Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A Featured Story and Query to Dr. Ellertsen

November 29, 2011




Christina Ushman

2250 Concord Court

Springfield, IL 62704

(217) 836-9154

christina_ushman@ben.edu



Dear Mr. Ellertsen,

In a recent article I have read in The Sleepy Weasel is that your magazine was looking for featured stories in Springfield, IL. The article said “anyone can write in a story on topic of their own choice. It could be political, entertaining, etc. Anyone could write an article that would like to be published in this magazine.’’

I have recently written a political featured story on recent governors of Illinois. In the article, I interviewed a state worker that wished to remain anonymous, and she shared with me about how she felt the state was doing financially. This person also told me her opinion on what the future may hold for the state of Illinois. This article briefly goes into little detail about the past three governors’ time in the political office.

Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,



Christina Ushman



Peter Ellertsen

1500 North Fifth Street

Springfield, IL 62702

(217) 525- 1420

eellertsen@yahoo.com







The Never Ending Saga of the Governors in Illinois

Within the past decade at least, the state of Illinois has had some political turmoil with the past and recent governors of Illinois. Former Governor George Ryan was in illegal sale activity of government licenses, contracts and leases by state employees during his prior service as Secretary of State. Ryan has also been prosecuted for his crimes, sent to a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, but he was release due to the recent lost of his wife, Lura Lynn Ryan, due to a battle with cancer. Former Governor Rod Blagojevich has been in media for selling President Barack Obama’s Senate seat in Illinois. Blagojevich is still in the media regarding his final sentencing in a court of law of his actions. Now that Governor Pat Quinn is in charge of the state things are not all is well. Quinn in last few months has put lots of state workers and other Illinois businesses out of work, and is also in the process of closing a couple of correction facilities within the state. Recently in an interview with an anonymous state worker, she tells the truth about how the state has worsened financially.

All three of the past and present governors of Illinois have been in the news for some sort of political scandal. Governor Pat Quinn so far has been laying off many workers and then tries to give them other jobs, but Quinn has not been in any major political scandal that we know of yet. George Ryan was accused of selling government licenses, etc. illegal, and was supporting all his friends and people who were close to him during that time of illegal activity. Rob Blagojevich has been in the news the most his political scandals, and his recent fame of being on reality television shows to claiming his innocence.

Former Governor Rob Blagojevich has been accused of selling President Obama’s Illinois Senate seat, and also lying to the FBI of the accounts that had been made. Blagojevich was arrested by the Federal agents early one morning in his home in Chicago, IL. Then on January 29, 2009, Blagojevich was impeached and was removed from office immediately. After the impeachment, Blagojevich has been on several different television shows claiming that he is innocent and was not treated fairly in the process of being impeached. He is currently waiting for his final sentencing in a federal trial even though he was found guilty of 17 of 20 charges that were made against him. Despite what all has happened to Blagojevich, he has remained claim during all the trials against him. However, state workers have been suffering from all the poor spending of each governor.

In a recent interview with an anonymous state worker who works for the Department of Human Services or DHS, it gave his/her opinion on what each governor has done. Plus, what the future holds for state workers, and the people with families that are struggling in Illinois who need help from the state. This worker also points out what might happen in the future if the of Illinois keeps going the way that it is going.

“The state keeps getting worse all the time. We have no money in our budget to support all the people who need money from the state. State workers have not gotten a raised in years because there is no money for the state economy. Each year, the state goes on for days about passing a state budget. There so many who come into DHS asking for money because they have been laid off from their jobs and it keeps growing. The state also supports so many families who are dead beats because they have been doing it for years, generations and continue to live off the state for free.’’

Not too long after the impeachment of Blagojevich, the state worker also said how quickly the state reaction to his impeachment. As soon as possible, the state of Illinois immediately took down Blagojevich’s name as governor and put up Quinn’s name. The state worker had received a bunch of e-mails back in January saying that changes were being made from Blagojevich to Quinn. The state of Illinois took immediate action on putting Quinn’s name as the governor. The state wanted to get rid of Blagojevich’s name, and put him away in a prison cell for his crimes.

“People in my office were like now that did not take too long. They (the state) were more than ready to take down his (Blagojevich) name. You really have to laugh at the fact that no one likes the guy anymore. Not even his people who have been by his side since the beginning of his first term in office. All the people who have supported him have now turned against him because he ticked off his own people. Within a week, you hardly saw Blagojevich’s name on any of the paper work or the state sign welcoming people to Illinois. Just because we got rid of Blagojevich does not mean that Quinn will be any better. Quinn could be worse than Blagojevich and Ryan combined. Blagojevich was not the only problem that the state has.’’

The state of Illinois does have its share of problems, but trying eliminating one governor will not solve any of the problems. Each governor has done lots of damage, and it’s not for Quinn to be the one who will take care of everything. It will take years for the state of Illinois to recover from the mistakes of George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. The State Journal Register, The Sun, and The Chicago Tribune have ongoing coverage of the Blagojevich case. The state is currently waiting to hear about Rod Blagojevich the final sentencing after being found guilty. “Will he go to jail, will the sentencing keep getting postponed, or will he walk away as a free man.’’ These kinds of questions are waiting to be answered as the saga continues.





Resources

Anonymous. “Personal Interview” Nov.13, 2011.

"George Ryan." Gale Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale, 1999. Gale Biography In Context.

Retrieved from the Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

Kemper, B. “Why He Matters’’ http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Rod_Blagojevich

Retrieved from the Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

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