I watched a little bit of the debate between current Governor Pat Quinn and his rival Dan Hynes on PBS yesterday evening. I tuned in to watch “This Old House”, as I didn’t even know a debate was scheduled, but instead I got “This Old Tiresome Politics in Illinois” instead. I didn’t really learn anything of value from either candidate. They were busy tossing back and forth blame for Illinois’ current economic woes. On the Republican side, there’s about 4,000 candidates for governor and 40,000,000 for lieutenant governor, so I have a feeling, the 2% of illegible voters who show up to the polls Feb 2nd, will be doing a lot of eeny-meeny-miny-moe-ing.
Locally, we do have an interesting primary battle between Amy Bliefnick and Tim Dudley for the 51st District Illinois seat, which is currently held by Republican Kyle McCarter. I don’t know either one of them personally but from what I’ve noticed, the unions and the big wigs in the Democratic Party are tossing their support behind Dudley (they did so early on in the race) and the business folks are rooting for Bliefnick. That may be a bit simplified but that seems to be the case. Dudley is currently a Macon County Board member, real estate professional and broadcaster. Bliefnick is currently president of the board of trustees at Richland Community College and has been the Illinois State Fair Manager. At this point, I don’t know who would prefer.
From my highly scientific polling, Dudley is in the lead with 518 fans on Facebook compared to Amy’s 457 – if that means anything.
Amy Bliefnick’s Website
Bliefnick’s Facebook Page
Tim Dudley’s Website
Dudley on Facebook
Illinois Representative Phil Hare held a town hall meeting on the proposed national health care reform legislation in Decatur on August 19, 2009. The meeting was held at the Community Health Improvement Center (CHIC). About 25-30 people attended the meeting. Former Decatur city councilman Dan Caulkins was there and asked some questions. Current councilman Larry Foster was in the hallway after the meeting and spoke briefly to Rep. Hare. Foster has recently been vocal about his displeasure of not being invited to Senator Durbin’s recent stealth-like meeting at Decatur Memorial Hospital. Durbin has been criticized by many for not holding public town hall meetings on the proposed health care legislation; instead Durbin has resorted to small, private meetings with select officials to avoid the heated meetings many congressional leaders are finding themselves enduring when going back home to face their constituents.
The meeting lasted about an hour and was very respectful and constructive in tone. A handful of individuals shared their own personal stories. One woman, who had previously been a health care worker herself, but is no longer able to work due to her own health care issues, spoke of her inability to obtain health coverage through Illinois’ FamilyCare program because she didn’t meet the requirements. Only women with children under the age of 18 qualify for Illinois’ FamilyCare plan. She made an impassioned plea for change in the health care system. She had cancer has a young child, which has led to chronic health issues, therefore no private insurer will cover her. (Watch video) She represents many Americans who are left with no health care options due to pre-existing conditions and exorbitant health care costs.
A couple individuals expressed their concerns about abortion being funded by the legislation. Rep. Hare assured them that coverage for abortion is not included in the bill. Caulkins expressed his concerns as a business owner of the costs and other concerns that he had.
Videos the videos of the meeting on the Decatur Navigator YouTube Channel. They are in eight parts.
Welcome to Illinois - It's Not the Roadkill You Smell - It's Our Politics!
I guess I’ve just become apathetic over the years when it comes to politics in Illinois. Living in Decatur, pretty much smack-dab in the middle of the state, way too far away from Chicago to matter, state government has never mattered much to me, mainly because - I’ve never mattered to it! I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but I voted for Gov. Blagojevich twice. The first time because I thought he was a decent guy, and after Governor Ryan, I figured we’d already been there and done that – in terms of Governors headed for prison. The second time I voted for Blagojevich was because of his AllKids health care program, which came in very handy when my husband changed jobs and was without health benefits for about six months. We thought we could buy health insurance but quickly found out how difficult it is to obtain health coverage – even if you can afford it. I was turned down for a preexisting condition, that only requires two visits to my doctor’s office twice a year for a prescription, and my husband because of his weight. Serious reform is needed in the health care insurance industry but that’s another story.
Back to Illinois’ politics…The problem with Illinois isn’t too unique. Chicago has the greater population, money and political clout. The other 90% of Illinois, which is more rural, is largely ignored by the big political machinery residing in Chicago. It doesn’t help that our governor resides there too, when the state capitol is in Springfield! Road projects in downstate Illinois are always last on the list, if they even make the list at all. Districts are drawn up to benefit one party over the other without regards to the residents living in those areas. Illinois’ 17th Congressional District, where I live, is a perfect example of gerymandering. So what are we supposed to do? I guess we could become extremist and succeed from the state of Chicago and form our own state and call it, oh I don’t know, how about Illinois! I don’t know what the answer is but some serious reform, redrawing of districts, and better checks and balances are needed to ensure ALL the state is represented and “pay to play” isn’t the state slogan.
