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 As the economic crisis claimed several Illinois banks, the state
Banking Board -- formed to advise state officials about industry
concerns -- was essentially defunct. It has two members and 15
vacancies and hasn't met since 2003.
An Associated Press review of Illinois' nearly 300 boards and
commissions found that about two-thirds have vacancies, members
serving on expired terms or no members at all.
The result can be delayed decisions, missed opportunities and
ineffective advocacy for millions of Illinois residents,
organizations and businesses.
"These board and commissions were created for a reason -- because
there is something they should be doing," said David Morrison,
deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. "If
not, then why have them?"
State officials and advocates place much of the blame on former Gov.
Rod Blagojevich, saying he often ignored or delayed appointments.
"My predecessor after a while just decided not to appoint anybody,"
Gov. Pat Quinn said.
But Quinn and other lawmakers also have yet to make or renew many
appointments. Quinn says the chief reason is that he wants to be
extra careful to vet new appointees in the wake of a scandal
involving his predecessor.
Blagojevich, indicted on corruption charges in April, is accused of
trading appointments to powerful boards in exchange for political
contributions and stacking some -- including the Teachers Retirement
System and Health Facilities boards -- to shake down businesses.
The Health Facilities Board, which regulates the construction of
health care facilities, currently has two vacancies and two members
with expired terms, according to a state appointments Web site that
Quinn's office set up in April.
The site allows the public to apply to boards, and has received more
than 3,000 online applications, officials said.
Quinn said appointments also were delayed while the state addressed
other pressing issues, including passing ethics laws and a jobs
bill. But he said he plans "in the next 90 days to be quite
aggressive at making appointments."
The state's Medical Disciplinary Board -- which hears complaints
against physicians and recommends action that could include revoking
their licenses -- should have 11 members appointed by the governor
but has only six. That's enough to make decisions, but cases that
sometimes take months might be resolved more quickly if the board
were fully staffed, said the panel's chairman, Belleville physician
Edward Rose.
"When there are more than six members, it's easier to do the job,"
Rose said. "We have six really good people ... but there are delays,
obviously."
Some boards allow anyone to serve, while others require special
qualifications, such as being a lawyer. Compensation varies. For
example, members of the powerful Illinois Commerce Commission, which
regulates utilities and intrastate motor carriers, are paid more
than $100,000 a year; members of most boards only receive
reimbursement for expenses, such as travel and meals.
There have been attempts to streamline the number of boards and
commissions. Former Gov. George Ryan in 2001 recommended eliminating
81 panels he said were defunct or no longer needed. In 2006,
Blagojevich abolished 11, though lawmakers have since created
several more.
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 Quinn said he also will consider whether some panels should be
disbanded.
That could include the Downstate Illinois Sports Facilities
Authority, formed in 2003 with the power to acquire land for new
sports venues. Blagojevich never appointed anyone, and the board is
still vacant.
Former state Sen. Richard Winkel, who sponsored the bill creating
the authority, said the opportunity to enhance economic development
"probably has come and gone."
"I don't know at this point if it is important," said Winkel,
director of the public leadership office at the University of
Illinois' Institute of Government & Public Affairs. "Probably in
today's economic environment, no."
Other boards, however, might get new life.
Officials say Quinn has indicated interest in reconstituting the
Banking Board.
Not having a functioning board over the past six years probably
didn't hurt the industry, said Thomas W. Hough, chairman of the
Illinois Bankers Association. But "in these troubled times, I would
think it would be the real time to have it fully staffed and
functioning," he said. "I think it would give the macro perspective
on things."
Brent Adams, acting secretary of the Illinois Department of
Financial and Professional Regulation, whose oversight includes
banking and physicians, said Blagojevich sometimes delayed
appointments so long that candidates lost interest, moved or changed
jobs.
But that wasn't the case with the Commission on the Elimination of
Poverty, charged with formulating a plan to cut extreme poverty in
half by 2015. It was created in August 2008, with 26 appointments to
be made within 60 days.
Blagojevich quickly made his five appointments, but advocates say
they cajoled other lawmakers for months before the panel finally had
half its appointees -- enough to hold a meeting -- in March. By
then, the state was locked in a budget fight, so the commission
canceled its first meeting, scheduled for May, and isn't expected to
meet until the fall.
"You can't solve poverty when the state is talking about cutting
services. It wasn't the best scenario," said Doug Schenkelberg,
associate director for policy and advocacy at the Chicago-based
Social IMPACT Research Center.
But the delay "was a missed opportunity, I think," said Schenkelberg,
who is not on the board. "Without (the commission) up and running,
their voice was not part of that."
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On the Net:
http://appointments.illinois.gov/
[Associated Press; By TAMMY WEBBER]
Associated Press
writer Deanna Bellandi contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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