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The Verdict – Or the Lack Thereof
The 38th and 39th Governors of the State of Illinois
are now convicted felons.
I must say I am surprised that the jury was able to
reach a unanimous verdict on only one of the charges before them. But, I wasn't in the courtroom - only
watching it unfold in the media like most everyone else. And while the Blagojevich jury was
unable to reach agreement on almost all of the two dozen charges, no one
listening to the tapes of the former governor discussing trading campaign contributions
for official state action would think that behavior is ethical or
appropriate. Even if it isn't
illegal.
More than angry, I am saddened that our great state
has been rocked by so many political scandals. I'd like to think the convictions of
Ryan and Blagojevich will be sufficient to stop bad actors. I might have believed that a few years
ago. I don't any more.
And I wish I had answers as to how we do better. Better as elected officials. Better as candidates. Better as voters
selecting our candidates and elected officials. Better at encouraging true public
servants to get involved in the rough and tumble world of state
politics. I recognize there is no
silver bullet but I am interested in your thoughts. Please feel free to share them with
me.
Update on Abolishing the Suburban Cook County ROE
I am happy to let you know that legislation of mine to
abolish the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education (ROE) recently
became law.
Public Act 96-0893 eliminates the elected position of
superintendent in the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education. In the 1990’s, the Illinois
legislature eliminated the office from Chicago due to its inefficiencies and
under this bill, the suburban office will be abolished as well.
While the Suburban ROE was tasked with performing
actions important to our suburban schools, for over two decades it was
underfunded or rife with abuse. The
former Superintendent, who recently resigned, is under indictment for
stealing from the office. During
these difficult economic times, it is shameful that someone would be
exploiting our educational dollars for personal gain.
Superintendent Flowers was indicted for stealing
office funds and using them for personal expenses and family loans. This legislation will eliminate such
abuses of power by the superintendent’s office while reforming suburban
educational service centers to make them more independent and functional for
suburban school districts.
CUB Event
On September 14th, Senator Susan Garrett and
I will co-host a “Utility Bill Check-Up” with CUB (Citizens
Utility Board). For those of you
who aren’t familiar with CUB, the following is a brief explanation of their
work.
CUB challenges utility rate increases, fights for rate
reductions and refunds of overcharges, and appeals unfair regulatory
decisions in the courts. CUB also promotes tougher consumer protection laws
in the state legislature, where rules governing the utilities are written,
and publishes consumer and education materials. CUB also is working to ensure
that the introduction of competition into the utility industry will provide
real benefits for real people, and not just added headaches and hassles. CUB
also operates a Consumer Hotline (1-800-669-5556) that provides assistance to
individual consumers who have complaints against their utility companies. The
Hotline fields more than 6,000 calls a year.
At our event, representatives from CUB will be giving
a brief presentation. Counselors
will then take a look at electric, gas, or phone bills one-on-one. We are excited at the opportunity to
host this event again and looking forward to seeing our constituents. The event will be held at the Des
Plaines Library – Meeting Room C from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
IPXP Insurance Plan
The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
created in each state a federally-funded health insurance program known as a
high risk pool. In Illinois, this
program is called the "Illinois Pre-Existing Condition Insurance
Plan," or "IPXP."
IPXP requires an enrollee to pay a premium, is not an
entitlement program, and will be operated without cost to the State. Enrollment will proceed in the order
by which completed applications are received.
Due to the fiscal constraints of the federal funding,
the Illinois total of which is approximately $196 million, enrollment will be
limited to 4,000 - 6,000 residents.
I wanted to notify any uninsured constituents that enrollment opened on
August 20th at 10:00 am.
Subject to the oversight and direction of the
Departments of Insurance and Public Health, Health Alliance Medical Plans
(Urbana) will administer the program.
All claims and administrative expenses will be paid by the US
Department of Health and Human Services.
Benefits for enrollees will include primary and
specialty care, hospital care, and prescription drugs.
To be eligible for IPXP coverage, an applicant must
satisfy the conditions set forth in the Affordable Care Act:
1.
Uninsured for at least six (6) months;
2.
Have a pre-existing condition; and,
3.
Be a lawful resident of the United States.
Your constituents can view the IPXP application
on-line at Insurance.Illinois.gov/IPXP, or call 877.210-9167 (voice) or 877.883-8551
(TTY).
As explained on the IPXP web site, applications will
be accepted on-line and in person at Department of Insurance offices in
Springfield or Chicago
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