Wednesday, July 3

[JULY 3, 2002]  The Department of Human Services is not following a judge’s order to inform parents and guardians of residents that they have a choice about moving family members from the Lincoln Developmental Center, union officials said today.

Dan Senters, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said the state is in "blatant violation" of Judge Don Behle’s order that parents must be told there is a chance the embattled Lincoln facility may not be closed on Sept.1, as Gov. George Ryan has ordered.

Judge Behle’s ruling, handed down in Logan County Circuit Court on Monday, blocked DHS from moving residents out of LDC without their consent until a permit is issued by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. The board is not expected to announce its decision on the permit until mid-August.

Behle also ruled that parents or guardians of residents who have already consented to leave LDC must be informed of the court’s decision and given a chance to reconsider.

AFSCME officials said this morning they have identified three parents or guardians who were not given that choice or informed of the court’s ruling. They said Steve Yokich, the attorney who represents AFSCME and other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, will be conferring with attorneys for the state of Illinois and with Judge Behle sometime today.

Attorney Steven Puiszis, attorney for DHS, said at the hearing Monday that parents and guardians of 51 residents had agreed to have these residents moved from LDC. According to the ruling, parents and guardians of all 51 were to be notified before any moves took place.

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About 40 of the residents are wards of the state and represented by the Office of the State Guardian, Senters said. He said he expected at least 28 of them to be moved quickly with the consent of their guardians.

On Monday 18 residents left LDC for other state facilities, Senters said. Three went to Fox Developmental Center in Dwight, six to Ludeman Center in Park Forest and nine to Shapiro in Kankakee. Eight or nine more are scheduled to leave today, and another group is set to leave on Monday, he said.

The ruling on Monday was the latest skirmish in the ongoing battle to keep the Lincoln facility open. In February of this year, Gov. Ryan announced LDC was to be downsized to 100 residents because of allegations of abuse and neglect. By that time DHS had already moved about 130 residents to other facilities.

In March the AFSCME, parents of an LDC resident and state Sen. Larry Bomke sued for an injunction to halt the moves until the IHFPB had issued a permit. Judge Behle granted the first injunction, which the state later appealed. The 4th District Appellate Court heard the appeal June 26 but has not yet announced its decision.

The city of Lincoln has applied to the IHFPB for a public hearing to be held in Lincoln before that board makes its decision whether to allow the state to close LDC, but no hearing date has as yet been set.

[Joan Crabb]

Hot days ahead?

[JULY 3, 2002]  ^"With planting delays due to the wet spring, there is growing concern about the effects of July’s typically hot weather on crops with less mature root systems. Hot weather and associated slight drops in rainfall are more likely to occur in mid-July — almost a 50 percent higher likelihood than in the first and last week of July," says Jim Angel, state climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey, a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Using historical data across Illinois for July, the number of days at or above 90 F and the average rainfall total per week are as follows: 1.9 days at or above 90 F, 0.99 inches rain, June 30-July 6; 2.7 days, 0.80 inches, July 7-13; 2.8 days, 0.87 inches, July 14-20; 2.1 days, 0.95 inches, July 21-27; and 1.8 days, 0.78 inches, July 28-Aug. 3.

For Illinois, average high temperatures in July typically range from 90 in the far south to 82 in the far northeast, where Lake Michigan has cooling effects. As a result, days with temperatures 90 or higher are more common in southern Illinois than in northern Illinois. However, data indicates the greatest likelihood of hot weather during the three middle weeks of July, regardless of the location in the state.

Looking across the state, historical data shows a fairly even distribution of precipitation throughout July, with some tendency to be drier in the second week of July. The average amount of rainfall during July is 4.05 inches, says Angel.

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For June, cool, wet conditions early in the month were balanced by warm, dry conditions later on. As a result, June was near average in terms of both temperature and precipitation. Soil moisture levels were generally adequate, although the warm, dry weather has dried out the surface layer at some locations.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for equal chances of above average, below average and average temperatures for July. Historical records also indicate that hot days in June do not necessarily lead to hot weather in July and August.

"Historical records give us an idea when heat waves are most likely to occur. Unfortunately, specific heat waves are hard to predict more than a few days in advance," says Angel.

[Eva Kingston, editor,
Illinois State Water Survey]

[JULY 3, 2002]  On Monday, Gov. George Ryan marked the beginning of state government’s new fiscal year with the release of the fourth edition of "For The Record: Administrative and Legislative Accomplishments," an annual review of initiatives, programs and actions undertaken by the Ryan administration.

"A lot has changed in Illinois since I issued our last accomplishments report. Fiscal Year 2002 turned into a very difficult year financially for the state. The General Assembly and I were forced to make hard decisions that scaled back many programs, laid off workers and closed facilities as a way to restore order to the budget," Ryan said.

"Nonetheless, state government was still able to accomplish a lot for the people of Illinois in the areas of education, economic development, public safety, homeland security, human services, environmental protection and government management. Those successes are detailed in this report," the governor added.

"I am very proud of what we have been able to do in a year that was marked with uncertainty due to the budget. I am very proud of the thousands of state employees who are dedicated to serving the people of our great state."

[Illinois Government News Network
press release]

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