|
The report given by the Department of
Public Health to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board,
which recommends that LDC be closed, says that "economics play the
deciding role in this application. … the lack of funding for this
facility in the State budget means that the only way care can be
maintained for these patients is to move them to other facilities
which have the necessary funding."
On Aug. 15, the planning board will
decide whether to give the Department of Human Services a permit to
close LDC. DHS and Gov. George Ryan, citing continuing allegations
of abuse and neglect, have set Sept. 1 of this year as the date to
shutter the doors of the 125-year-old facility.
"Basing the recommendation for closure
on lack of funds is wrong," Bomke said Wednesday. "That’s not an
issue. It’s just a question of reallocating funds."
Even though current funding for LDC
runs only until Sept. 1, Bomke says money could be found to keep the
embattled Lincoln facility open.
"We know that funding will have to be
increased at other institutions to care for LDC residents being
transferred there," he said. "DHS is the largest agency in state
government, and I guarantee they don’t calculate their budget to the
penny," Bomke said DHS has the ability to transfer 3 percent of its
budget from one facility to another.
Even if DHS was not able to fund LDC
for another year, the legislature could always appropriate
additional funds, he said.
"Last year’s budget was based on an
$800 million year-end balance in the general revenue fund. It is not
uncommon for the legislature to make supplemental revenue available
if an agency runs low on funds. They could do that either in the
November veto session or in January," Bomke said.
Bomke, who will represent southwestern
Logan County and most of Lincoln if he wins in the November
election, is a party to the lawsuit that has forced DHS to seek the
permit before permanently closing LDC.
He said he was disappointed in the
DPH’s report. Closing LDC, he said, is not a good thing for Logan
County, but it is even worse for the parents and families of LDC
residents and for the residents themselves.
Spokespersons for the American
Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the union that
represents most LDC workers, also disagreed with the DPH report.
"What I can’t get over is how the
planning board staff seemed to miss the most obvious point," said
Anne Irving, spokesperson for AFSCME Council 31. "There are just not
enough services in this planning area to serve the residents of LDC."
During hearings in front of a House
committee early this year, DHS representatives said there were 168
LDC residents who had families ties to central Illinois, but now
they are listing only 63 residents in the planning area, she said.
These 63 residents could be accommodated at Jacksonville
Developmental Center, according to DHS.
 [to top of second column in this
article]
|
However, many families live just
outside the planning area but are close enough to Lincoln to visit
their relatives often. These include families in Peoria, Tazewell
and McLean counties.
"By excluding LDC residents whose
family members are outside the planning area but who are still
closer to LDC than to other state-operated facilities, they are
distorting the picture," Irving said.
For example, she said, an elderly
parent, Clara May, recently widowed, has a daughter at LDC. May
lives in Peoria and visits her daughter often, bringing her home at
least once a month.
Irving said May specifically asked that
her daughter be transferred to Jacksonville but has been told she
will go to Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park because she will
get better care there.
"She is asking how her daughter can get
better care if she isn’t able to see her mother," Irving said.
Irving also questioned the objectivity
of the DPH report.
"The planning board staff, employed by
the governor, analyzes the data provided by the DHS staff, also
employed by the governor, which includes a statement by an attorney
in the Bureau of the Budget, also employed by the governor. There is
no critical analysis," she said.
Dan Senters, spokesman for AFSCME
Local 425, said he was also disappointed in the conclusions DPH
reached.
"It’s more of the same. DHS is trying
to make Lincoln look bad when it isn’t." He said several former
Lincoln staff members who have transferred to other state-operated
facilities are being cited for the good work they are doing.
Senters also agreed that DHS
understated the number of people who need facilities in the area.
"The criteria for closure have not been
met. I would hope that the board would be more objective than the
staff whose paychecks are signed by Gov. Ryan."
The criteria which the Health
Facilities Planning Board will consider include the DPH staff
report, a petition signed by approximately 10,000 people opposing
the closure of LDC, several letters from parents opposed to the
closure, a letter from AFSCME, several letters from provider groups
in the area offering placement to LDC residents, letters supporting
closure from several groups representing developmentally disabled
individuals, and a letter from Melissa Wright, associate director of
the Office of Developmental Disabilities.
Reginald
Marsh, spokesperson for DHS, could not be reached Thursday morning.
[Joan
Crabb] |
|
"Every two years, many men and women
are elected to county boards and commissions for the first time and
immediately face an array of questions and responsibilities,"
explained Jeri Marxman, U of I Extension public policy education
specialist who is heading the project. "We thought that if we
provided them the opportunity to learn about the requirements and
gain the insights of longtime, retiring board and commission
members, they would be able to hit the ground running if they win in
November."
For many years, Extension has provided
post-election training for county board members and commissioners.
Marxman said a representative of the
Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs will be
present at the programs to explain the fiduciary duties of board and
commissioner members. Ethics and potential conflicts of interest will be addressed by a representative of the Illinois attorney
general’s office. Extension specialists will provide information on
parliamentary procedure and meeting management.
 [to top of second column in this
article]
|
"We are particularly excited about a
panel of veteran board and commission members who will share their
experiences with the candidates," said Marxman. "They’ll discuss the
things they wished they had known before they began their service
and how board and commission members can most effectively serve the
public."
Registration for each meeting begins at
3:30 p.m., and the training commences at 4 p.m., concluding at 8
p.m. The $45 charge per person includes materials and dinner. People
interested in attending one of the sessions should contact their
local Extension office for further information.
Dates and locations are:
• Sept. 5 — Galesburg,
Prairie Inn (formerly Jumer’s)
• Sept. 11 — Springfield,
Northfield Conference Center
• Sept. 19 — Morris,
Jennifer’s Garden Center
•
Sept. 26 — Mount Vernon, Holiday Inn
[U
of I news
release]
|
|
The collection contains a number of
interesting rarities. Several early Illinois law books, such as
Sidney Breese’s 1831 "Reports on Cases at the Common Law and In
Chancery" and the 1839 edition of "Cases Adjudged in the Supreme
Court of the State of Illinois," are found in the collection. Of
special significance is Judge David Davis’ copy of the "Laws of the
State of Illinois Passed by the Tenth General Assembly." Davis was
judge of the 8th Judicial Circuit, where Abraham Lincoln practiced
law from 1837 to 1861. Lincoln appointed Davis to the United States
Supreme Court in 1862.
The collection also reflects the many
friendships and themes that characterized the life of Abraham
Lincoln Marovitz. In Robert W. Johannsen’s 1973 biography of Stephen
A. Douglas, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley inscribed the following:
"I thought you would enjoy the new biography of Stephen A. Douglas,
the ‘Little Giant,’ who in my opinion is the outstanding Democratic
leader in the history of Illinois." Illinois authors such as Carl
Sandburg, Lloyd Lewis, Benjamin Thomas, Paul M. Angle and Harry E.
Pratt sent copies of their Lincoln studies to Judge Marovitz with
inscriptions of gratitude.
Judge Marovitz owned every book written
about Lincoln’s legal career, reflecting his keen interest in
Abraham Lincoln’s legal practice and thinking. Anyone who visited
Judge Marovitz’s chambers saw the vast array of framed prints and
photographs of Abraham Lincoln. Bookends reproducing the Daniel
Chester French seated Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial graced the
judge’s bookshelves. Assorted busts and bas-reliefs of the 16th
president were scattered on shelves and desktops.
Every significant scholarly Lincoln
biography is contained in the collection, along with the important
studies of Lincoln’s Jewish friends and associates by Bertram Korn,
Isaac Markens and Emanuel Hertz.
The Marovitz materials will become part
of the Illinois State Historical Library’s 46,000-item
Henry Horner Lincoln Collection.
Marovitz was a trustee of the
Illinois State Historical Library from 1961 to 1969. The
State Historical Library and its collections will become part of the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum now under
construction in downtown Springfield. The library portion of the
two-building complex will open Nov. 18, and the museum portion is
scheduled to open in mid-2004. The section of Marovitz books will be
recognized by a special book plate acknowledging this generous gift.
Judge Marovitz’s parents, Rachel and
Joseph Marovitz, were Lithuanian immigrants who entered the United
States through Ellis Island. When Abraham was born, on Aug. 10,
1905, the family had relocated to Oshkosh, Wis. Rachel, recalling
the impressive character of the 16th president recounted at a New
York settlement house lecture, named her son after him. Judge
Marovitz often remarked that his mother thought Lincoln was Jewish
because John Wilkes Booth shot him in the temple. The family moved
to Chicago’s Maxwell Street area when Abe was 5.
[to top of second column in this
article] |
Marovitz enrolled in
Chicago-Kent
College of Law at age 16, using money loaned to him by
Alfred S. Austrian, the attorney for whom he worked at the law firm
that is now known as Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw. Since he was only 19
years old when he graduated from law school, Marovitz had to wait
two years to take the bar exam, because state law prohibited anyone
under 21 from becoming a lawyer.
At age 22 Marovitz became the youngest
person to work as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney. During
this time, he met a young Richard J. Daley, a city council clerk,
and the two began a lifetime friendship.
Marovitz teamed up with his two
brothers in private practice. He represented labor leaders and some
of the most notorious gangsters of the day.
Marovitz was elected to the Illinois
Senate in 1938 and was the first Jew to serve in that body.
Remembering the prejudice he suffered as a youth, he helped
introduce the first Fair Employment Act that barred discrimination
based on race, religion or sex. His friendship with fellow state
Sen. Daley was strengthened during this time.
Marovitz’s Senate service placed him in
Springfield during the golden era of research and writing about
Abraham Lincoln. Paul M. Angle, then director of the Illinois State
Historical Library, stated on several occasions that the library’s
best friends were Marovitz and Richard J. Daley.
Marovitz left the Senate in 1943 to
join the U.S. Marines and saw combat during the invasion of the
Philippines. He was wounded but refused the Purple Heart, saying his
injuries were far less serious than many soldiers who had lost
limbs.
Marovitz remained in the state Senate
until 1950, when he became a judge in the Cook County Superior
Court. He was sworn in by the new county clerk, Richard J. Daley. He
served from 1958 to 1959 as chief justice of the Cook County
Criminal Court. In 1963 President John F. Kennedy named him a
federal judge in the Northern Illinois District, a position he held
for several decades. He earned a reputation as a fair and impartial
judge.
Marovitz had many famous and
influential friends besides Mayors Richard J. and Richard M. Daley,
including Hubert Humphrey, Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra,
Sophie Tucker, legendary fan dancer Sally Rand and comedian Joe E.
Lewis. Chicago had an honorary street-naming ceremony in his honor,
and a forest in Israel with 200,000 trees bears his name.
Judge
Abraham Lincoln Marovitz died March 17, 2001. He was 95 years old.
[Illinois
Government News Network
press release]
|
