Sunday, September 10, 2006

If Major Duckworth needs a Veteran's issue...

...this is sure it.

We've been having back and forth on Illinoiz and Capital Fax on Duckworth's ads showing her combat ready, in uniform, on illegal immigration issues.

Here's today's Trib on the prob into gifts to Blagojevich's daughter in return for jobs.

State records show Beverly Ascaridis started her state job with the Department of Natural Resources on Aug. 1, 2003. The job was initially located in Whiteside County near the Iowa state border, 130 miles from her Chicago home. Records show the job was transferred to DuPage County a little more than a month later.

Blagojevich's own inspector general's office has said in confidential reports obtained by the Tribune that the governor's patronage office helped circumvent prohibitions on political consideration in state hiring as well as laws that give military veterans a preference in state hiring.

One way that law has been skirted, the inspector general found, was by hiring some employees for vacancies in less-populated counties where there were fewer veterans applying for state jobs. The state would then transfer the favored applicants so they could work in a county closer to home.

Ascaridis said she was not involved in any scheme to circumvent veterans preference laws. Asked if she ever worked in Whiteside County before her transfer to DuPage, she said: "I don't even know where Whiteside County is."
Here's a little history of Whiteside County Illinois. Not at all a bad place to live.

16 comments:

Skeeter 1:54 PM  

I don't know if you quite understand.

This is the second time in about two weeks (the other time when you confused the U.S. State Dept. with the Illinois Comm. on Human Right) that you have confused the roles of the federal and state governments.

For the record, Maj. Duckworth is running for U.S. Congress, and not for Gov. of Illinois or Illinois Attorney Gen. As such, her campaign is focused on issues that the U.S. Congress has some level of control over. As much as big government types like you would like to see it, the U.S. Congress has no control over Illinois State Gov. hiring.

Actually, I'm sure you do understand, but this is just more evidence that you denigrated into a cheap hack taking cheap shots at Major Duckworth.

For all your talk about Democratic anger, you seem to have an unnatural amount yourself.

Bill Baar 2:48 PM  

From Duckworth's webpage,

I am eager to go to Congress to advocate on behalf of our nation’s veterans, and to make sure that our country lives up to its promise to those who served.

So the advocacy stops if it's the State of Illinois, or fellow Democrat-Blagojevich breaking the promise?

great....

Skeeter 3:33 PM  

She will do what the federal government can do.

The federal government cannot police hiring in Illinois.

You know that, of course, but you can't resist a cheap opportunity to try and link Maj. Duckworth to the story.

You have become pathetic, Bill.

Bill Baar 3:55 PM  

How about make sure Illinois uses the Federal share for state homes to staff all the beds?

Advocates can do a lot to clean up the culture-of-corruption in this state.

Yellow Dog Democrat 10:53 PM  

Congress has no authority to enforce state laws, but the U.S. Attorney has authority here, and I think he's doing a bang-up job.

Bill, you're calling for Duckworth to pull a classic Blagojevich move -- pointing the finger of blame at some other unit of government. We've got plenty of grandstanders in Congress already, I don't think we need any more.

For any federal candidate to blabber on-and-on about what the state should be doing for veterans is no substitute for ensuring Congress is doing all it can to support our veterans and active duty troops. I think the voters in the 6th CD are much more interested in Duckworth's ideas on how we can extricate ourselves from Bush's Crusade in a timely fashion, not her opinions on Rod Blagojevich, whom I'm betting she's never even met.

Bill Baar 6:17 AM  

YDD,
What Blagojevich did here to bypass Veterans preference pretty shameless... to stand up and advocate for Veterans and overlook this is hard to take.... I don't think a person can hide behind federalism.... imagine if Blagojevich had discrimated on the basis of race or sexual orientation or gender... everyone would consider that their business.. but you discriminate to avoid a Veteran's preference and its gee, not my jurisdication. I can't buy that. At least if your going to hold yourselve out as a Veterans advocate.

Skeeter 8:02 AM  

I expect she will advocate for our vets by making sure the troops have body armor. She can do something on that issue.

Is your pal Roskam taking a stand on that issue?

Or are you claiming that since he is not a vet, he is free to ignore the failures of the B-Team to provide body armor to the troops?

Bill Baar 8:48 AM  

no, skeeter, those are words you're putting in my mouth...

Every citzen of Illinois should voice disgust with what Blagojevich has done here to evade Vets preference.

For what it's worth, Vets typically don't need body armour.. so you may need to pause and reflect a bit on what you write.

So-Called Austin Mayor 9:01 AM  

"you may need to pause and reflect a bit on what you write"

And they say Bill Baar doesn't have a sense of humor.

Bill Baar 9:19 AM  

Somewhere in DuPage is a Vet who didn't get hired because Illinois wanted to hire Beverly Arcadis instead.

That Vet needed a job more than body armour.

That's what pause and reflection tell me.

Skeeter 9:39 AM  

No, Bill, that vet needs body armor more than that vet needed a job preference, especially since the B-Team is now doing mass involuntarily recalls of our troops.

You can get a job without a preference, but getting shot at without armor?

If you ask American troops if they would give up job preference to get body armor and to get armor for their vehicles, I suspect that 98% of the American soldiers would choose the armor.

Bill Baar 9:51 AM  

...lets ask the Vet passed over in DuPage too.

Skeeter 10:15 AM  

You mis-state, Bill, as you must because your case is weak.

"Not given a preference" is not the same as "passed over" and you know it, but yet you deliberately try and suggest otherwise.

As stated, when former American soldiers are being involuntarily recalled to go fight in Iraq, I think most would compete for jobs on their own merits, giving up a preference, and in response get some armor when they return to the service.

Bill Baar 10:21 AM  

...there was a stopper on the list for sure... they had to pass over and took the road to Whiteside County... it's a real disgrace I think.... and there is name out there too... the msm should ferret it out.

Anonymous,  3:18 AM  

Bill,

Why don't you focus on Bush's ethical lapses as much as any perceived lapses by Blago?

At least a member of Congress can do something about the Bush administration's lack of ethics.

Then again, our Republican-held Congress hasn't had much of an appetite for its actual job of oversight... so maybe you should really be doing everything in your power to help elect Democrats to Congress, including Maj. Tammy Duckworth.

Seeing as how you're so concerned about ethics among the executive branch and all.

Bill Baar 5:55 AM  

What lapses you have in mind?

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