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Governor Blagojevich's administration notified 325 state workers this week that they're being laid off. Luckily, it's mostly people responsible for the welfare of children, so it's no bigs.
Hardest hit was the Department of Children and Family Services, which will lose 179 staffers. The Department of Human Services will fire 73 people, the Department of Natural Resources will lay off 39, and the Historic Preservation Agency will lose 34.
Also getting the shaft? State parks and historic sites. On October 1, 13 historic sites will be closed, and on November 1, 11 state parks will shut down. "The bull[shit] keeps getting thicker and thicker. I'm disappointed and shocked. This is no way to run the state," says State Senator Gary Dahl (R-Granville). Amen! [Trib, Morris Daily Herald]
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Gary Dahl for Governor!
I'm certainly no Blago fan (and I don't hate kids or families either), but I am a fan of pairing back state spending wherever possible. Illinois government is bloated and has been expanding at taxpayer cost over the past several administrations.
Natek:
The DNR and Historic preservation society are hardly hotbeds of political hiring.
Ironically, you could swing a dead cat around the Human Resources office and hit 10 people with redundant or "I know a guy who knows a guy who knows blago" jobs.
The Doctor suggests closing down the government offices in Springfield since they truly have no relation to the majority of the people in this beloved state. Proposition: move them to East St. Louis.
The hidden story of all these budget issues is the spending on pensions and health care. Deeper digging into the budget really is called for for the whole picture here. Blago is also an idjet who might be indicted for crimes including stoopidity, but the real issue is the state hiring practices and the benefits that are very expensive.