Illinois prisons director resigns 2 months after taking job - Chicago Tribune

 

 

Just two months into his tenure as Rauner's state prisons director, Donald Stolworthy resigns

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's state corrections director, who took over a crowded prison system just two months ago, has resigned, officials confirmed Friday.

The governor's office gave no reason for the premature departure of Donald Stolworthy, named to the $150,228-a-year job on March 9.

"At our request, he has agreed to help during the transition period to continue our transformation of the Department of Corrections while we identify the leader that will succeed him," Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in a statement.

Corrections Department spokeswoman Nicole Wilson said Stolworthy was "not available" for an interview Friday. She referred questions to Kelly.

The 54-year-old Stolworthy, put in charge of penitentiaries designed for 32,000 prisoners but which hold 48,000, had come from the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, where he assessed foreign prison systems and guided senior administration officials.

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Stolworthy raised some eyebrows early on with a memo that said sick-time and overtime rules governing union employees were leading to unreasonable costs. The Springfield Bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers reported in April that Stolworthy said contracts with bargaining units — such as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — contribute to "many of the ills" in the agency.

With a budget of over $1 billion, the agency beset by legal actions over health care and mental health treatment and continued criticism of inmates conditions must deal with the same bleak financial picture that all state government faces.

Rauner and the General Assembly are entering the final week of the spring legislative session without agreement on a budget plan that faces a possible $6 billion deficit.

 

 

"There's no money, and the cuts they may have to make they may not want to," Sen. David Luechtefeld, a southern Illinois Republican whose constituency includes thousands of prison workers, said of Rauner's cabinet. "Being a director right now is really difficult because you know that likely you're going to have to make a lot of cuts that you may not want to make."

Filling the position requires the advice and consent of the Senate. Stolworthy had not been confirmed, but Sen. Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat who is vice chairman of the Executive Appointments Committee, knew of no reason why it would have hit any snags. While he had not spoken to Stolworthy, Manar said the acting director had contacted him, but they'd not yet set an appointment.

Luechtefeld says another transition "slows the process down," and Manar said the agency needs "stability" soon.

AFSCME reacted to the Stolworthy memo by pointing out there wouldn't be so much overtime pay if there were more staff members. There were 16,200 employees in June 2000 compared to 11,200 in February, according to state figures maintained by The Associated Press. The union said on Friday it's also eager for a permanent chief.

"All employees of the state prison system work around the clock to keep Illinois communities safe," AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said in a statement. "They deserve — and all Illinoisans should demand — committed, professional leadership of the Department of Corrections that is never subject to political influence."

Click on the following for all of the story: Illinois prisons director resigns 2 months after taking job - Chicago Tribune

Cash Penalties for Salary Spikes for near retirees

What The Chicago Tribune failed to state is that some of these raises were in labor contracts and/or individual administrator’s contacts prior to enactment of the law and as such must be paid.

This information is available at: 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-search-for-cash-penalties-at-your-school-district-database-pension-20150522-htmlstory.html

Mr. Walberg passes Rauner’s Turnaround as requested

Cathy Ward

May 20 at 10:17pm · Edited ·

BOONE COUNTY BOARD, following the advice of chair Bob Walberg voted tonight (Wednesday night) to support Ill. Gov. Rauner's "Turn Illinois Around" plan by a vote of 7-4 with board member Karl Johnson abstaining - despite the pleas to vote no from of a standing room only crowd of union members from industry, education, and law enforcement. The only board members voting no were Kenny Freeman, Sherry Branson, Craig Schultz and me. While I agree we need changes in Illinois, as u...nion members eloquently noted, this plan needs to be revised to help all our people. Very passionate night for many with strong statements, applause for the unions, and dozens of unhappy people leaving the meeting. I'm sure there is more to come on this. Those voting for Walberg and Rauner were Paul Larson, Denny Ellingson, Sherry Giesecke, Ray Larson, Jeff Carlisle, and Brad Stark.

 

Above is from Cathy Ward’s Facebook.

Republicans to try to launch Rauner's 'Turnaround Agenda' Friday | Chicago

 

SPRINGFIELD — House and Senate Republicans on Friday are expected to begin their push for Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

Republican leaders in each chamber will be sponsors of six individual bills that will be filed simultaneously in each chamber, sources said.

Among the measures:

• A proposal for a property tax freeze that may include a proposal allowing local communities to decide whether they want to have a “prevailing wage.” Rauner has blasted current laws that require non-union construction firms doing work on governments or schools to pay the prevailing union wage in that community.
• An attempt to overhaul how the state’s legislative districts are drawn
• A reform of worker’s compensation costs
• A term limits bill
• A proposal making it easier for municipalities to file for bankruptcy.
• A proposal to limit awards granted in lawsuits.

Sources say the move by Rauner’s administration is to respond to complaints by Democrats that the governor has failed to give them specific language he wants included in reform measures he’s pushing.

“Democrats have all but abandoned his working groups,” one source with knowledge of the proposals told the Sun-Times. “This is his response to the Democrats’ failure to cooperate and meaningfully find common ground on his agenda items.”

In recent weeks, the Democrats have called votes on an anti-union right-to-work to work bill and a series of social service cuts — measures they have patterned after Rauner’s proposals and watched go down in flames with Democrats opposing and Republicans basically ignoring.

The new Republican proposals do not include a push for right to work, which failed to win one yes vote following a heated House debate last week.

One Republican said the six so-called “vehicle bills” to be filed Friday should at least get an airing on the committee level.

“I welcome that opportunity. Look, from a minority perspective in the House, we’re fighting off bad bills and fighting off bad bills brought ostensibly in the name of the governor. They were examples of political theater only,” said state Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove. “I’d like to have a real debate. I think the issues are important enough to have a serious discussion.”

Rauner has spent much of the last several months trying to sell his Turnaround Agenda around the state. It was largely viewed as an attack on unions, but Rauner has said he is looking to create a more business-friendly climate in Illinois. Rauner’s remarks on the anti-union, right-to-work proposal have gained the most publicity, drawing a strong rebuke from unions statewide. A majority of communities have rejected the agenda or adopted their own versions.

Still, Rauner has held up his agenda as a condition in budget negotiations — something that has rubbed Democrats the wrong way.

“It’s very unusual for a governor to wait to the very end of session to file bills for ideas that he supports. That’s exceedingly rare,” said state Sen. Dan Kotowski, D-Park Ridge. “It’s [usually] a pretty intense and comprehensive process.”

Democrats have pounded the governor for not putting his ideas into legislative form earlier in the session.

“There is still time to work with the governor on some of his initiatives,” said state Sen. John Cullerton’s spokeswoman, Rikeesha Phelon. ”But the budget process should not be held hostage to an agenda to maximize profits for corporations at the expense of the middle class.”

It’s unclear what kind of reception the new filings will find in the Illinois House. House Speaker Mike Madigan, D-Chicago, has called votes on components of Rauner’s plan for weeks — sending the bills to their graves.

“We voted on much of that stuff already. We’ve been asking for the administration’s language on bills for weeks, maybe longer than weeks,” Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said late Thursday. “We’ve been working in a professional, cooperative manner with the administration. We’ve asked for language, they weren’t working. We’ll look at what they proposed. If it’s something that the House has already voted on, what changes? All I see is town after town, county after county voting down [Rauner's plan].”

 

Republicans to try to launch Rauner's 'Turnaround Agenda' Friday | Chicago

Millionaire tax falls short in Illinois House - News - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL

 

A proposed state constitutional amendment to impose a 3 percent surtax on incomes of more than $1 million a year failed Thursday in the Illinois House.

The vote on the amendment was 68-47. It needed 71 votes to pass the House.

All Republicans voting on the proposed amendment voted against it. Three Democrats also voted against the measure: Jack Franks of Marengo, Ken Dunkin of Chicago and Scott Drury of Highwood.

Even though three Democrats voted against his proposed amendment, House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, blamed members of Gov. Bruce Rauner's party for its defeat.

"The passage of this was in the hands of the Rauner Republicans," Madigan said. "The roll call was very clear. The Rauner Republicans voted against the resolution. They don't even want to give the voters of the state the opportunity to vote on this question. It's very regrettable."

Madigan used a parliamentary maneuver to keep the measure alive for a possible vote again before the spring legislative session is over. He said it will depend on whether Republicans change their minds on the amendment.

In the meantime, Madigan has a roll call on the amendment that he can use to attack GOP lawmakers in upcoming campaigns.

Republicans seemed unlikely to change their votes. During debate, many of them said the surtax, if it was adopted, would lead to an exodus of millionaires from the state.

"These people have the ability to leave, and they can and they will," said Rep. Ron Sandack, R-

Millionaire tax falls short in Illinois House - News - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL

Where Gov. Rauner visited in campaign-style roadshow events - Chicago Tribune

 

Visiting restaurants, manufacturing plants, hotel ballrooms and business luncheons, Gov. Bruce Rauner covered the state from top to bottom trying to generate support for his economic agenda. This list is a compilation of events on the governor's public schedule from Feb. 4 (his state of the state address) through May 8 where the topic was "turnaround agenda" or "empower Illinois taxpayers"

Governor's stops from Feb. 4 to April 29 With site and agenda

Sources: Gov. Rauner's office.

@ChiTribGraphics

Where Gov. Rauner visited in campaign-style roadshow events - Chicago Tribune

Telecommunicators recognized | Ogle County News

 

Six important Ogle County residents were on duty when an EF4 tornado struck Ogle County April 9.

For staying calm throughout the disaster and helping the public, the Ogle County E9-1-1- Board presented telecommunicators with certificates of recognition on May 13.

“I can not believe what these people went through and how they kept their calm, said 9-1-1 coordinator Sandy Beitel. “The professionalism was above and beyond anything I could even imagine. They handled things expeditiously with the proper treatment of the public.”

Beitel listened to an hour’s worth of calls that came into the center during the storm.

“You guys made a perfect storm work out,” she said.

Sandy Sullivan, Rochelle; Cassie Rogers, Rochelle; Brian Symons, Ogle County; Cory Beck, Rochelle; Heather Butler, telecommunicators supervisor; and Kathy Hardesty, Ogle County, were on duty at the Rochelle call center during the storm.

The Ogle County call center was still in transition between the old building and the new public safety complex, which required all the telecommunicators to use the same facility.

“They did a great job and we were lucky to have this group working together,” said Sullivan. “They worked as a great team. Two different agencies coming together. They did an excellent job.”

The high praise continued from everyone on the 9-1-1 board including Richard Mott, assistant chief of the Lynn-Scott-Rock Fire Department.

“Thank you,” Mott said. “Being in the fire side I was on the outside. I would much rather be where I was then where you were. I would not have your job for all the tea in China.”

The telecommunicators were also presented with t-shirts.

The shirt has a tornado graphic and reads “I was the calm voice during the storm” along with their agency.

A sign from Hickory Ridge Drive, a subdivision off Skare Road west of Rochelle was returned to the county and was on display during the meeting.

The sign was found approximately 24 miles northwest in Boone County near Bloods Point and Wheeler Road.

Telecommunicators recognized | Ogle County News