4VP • Thursday, May 17, 2018 - The Independent
The IndependenT Your Hometown Newspaper 240 N. West Avenue Elmhurst, IL. 60126 Main Phone 630.834-8244 Fax 630.834-0900 The Independent is published every Thursday by Rock Valley Publishing, LLC, 240 N. West Avenue, Elmhurst, IL. 60126.
Display Advertising: 630.834-8355 Classified Advertising: 630.834-8244 News: 630.834-8244 General Information: 630.834-8244
E-mail: Advertising Department: ads1@rvpublishing.com News Department: Independent@rvpublishing.com Classified Department: Classifieds@rvpublishing.com
PAUL DELGUIDICE PHOTO Villa Park Independent
Historically well preserved
Administration: Dee Longfellow News Coordinator
Villa Park resident John Pawlak, right, holds the certificate and house plaque for his ‘Del Ray Model’ 1925 Sears Catalog home. Carol Marcus, Chair of the Villa Park Historical Preservation Commission, holds the plaque and certificate awarded to Mark and Jessica Paulsen for their 1914 ‘Haydon House’. Each year during Historical Preservation Month, the HPC recognizes historically significant homes located in Villa Park.
Debra Hamilton Advertising Director Pete Cruger Publisher
Cullerton continues to lead on Legionnaires’ fixes
Advertising: Brenda Garcia
Subscriptions: The Independent is mailed to the 60101, 60106 and 60181 zip code areas for $15.95 yearly. Out-of-area mail subscriptions are $29.95 yearly. For home delivery information call 630.834-8244.
Reprints: Content appearing in the Independent may not be reprinted without permission of the publisher or editor. Requests should be directed to Independent@rvpublishing.com or 630.834-8244.
Three years after the initial outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy, residents of that facility and others like it are still waiting for Gov. Bruce Rauner to be proactive in detecting and removing Legionella bacteria from state-run facilities. State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) took charge of the situation Thursday by passing House Bill 4278, which requires an Illinois veterans Home to notify facility residents and their emergency contacts within 24 hours if two or more residents in the home have been diagnosed with an infectious disease in period of one month or less. “This is a commonsense measure that puts the health of our veterans
ahead of bureaucracy,” Cullerton said. “In 2015, the families of the servicemen and women residing the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy should have been notified of the Legionnaires’ disease epidemic, but Gov. Rauner’s administration left them and their loved ones in the dark. This is simply unacceptable and we can’t let it happen again.” House Bill 4278 also requires veterans homes to post notification of the incidence of the infectious disease in a visible place near the facility’s main entrance. Once those requirements have been met, they must notify the Departments of Veterans’ Affairs and Public Health of the incidence of the infectious disease. “When your loved one is in harm’s
way, you want to know,” Cullertons said. “This measure ensures that caretakers and family members have health care information as soon as possible to make the best possible medical decisions.” The measure was introduced in response to Rauner’s mismanagement of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Quincy Veterans Home. Despite signs of the spread of bacteria reaching epidemic proportions, the state did not notify the public about the deadly 2015 outbreak until nearly a week later. This week WBEZ reported that a workplace safety reprimand was issued by the state Department of Labor which said the Department of Veterans Affairs failed to effectively
notify all employees of the outbreak. This undermines the insistent claims by Director Erica Jeffries that her department was “very clear” in its Legionnaires’ warnings to Quincy staff. “This is a real shame. The gross mismanagement of the Quincy Veterans Home is disgraceful,” Cullerton said. “If the governor’s administration is refusing to use common sense, the General Assembly will put protocol and procedures in place to ensure our nation’s heroes receive the best possible care and service we can offer.” House Bill 4278 is supported by the Better Government Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Illinois AMVETS. It passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support.
New bill will mandate transparency, accuracy in budget Taxpayers owe about $887M in late payment interest penalties
Postmaster: Please send address changes to: THE INDEPENDENT 240 N. West Avenue, Elmhurst, IL. 60126
Office Hours:
223501
Monday-Friday 11am-3pm
A bill introduced in the Illinois Senate would mandate transparency and accuracy in the governor’s annual budget proposal. State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) advanced House Bill 5814, which forces the governor’s office to record late interest payments as a separate line item in its appropriations to state agencies. This paints a clearer picture of the state’s funds and slows the depletion of funding needed to run those
agencies. “As legislators, we can’t negotiate a proper budget when we don’t know how much money is owed or where it is going,” Cullerton said. Currently, most late payment interest penalties accrue at a rate of 12 percent per month for bills unpaid after 90 days, while healthcare bills accumulate interest at a rate of 9 percent after 30 days. The interest penalties are paid from the same appropriation line,
depleting the amount a state agency can spend for its operations. The bill forces the governor’s budget to include separate line item requests to for prompt pay interest payments. “This practice will force all future governors to be more realistic when presenting a budget to the general assembly and public,” Cullerton said. “We need to make sure governors, whether they are republican and democrat, do not attempt
to hide behind phony numbers.” The comptroller’s January 2018 Debt Transparency Report confirmed that taxpayers owe approximately $887 million in late payment interest penalties — despite the fact that over $140 million in interest penalties was paid out in calendar 2017. House Bill 5814 passed the Senate’s State Government Committee with bipartisan support and moves to the full Senate for consideration.