Governor Quinn

What do you think of the new Governor? I think it too early to tell. He certainly has set a new tone by using the Governor's Mansion and just physically being in Springfield these past two weeks. Quinn has finally made some key appointments to his staff that may signal how the new administration will operate and function. With the exception of moving the annual state budget speech back one month to March, the Governor has been mum on fiscal matters. It will be interesting to see how he will approach the fiscal crisis and what stance he will take on a tax hike and generating revenues to pay our bills. Actually not much has been done during the first two weeks of the Quinn administration so we should expect things to start moving very soon. The Governor is know to be a micro-manager and it will be interesting to see how he personally will respond to providing the necessary leadership to move the State forward. Let's give him a couple of more weeks to see where we are going.

Pack The Place 2009

The gym was packed for two straight nights as Lakeview Spartans were undefeated with the boys and girls teams both beating Burr Ridge and Westview Hills. The games featured a student pep band, games for students prior to the games, introduction of home and away teams, the singing of the National Anthem by the Lakeview Chorus and a pie in the face raffle. Thanks to Mr. Windsor, Mrs. Liles, Mrs. Myers, Mrs. Mixon, Mrs. Mastny, Ms. Payne, Ms. Enzibigilis and Ms. Coppoletta for participating in the pie in the face raffle. They were all good sports! It was really great to see the great sportsmanship and spirit shown by our students and athletes. Congratulations to Mr. Little and Mr. Dodd on their victories!

Illinois Moves On!

The conclusion of the Senate Hearing last Thursday and the removal of Governor Rod Blagojevich has brought an abrupt end to the Blagojevich era. For many this could not have come soon enough. After begging for mercy since he didn't do anything wrong in a 45 minute speech to the Senate the Governor took his last taxpayer funded private plane flight back to Chicago and was out jogging by the time the final votes were cast. What will happen as new Governor Quinn begins to set a course for Illinois?

Governor Quinn has stated that he will model his administration after Governor John Peter Altgeld who served in 1896 and was known as a progressive reformer. At a press conference held on Thursday, the new Governor has indicated that he will focus his efforts on developing an economic plan to deal with the horrendous deficit accumulated by the former administration. At this time no one knows the extent of the deficit since the Blagojevich administration often held bills and did not submit them promptly to the comptroller's office for payment. The deficit may be higher that $4 billion! In other immediate actions Governor Quinn has removed the Blagojevich name from all Illinois Tollway signs, removed the large state police security team attached to the Blagojevich family, and will reverse the previous order to close state parks. Quinn has spoken in support of capital construction plan that is disparately needed.

This week we will begin to see how the “new” Springfield will work. There is the promise of perhaps a more civil and open atmosphere in our government. We will need to be watchful this week as Governor Quinn begins to announce staff appointments and make other decisions that have been relegated to the back burner for many months. Hand on!