Don Gwinn
Moderator Emeritus
Gov wants top state officials to pick up cost of security detail
April 3, 2004
BY DAVE MCKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau
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SPRINGFIELD -- Nothing is sacred anymore when it comes to the perks of power in cash-strapped state government.
Gov. Blagojevich is capping tax-funded overtime for his bodyguards. And for the first time, officeholders who use State Police security details would have to start paying for them -- moves that could total nearly $1.2 million.
"This is merely a fiscal tool that we're using," said Becky Carroll, spokeswoman for Blagojevich's budget office.
"But all these little cost-saving initiatives add up after a while.''
State troopers assigned to the elite executive detail division traditionally have cashed in on big overtime checks and accompanied past Illinois officeholders to business and political functions and on out-of-town trips. Beyond providing protection, members of the unit have been chauffeurs, baggage handlers and even political diversions.
In the 1994 secretary of state race between Republican George Ryan and Democrat Pat Quinn, Ryan's use of bodyguards was ridiculed by Quinn in a memorable campaign commercial showing Ryan on a putting green with troopers at his side.
Blagojevich's proposal to require other officeholders to pay for their security out of their own office budgets was contained in a $57 million package of fee increases he unveiled this week and that require legislative approval.
The proposal would apply mainly to Secretary of State Jesse White and Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the two other constitutional officers who regularly use state troopers and with whom Blagojevich has clashed in the past.
While the governor's office insisted there was no political message in trying to save $750,000 in security costs of other officeholders, the move produced skepticism from within the governor's own party.
"There have been tensions with Jesse, and Lisa is a [political] threat to him in the future. I think the governor looks at it that way. This very well may be a swipe, but it's an unfortunate swipe," said Sen. Denny Jacobs (D-East Moline).
"It's no money in the scheme of things, that $750,000. There are a lot of crazies out there. The security is well-intended, and it's a cheap price to pay," Jacobs said.
Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also questioned the move, saying it makes little difference in the larger budget picture of whether security is paid for with tax dollars out of officeholders' budgets or from the State Police.
"It's one pocket from another," Trotter said. "What's the point?"
Spokesmen for White and Madigan said the governor's proposal is being reviewed by their offices, but each declined to criticize the proposal.
Blagojevich's own State Police contingent of 15 would not be paid for out of his office budget. Blagojevich ordered an end to overtime for his detail, which could save nearly $500,000.
But the detail would continue being funded through the State Police, aides said.
Blagojevich's spokeswoman Cheryle Jackson said the no-overtime decision resulted in five troopers deciding they no longer wanted to be in the executive security detail.
When George Ryan was governor, Jackson said, overtime bills for his executive security detail reached close to $1 million annually, enabling some $80,000-a-year troopers to earn up to $70,000 in premium pay.
"In some instances, you saw some people doubling their salaries," Jackson said. "That's not the best way or the best use of taxpayer money. We're talking about saving money and doing things smarter."
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Gee, must be nice to have fifteen guys toting guns on your personal behalf while you discuss ways to make sure your subjects can't own a rifle or carry a handgun. I figure that probably means he's got two on duty at any given moment.
April 3, 2004
BY DAVE MCKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau
Advertisement
SPRINGFIELD -- Nothing is sacred anymore when it comes to the perks of power in cash-strapped state government.
Gov. Blagojevich is capping tax-funded overtime for his bodyguards. And for the first time, officeholders who use State Police security details would have to start paying for them -- moves that could total nearly $1.2 million.
"This is merely a fiscal tool that we're using," said Becky Carroll, spokeswoman for Blagojevich's budget office.
"But all these little cost-saving initiatives add up after a while.''
State troopers assigned to the elite executive detail division traditionally have cashed in on big overtime checks and accompanied past Illinois officeholders to business and political functions and on out-of-town trips. Beyond providing protection, members of the unit have been chauffeurs, baggage handlers and even political diversions.
In the 1994 secretary of state race between Republican George Ryan and Democrat Pat Quinn, Ryan's use of bodyguards was ridiculed by Quinn in a memorable campaign commercial showing Ryan on a putting green with troopers at his side.
Blagojevich's proposal to require other officeholders to pay for their security out of their own office budgets was contained in a $57 million package of fee increases he unveiled this week and that require legislative approval.
The proposal would apply mainly to Secretary of State Jesse White and Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the two other constitutional officers who regularly use state troopers and with whom Blagojevich has clashed in the past.
While the governor's office insisted there was no political message in trying to save $750,000 in security costs of other officeholders, the move produced skepticism from within the governor's own party.
"There have been tensions with Jesse, and Lisa is a [political] threat to him in the future. I think the governor looks at it that way. This very well may be a swipe, but it's an unfortunate swipe," said Sen. Denny Jacobs (D-East Moline).
"It's no money in the scheme of things, that $750,000. There are a lot of crazies out there. The security is well-intended, and it's a cheap price to pay," Jacobs said.
Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also questioned the move, saying it makes little difference in the larger budget picture of whether security is paid for with tax dollars out of officeholders' budgets or from the State Police.
"It's one pocket from another," Trotter said. "What's the point?"
Spokesmen for White and Madigan said the governor's proposal is being reviewed by their offices, but each declined to criticize the proposal.
Blagojevich's own State Police contingent of 15 would not be paid for out of his office budget. Blagojevich ordered an end to overtime for his detail, which could save nearly $500,000.
But the detail would continue being funded through the State Police, aides said.
Blagojevich's spokeswoman Cheryle Jackson said the no-overtime decision resulted in five troopers deciding they no longer wanted to be in the executive security detail.
When George Ryan was governor, Jackson said, overtime bills for his executive security detail reached close to $1 million annually, enabling some $80,000-a-year troopers to earn up to $70,000 in premium pay.
"In some instances, you saw some people doubling their salaries," Jackson said. "That's not the best way or the best use of taxpayer money. We're talking about saving money and doing things smarter."
____________________
Gee, must be nice to have fifteen guys toting guns on your personal behalf while you discuss ways to make sure your subjects can't own a rifle or carry a handgun. I figure that probably means he's got two on duty at any given moment.
I'm waiting for someone to bring up the fact you could interpret the state consitution to require the governor to live in the governor's mansion. 
I do see what you mean about restoring your confidence in State Government, we'd make any resident of a sub-saharan socialist state feel right at home in Illinois 