Board of Illinois Problems

By vouchey in News on Sep 2, 2004 10:41PM

Chicagoist once read a study that said Illinois had more independent taxing government bodies than any other state -- over 9,000. Which was amazing, considering the next state, California, twice its size in people and population, had only 7,000 or so. And in that context, it all begins to make sense that two important state policy-making bodies you've never heard of, the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board (IHFPB) and the Illinois Gaming Board are operated like minor fiefdoms and seem to be on courses of self-destruction.

The IHFPB, which is appointed by the governor and gives permission to build new hospitals, has been dormant for twenty years. Then this past year, as suburbs continued to boom, the IHFPB gained new relevance when two different sites were requested, one in northwest suburban Crystal Lake, another in Naperville. But things got sour when it seemed that the decisions to build both hospitals had hints of payola. Then a bunch of board members resigned. Now Governor Rod Blagojevich is talking about disbanding the boards and deregulating the whole process -- like just about every other state in the union.

Meanwhile, over at the Illinois Gaming Board, shock coarsed through the state in March when the Board unexpectedly approved a casino in Rosemont -- which is often rumored to be connected. Accusations have flown, and three out of the five board members, including the chair, resigned last week.

Then, on Wednesday, one board member made a veiled physical threat from one board member to another and Gov. Blagojevich continued to stall board business, as he has failed to appointed a required fifth member. Anyone want the job? Chicagoist wonders if death and dismemberment benefits are included.