hiring only the minimum qualified?
How many less employees would the state need if they would only hire the best qualified person for the job? 10 percent less? 20 percent less?
Sorry for the soapbox but I use the public land in llinois and spend alot of money doing so ie local economy boosters.
I am glad you are not making the hiring/firing decisions, the park I go to would probably be closed due to “lack of qualified people to manage it”.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 27, 05 @ 8:54 am