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April 29, 2014

April 29, 2014, 5:49 am
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Do Or Die Time For Illinois Term Limits
From the Peoria Journal-Star
It’s crunch time for differing term-limit proposals to get approval to appear on the November ballot as constitutional amendments.
The Commission for Legislative Reform and Term Limits, a Political Action Committee formed by Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner sponsors one of the plans, which would limit all state legislators to eight years in the General Assembly. It also would trim the size of the state Senate to 41 seats while boosting the number of seats in the House to 123.
The plan would additionally change the required amount of House and Senate votes needed to override a governor’s veto from a three-fifths vote to two-thirds.
Because the amendment is a petition initiative, the Illinois Constitution requires that it be signed by an amount of registered voters equal to 8 percent of the number of votes cast in the previous gubernatorial election.
That means a little less than 300,000 people need to sign the petition. Rauner recently said he expects to have more than enough signatures to clear any challenges to the petition, but the campaign didn’t return calls asking when they expect to file it.
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April 30, 2014

April 30, 2014, 6:12 am
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Toyota's Jilting Of California A Jolt To Illinois
From the Chicago Tribune
Sometimes they just leave. Without warning, they announce it's over before you can beg and plead and promise. They tell you they've found a better fit, a partner that does things for them you haven't or can't. So they're moving on and taking part of you with them.
That's what Toyota did this week to California. Anyone who worries about business in Illinois should take heed. Divorce is rampant these days.
The Japanese carmaker, which gained a foothold in America through its relationship with Southern California, abruptly announced it will shift around 3,000 marketing and finance jobs from Torrance, Calif., to Plano, Texas, where it's establishing a new North American headquarters outside Dallas.
Kentucky, which learned it's losing another big block of jobs to the Lone Star State, got blindsided by the sudden breakup as well.
Here in Illinois, where the lengthy list of benefits for business is matched by an equally long collection of liabilities, there's reason to fear we're at least as vulnerable to get a Dear John Inc. letter. Concerns include government dysfunction, fiscal concerns and ever-changing tax schemes, along with protections for its citizens that businesses don't face in other states.
"The sad part is we have a lot going for us," said Rob Karr, president and chief executive officer of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. "We're centrally located. We have good transportation infrastructure, good access, research universities, a world-class city and financial systems. But this uncertainty is starting to permeate everything and frankly blur those advantages."
Mark Denzler, chief operating officer of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association, said companies weighing whether to come to Illinois or stay here are apt to look at the state's fiscal mess and worry they'll have to help with the bailout.
"Then they look at taxes," Denzler said. "I used to make the comment that when it came to Illinois' tax policy, Charlie Sheen is more stable. So when they're trying to plan, they see this and they see no stability or certainty in Illinois."
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May 1, 2014

May 1, 2014, 1:24 pm
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Illinois Court Reinstates $10B Judgment Against Philip Morris Over ‘Light’ Cigarettes
From the Legal Newsline
An Illinois appellate court has reinstated a $10.1 billion verdict in a class action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA that alleges the company misled consumers about “light” and “low tar” cigarettes.
The class action lawsuit, which was filed in 2000, alleged Philip Morris deceptively marketed light cigarettes. The lawsuit was the nation’s first to accuse a tobacco company of consumer fraud, and the original verdict awarded attorneys almost $2 billion in fees.
The three-judge panel of the Fifth District Appellate Court reinstated the 2003 verdict Tuesday, concluding that the trial court exceeded the scope of section 2-1401 review when it “attempted to predict how the supreme court would rule on the question of damages,” according to the opinion.
Contrary to the defendant’s assertion, the trial court’s discussion of what the state Supreme Court would have decided had it addressed the issues is “inherently speculative in a way its discussion of the impact of the new information on the issue it actually did decide is not.”
“For these reasons, the order denying the petition for relief from judgment must be reversed,” the judges stated in their opinion.
Philip Morris, which is owned by Altria Company, said it would seek immediate review by the Illinois Supreme Court of the appellate court’s decision. While the review is pending, the appellate court’s decision is stayed automatically.
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May 2, 2014

May 2, 2014, 1:26 pm
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Number Of Illinois Lawyers Up 2 Percent In 2013
From the Springfield State Journal-Register
Information released by an Illinois regulatory agency indicates lawyers aren't in short supply in the state.
The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission says in newly released data there are now just over 91,000 registered Illinois lawyers.
The data includes numbers of registered lawyers through most of 2013. It says their overall numbers rose 2 percent from the year before.
The ARDC also reports it docketed just over 6,000 investigations in 2013. That's a 5 percent decrease from 2012. More than half of the grievances lodged had to do with allegedly poor attorney-client relations.
There were 149 sanctions issued against lawyers in 2013. The ARDC says around 25 percent of disciplined lawyers had either substance-abuse or mental-impairment issues.
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May 5, 2014

May 5, 2014, 1:28 pm
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How Bruce Rauner Is Changing The Illinois Democratic Party
From Crain's Chicago Business
The Democratic Party in Illinois is dominated by powerful, entrenched politicians with huge egos who don't really care much about each other.
It's not that they necessarily go out of their way to hurt one another, mind you. It's that they don't do more than is absolutely necessary to help each other. Yet a recent summit is a sign the Democrats want to change.
Despite their long tenures, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin don't work together very well. Mr. Durbin was elected to the Senate in 1996 after serving in the U.S. House for 14 years.
Over the years Mr. Durbin has unofficially assumed several of the duties normally held by the state party chairman, a post held since 1998 by Mr. Madigan.
Although Mr. Madigan has focused on his House candidates to the exclusion of everyone and everything else, he doesn't often care for the way Mr. Durbin has usurped his role.
Gov. Pat Quinn, who is up for re-election, is a longtime political outsider. He lacks the clout of Messrs. Durbin and Madigan and operates mostly in his own domain, although he often has helped lower-tiered candidates.
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May 6, 2014

May 6, 2014, 1:30 pm
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Karmeier Files Retention Papers For November Election
From the Madison County Record
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier has filed candidacy papers with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office seeking another 10-year term in November.
While judges seeking retention had until Sunday to file declarations of judicial candidacy, Karmeier submitted his paperwork on April 7, according to an employee at the Secretary of State Index Office.
Once the Secretary of State certifies the filings, the information is posted online at the Illinois State Board of Elections website.
Karmeier’s retention campaign will take place in the Fifth Judicial District – comprised of the state’s 37 southern-most counties – and is likely to be the most closely watched judicial election in Illinois.
To win retention, a candidate must receive 60 percent of the electorate’s support. Voters will be asked whether he should be retained – “yes” or “no.”
Karmeier, a Republican, was first elected in 2004 following a hotly contested campaign. He defeated Democrat Gordon Maag, who had been serving as an appellate court justice. Maag simultaneously ran for retention to the Fifth District, but lost that race as well.
More than $9 million was spent in the Karmeier-Maag race in 2004, which at the time set a record for spending on judicial campaigns.
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May 7, 2014

May 7, 2014, 1:09 pm
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What's Missing In The Illinois Health Insurance Exchange
From Crain's Chicago Business
Blue Cross & Blue Shield's near-monopoly over the Illinois health insurance exchange is an unhealthy development.
As my colleague Kristen Schorsch reported this week, Blue Cross scored 92 percent of the 217,500 people who signed up for coverage during the first enrollment period for the health insurance exchange Illinois set up under federal health care reform. It's not surprising, given the way Blue Cross dominates health insurance generally in Illinois, with about 70 percent of the market.
In many ways, Blue Cross has earned its No. 1 ranking. Customers generally give the company high marks for price, coverage and provider choice. Market clout enables Blue Cross to negotiate lower rates with hospitals and doctors, allowing it to compete aggressively on price when it chooses to.
And Blue Cross went all out to win new customers coming into the health insurance market through the exchanges. For nearly every type of plan and beneficiary, Blue Cross offered the best prices among six insurers that participated in the inaugural enrollment period.
“Our goal was to expand access to health care in the states in which we operate BCBS health plans,” said a spokeswoman for Blue Cross' parent company, Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp. “We did this by competitive pricing, expansive product selection, an array of provider network options and our commitment to help consumers manage their health care choices and decisions.”
Still it's worrisome when a single company controls such a commanding share of any market, particularly one as vital as health insurance. Blue Cross' dominant market share gives it outsize influence over the availability and cost of health care, and the financial health of hospitals and doctors.
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May 8, 2014

May 8, 2014, 1:11 pm
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U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Takes Aim At GOP Lawyers
From the National Journal
Americans don't think lawyers are particularly trustworthy, and just about everyone knows a good lawyer joke. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has taken a notably vocal stance against Republican personal-injury lawyers this year, investing in TV ads bashing three of them who are running against chamber-supported candidates.
In GOP primaries for a Mississippi Senate seat, the North Carolina race for retiring Rep. Mike McIntyre's seat, and GOP Rep. Mike Simpson's bid for reelection in Idaho, the chamber has run ads criticizing candidates with backgrounds as personal-injury lawyers, spending a total of $1.4 million in those races, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The tactic is simply in response to an unusual situation, said Rob Engstrom, the chamber's political director. There usually aren't many personal-injury lawyers running for Congress as Republicans, he said. The party has generally supported tort reform, including limits to rewards for on-the-job injuries. And as a pro-business conservative organization, the U.S. chamber's interests align against lawyers who have sued companies for millions of dollars.
"It just so happens we have the opportunity to point out in these races that personal-injury lawyers are not conservative," Engstrom said. "They spend their careers suing our members."
The most dramatic opportunity came in North Carolina, when the chamber ran a TV ad comparing Woody White, a Republican, to former Democratic Sen. and vice-presidential nominee John Edwards. Edwards shares little in common with the conservative White—but both are personal-injury lawyers. Edwards was indicted in 2011 on charges relating to alleged campaign finance violations and conspiracy when he covered up an extramarital affair.
"It's called jackpot justice, and we've seen it before with trial lawyers like John Edwards," the ad's narrator says. "In search of big paydays, their lawsuits hurt businesses and destroy jobs. The last thing Congress needs is another trial lawyer like Woody White."
The ad prompted a rebuke of the national chamber from the Wilmington, N.C., Chamber of Commerce, which said, "Endorsements should be based on a fair representation of the candidate and not perpetuate the pervasive negativity in politics today."
White lost the nomination on Tuesday to former state Sen. David Rouzer, whose campaign also chimed in on the lawyer theme. Rouzer ran another TV ad saying lawyers like White "argue so much and do so little." With the help of those ads, Rouzer is now very likely to join Congress in 2015, having won the Republican primary in a very conservative-leaning district.
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Ballot Set For 2014 Illinois Judicial Elections; Many Races Give Voters No Choice

May 9, 2014, 1:13 pm
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From the Illinois Civil Justice League
A major question was answered Monday when the Illinois judicial retention list for 2014 was finalized with Justice Lloyd Karmeier’s name on top. Justice Karmeier, the only Supreme Court Justice potentially on the ballot in 2014, will run for retention, seeking a second 10-year term on Illinois’ highest court.
Additionally, it appears that by the end of the year, the Fifth District Appellate Court will see a new face, with longtime assigned appellate judge Stephen Spomer passing on filing for retention. That seat will be filled by appointment and will appear on the 2016 cycle ballot in the First Circuit, and the appellate seat will be filled by a sitting circuit judge from within the Fifth District.
Four other assigned circuit judges on the appellate court levels and five elected appellate judges will all be seeking retention in 2014. The most notable of these retention candidates include Justices William Holdridge and Mary K. O’Brien from the third district and Justice Robert Steigman from the fourth district.
Additionally, all five general election races for open appellate seats feature candidates who are unopposed, including appointed Justice Lisa Holder White in the Fourth District and currently-assigned Appellate Justice Michael Burke, who is also seeking election to the Appellate level. They join Cook County appellate candidates Shelly Harris, David Ellis and John Simon.
Of the 26 Cook County circuit races on the November ballot (countywide and subcircuit), only one race is contested: the 12th Subcircuit race between Republican James Pieczonka and Democrat James Kaplan. The other 25 races are unopposed, giving Cook County general election voters little choice as to who will oversee justice in their court system. This is not an unusual situation. And, in the one contested race, only 7 percent of Cook County voters live within the subcircuit.
Cook County voters will be inundated with names on their retention ballot. 72 countywide and subcircuit judicial names will appear to voters in Cook County. Three judges appear to have chosen not to seek retention (Judges Elrod, Hayes and Stuart).
Adding to lack of choice on the Illinois judicial ballot, only 11 of 30 downstate judicial races feature more than one candidate in November, and those contested races are limited in their geographic scope. Three of the races are in smaller subcircuits within Will County. Seven races are resident judgeships, meaning they are each limited to a single county. The final race features Republican Martin Siemer and Democrat Ericka Sanders in the nine-county Fourth Circuit.
Therefore, voters in 17 of 102 Illinois counties will each get choice in ONE judicial race this November. Voters in the 85 other counties in Illinois will get NO choices for judge, except the 7 percent of Cook County voters within the 12th Subcircuit. The most notable contested county judgeship races include former Madison County Asbestos Docket Judge Clarence Harrison versus Republican candidate John Barberis. Additionally, Democrat Associate Judge Heinz Rudolf will face Republican Circuit (and former Fifth District Appellate) Judge Stephen McGlynn in St. Clair County. Downstate voters will see 80 circuit judges seeking retention, among the 22 downstate Circuits.
The emerging trend for 2014 is little choice for the November general election voters, which is a dismal fact considering the March primary election had the lowest turnout (18%) of any Illinois primary in the past 50 years.
Complete and updated information on Illinois' 2014 judicial elections, including judicial district maps, can be found at IllinoisJudges.net, the ICJL's judicial election website.
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May 9, 2014

May 9, 2014, 1:16 pm
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Coalition Urges Easier Access To Justices' Financial Forms
From the Legal Times
A coalition of organizations seeking greater transparency from the U.S. Supreme Court today called on the justices to post their financial disclosure forms online, as is done with top officials of the executive and legislative branches.
The Coalition for Court Transparency, representing media and public interest organizations, made the request just a week before the May 15 deadline when justices, along with lower court judges, are required to submit their disclosures to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
But because of the long-standing procedures that journalists and members of the public must follow in requesting the documents, the forms for justices are typically not released until mid-June or later.
Requests must be mailed in or faxed, and then the justices are told who is requesting the forms. Justices are also allowed to redact certain information— such as addresses of properties they own—before the forms are made public. The administrative office releases the documents to requesters in paper form, in person or by mail, with a charge of 20 cents per page.
The coalition said the process poses “unnecessary obstacles for the public and for journalists who cover the court.”
Michael Ostrolenk of the Liberty Coalition, a member of the coalition, said, “There are a number of actions the Supreme Court could carry out to comport with 21st century expectations of transparency. Posting their annual disclosure reports online is among the easiest.”
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May 12, 2014

May 12, 2014, 7:44 am
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Why Is Illinois Unemployment So High?
From Crain's Chicago Business
Illinois always has been one of the last states to suffer from a recession and one of the last states to recover, but this is getting ridiculous.
Nearly five years after the recession ended nationwide, the Illinois unemployment rate is 8.4 percent, third worst in the nation. When Gov. Pat Quinn took office in January 2009, the recession had been underway for a year and unemployment stood at 8.0 percent, just slightly above the national average.
Since then, the Illinois economy has sputtered, with unemployment peaking at 11.4 percent before slowly dropping. The rate is now almost 2 percentage points above the national average.
The nagging question—and one that might determine the outcome of this year's governor's race—is why?
Illinois' stubbornly high unemployment is the result of several factors, including the severity of the state's housing slump, which has badly hurt the construction industry. The decades-long decline in manufacturing has continued, while neighboring states like Indiana and Michigan have a larger share of the rapidly improving auto industry, the only part of the sector that is rebounding. Meanwhile, jobs in retailing and financial activities in Illinois also continued to decline here while the rest of the nation recovered.
The state's troubled fiscal condition and the “temporary” tax hike it spawned have not encouraged employers to put out the “Now Hiring” sign, either.
Like many of the 200,000 other Illinoisans left unemployed since the downturn, Luther Harmon still is looking for steady work after losing a well-paying middle management job with Pepsico's Quaker Oats unit in a mass layoff five years ago.
“I really can't figure it out,” the resident of south suburban Matteson says. “I have great experience.”
“I'll move anywhere,” he adds. “The opportunities are limited here.”\
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May 13, 2014

May 13, 2014, 7:47 am
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Taxes, Job Market Causing People To Leave Illinois
From the Chicago Tribune
Megan Ciaburri grew up in the northern suburbs. When she married someone from the area, she expected they would get an apartment in Chicago or buy their own home in the 'burbs.
Their jobs are here. Their families are here. But come July, the newlyweds will be packing their bags for Texas.
"I thought it was going to be a lifetime thing — living in the Chicago area," said Ciaburri, 28. "But I just don't see us getting ahead by staying here."
Sky-high property taxes make homeownership a pipe dream, she explained. And the job market — terrible. It seems there are always more headlines about companies leaving Illinois than moving in. She and her husband both have jobs now, but what about in five years when there might be kids in the picture?
As Ciaburri laid out all the reasons why it made sense to move, my heart ached.
I was born in Chicago, raised on Superdawg and Portillo's. In my early 20s, I made a hard pitch for Illinois to my then-boyfriend-now-husband.
"It's better here," I told him.
It should be. But thousands of people just like Ciaburri have decided it's not.
A startling pair of Gallup polls recently suggested that Illinoisans are an unhappy lot. Half of us would move elsewhere if we could. One in 4 says Illinois is the worst possible place to live in the entire U.S.
Naysayers claim it's all talk. It isn't.
Not long after the Gallup polls came out, the Internal Revenue Service released fresh numbers showing which states people are moving to and which states people are fleeing.
Spoiler: Illinois didn't earn any positive marks in this report, either.
According to the IRS, Illinoisans don't just want to move; they are moving. And they've been moving for a long time.
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May 14, 2014

May 14, 2014, 7:49 am
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Illinois Lawmakers Set To Advance Budget With Tax Hike
From the Associated Press
Democratic lawmakers are moving forward with a 2015 budget that is based upon an extension of Illinois' temporary income tax increase.
State Rep. Greg Harris chairs the House Human Services appropriations committee. He says the plan closely mirrors the $38 billion budget Gov. Pat Quinn outlined in March which would keep current tax rates in place.
House lawmakers are expected to hear testimony on the budget during committee hearings Wednesday. A vote could be held in the chamber Thursday.
The state's income tax is scheduled to roll back in January, from 5 percent to 3.75 percent for individuals. That would cause an estimated loss of $1.6 billion in revenue.
Democrats, who hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers, say the rollback would decimate schools and social services.
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May 15, 2014

May 15, 2014, 8:11 am
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Springfield Judge Puts Stay On Pension Law
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
A judge has ruled the state’s controversial pension reform law should be delayed, citing uncertainty over how it would impact thousands of current state workers and retirees.
Sangamon County Circuit Judge John W. Belz this afternoon granted a temporary restraining order sought by the plaintiffs in the case — a coalition of groups challenging the law’s constitutionality.
Belz said the law, which would generally force employees to contribute more to their retirement and receive less, had created “across the board confusion.”
He said delaying its implementation until the courts ruled on the merits of the case was “not just the right thing to do legally, but the right thing to do.”
The law was passed by the General Assembly as Senate Bill 1 in December, and subsequently signed by Gov. Patrick J. Quinn. Since then, five separate lawsuits have been filed and consolidated.
Among other things, they argue that the law violates a section of the Illinois Constitution which says state pension benefits “shall not be diminished or impaired.”
The law was set to take effect June 1.
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May 16, 2014

May 16, 2014, 8:14 am
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Chicago Could Be Freed From Federal Hiring Oversight: Attorneys
From Reuters
A Chicago attorney who has fought patronage hiring in the city for 45 years said on Thursday the city has fixed its hiring practices - paving the way for Chicago to be released from federal oversight of its hiring as early as next month.
In a joint request filed along with lawyers for the city, attorney Michael Shakman, who sued Chicago in 1969 to stop the practice of hiring workers based on political ties, asked a federal court to drop its oversight role.
"The city does not have a policy, custom or practice of making employment decisions based on political factors," the motion said.
Shakman's lawsuit led to the nationally influential "Shakman decrees," which banned patronage hiring and firing, with exemptions for certain positions such as executive and policy posts, in the nation's third-largest city.
The development can be seen as a victory for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose administration says it requires employees to cooperate with investigations and educates workers on legal hiring practices. It also would save the city money on court-related fees.
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May 19, 2014

May 19, 2014, 6:19 am
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Tax-break Expansion Plan Raises Concerns, Shrugs
From the Associated Press
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is pushing to give small companies equal access to tax breaks that big corporations have, but the proposal has been met with skepticism in the state's business community, including about what effect it actually would have.
The plan takes aim at special EDGE credits — tax breaks a small number of big companies like Sears Holding Corp. and OfficeMax have sought by going directly to the General Assembly with threats to leave the state. EDGE credits are the state's primary means of luring or keeping companies and jobs, but they're usually administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and include performance standards. Companies that have gone straight to the General Assembly want to cut their own deals with perks not available to other companies.
Madigan's plan would make the tax credits available to businesses with fewer than 100 employees, and target credits at areas of high poverty and unemployment. But some small business owners say such credits might have little impact on their decisions, and executives are raising objections to a provision that would require them to reveal private information.
Experts say Madigan's legislation is at least partially an exercise in election-year politics, by catering to a constituency friendlier to Democrats. Neither Madigan's staff nor the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has estimated yet what the plan could cost.
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May 20, 2014

May 20, 2014, 5:12 am
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Could IL High Court Get Everything On Its List?
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
The Illinois Supreme Court could potentially get everything it asked for from legislators this year.
House lawmakers last week approved a high court budget of $367.5 million for fiscal year 2015 — the exact number Chief Justice Rita B. Garman requested in March — among a multitude of appropriations bills during a polarizing, marathon session.
But that number could hinge on the General Assembly voting to extend a politically perilous income tax increase — a battle that’s far from over.
The high court received $301.8 million in the 2014 fiscal year, so the bump in funding contained in House Bill 6156 would be roughly $66 million if it’s approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Patrick J. Quinn.
Spending on county probation departments, which the state paid $63.6 million for in fiscal year 2014, would rise to $117.2 million in fiscal year 2015.
Rep. Fred Crespo, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates and chairman of the House Appropriations-General Service Committee, said the panel has heard from several Supreme Court chief justices over the years, including Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, who he said “made a compelling case as to why that (budget) line needed to be appropriated.”
“The committee felt, ‘Well, maybe this year if the money’s there, we want to make sure we take care of that,’” he said.
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May 21, 2014

May 21, 2014, 8:34 am
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State Supreme Court To Hear Arguments In Ottawa Courthouse
From the Associated Press
The Illinois Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in two cases at a historic courthouse in Ottawa.
Today's cases deal with a firearms enhancement sentencing law and a constitutional challenge to Chicago's red light traffic camera program.
The Supreme Court usually hears cases in Springfield. But it's been holding oral arguments in Chicago since last September because the 116-year-old Springfield structure is undergoing rehabilitation.
Today will be one of the rare times the high court has heard oral arguments outside of Springfield or Chicago since it was consolidated in the state capital in 1897.
The public may attend the arguments, which begin at 11 a.m., though seating is limited. Local teachers and students will either attend the arguments live or watch them on the Internet.
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May 22, 2014

May 22, 2014, 8:39 am
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Chief Judge Orders Outside Investigation Into Cook County Probation Department
From the Chicago Tribune
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans on Wednesday hired a well-known law firm to investigate allegations that the court’s probation department has improperly teamed up on searches of probationers’ homes with Chicago police and the FBI.
Evans’ decision to bring in an outside law firm is the result of a Tribune investigation published Wednesday that found the Adult Probation Department for years has quietly worked with law enforcement to go into probationers' homes without warrants, looking for guns, drugs and information and leading to questionable and illegal searches.
Their actions, in some cases, had triggered accusations that drugs were planted, money was stolen and probationers were threatened with jail if they refused to become informants for Chicago police and the FBI.
Evans, in a statement, said any evidence of illegal conduct would be turned over to the proper authorities.
“I am outraged by these allegations which, if true, could be considered a blatant disregard of constitutional rights,” Evans said. “It is the responsibility of the probation officers to safeguard the rights of probationers at all times by ensuring appropriate policies and procedures are followed.”
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May 23, 2014

May 23, 2014, 8:41 am
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Kirk Wants Probe Of Hines VA Hospital
From the Associated Press
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk said Thursday that there is new evidence of a "culture of corruption" at a veterans hospital in the Western suburbs and that a federal investigation of the facility should examine whether any alleged delays in treatment contributed to the deaths of patients.
After pressure from the Illinois Republican and others, the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expanded a nationwide investigation to include the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital west of Chicago. The claims of an effort to cover up delays in patient appointments at Hines have come from VA social worker and union representative Germaine Clarno. Similar allegations first surfaced in Phoenix last month and prompted an investigation of more than two dozen VA medical facilities nationwide.
Among Clarno's new allegations is a claim that in a rush to meet a required 14-day deadline for appointments, veterans were brought in for group consultations or informational sessions but did not actually see doctors or receive medical care.
Hospital spokeswoman Charity Hardison would not respond to the specific allegations but said in an emailed statement that the hospital's director was taking the claims seriously and supports the investigation.
"If the allegations are true, the inappropriate behavior is unacceptable and employees will be held accountable," the statement said.
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