A press release from Dan Duffy:
Duffy Continues Crusade Against Abusive Boards and Commissions
SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Dan Duffy (R-Lake Barrington) is continuing his battle against unnecessary state boards and commissions by taking a closer look at exactly how these boards are spending taxpayer money.
“There are far too many boards and commissions in this state doing far too little work to justify their enormous cost to taxpayers,” says Duffy.
“It’s high time we take a good hard look at what all these boards are actually doing and start eliminating some of these expenses.”
The Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission's masthead.
According to Duffy, the Illinois Torture and Inquiry Relief Commission, a division of the Human Rights Commission, is just one of many commissions in the state that are being allocated a great deal of money, but producing no tangible results.
While the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission was established to investigate and provide services on cases of torture in Illinois, they can provide no program goals, plans, or any results that the Commission has produced.
In the 2012 Fiscal Year the Commission was appropriated $150,000, nearly all of which was spent on salary for two employees.
The executive director has been paid $80,000 in the last year and, according to time sheets, spent only 7 hours performing duties related to the commission.
Dan Duffy
“The commission’s executive director has been paid $80,000 for less than a day’s work.
“This is just another example of how the state is wasting taxpayer money.
“Not only are we paying these people for accomplishing little-to-nothing, but more importantly we’re giving them healthcare benefits, as well as pensions.”
Duffy also points out that many of the members of these commissions are politically connected.
”The Human Rights Commission is the poster child for politically connected boards.
“Nearly half of the members of this board have close ties to political figures.”
“It is irresponsible to let the culture of corruption in Illinois dictate state spending. This commission is just the tip of the iceberg,” contends Duffy.
“There are literally hundreds of useless boards that are diverting state funds that could be used for more important things like paying down our debt and addressing our ever-growing backlog of bills.”
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David C. Thomas is listed as having been appointed Executive Director in February of last year.
Most of these do-nothing commissions are perks for retired politicians or their families, friends.
You have only to look back on the origin to see the fingerprints of a former state senator, still slopping at the public trough.
I would like to know what options the over 125 falsly incarcerated men have aside from the hope that the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission offered?
How much longer do they need to remain incarcerated?
Some of them have been there over 15 years for a CRIME THEY DID NOT COMMIT.
Who is going to do something about this?
A majority of these men have no voice.
They have no funds and they have no contacts and year after year they sit waiting for something like the torture inquiry and releif commission to come along and give them hope.
What if it were YOU, your son, your father, your best friend?
These are real men with real families and they are sitting in prison because of corrupt police officers who beat and coerced confessions out of them to crimes that they did not do and this is a fact and has been brought out yet these men still remain incarcerated?????