McHenry County Blog

Yesterday, I put up an article about Phyllis Schlafly’s receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award on Paul Caprio’s Family PAC cruise.

It was pretty late when I finished it and I promised to do a piece on the candidates working the crowd on the cruise.

There were plenty there.

Schlafly said they were the generation who would reform the Illinois Republican Party.

I know I won’t do them justice, but here goes.

There were two congressional candidates.

Jim Oberweis gave me hope that he might reverse the special election results. He did that by pointing out the extremely low turn out this spring, compared with the numbers who will vote this fall.

Oberweis explained that 100,000 people voted in the special election, while 300,000 will troop to the polls in this traditionally Republican 14th congressional district at this fall’s presidential election.

That is reason for optimism, it seems to me.

Antoine Members, the Republican Party candidate opposing 1st congressional district Congressman Bobby Rush

Republican Cook County State’s Attorney candidate Tony Peraica also was on the cruise, as he has been before.

There were two incumbent state senators, Bill Brady and Randy Hultgen. You can see Brady below, but, unfortunately, my best shot of Hultgren has his tongue out. (No, not like my son likes to do when I take his picture; more a indication of concentration, I think.)

Brady and Oberweis spent a lot of time talking to each other. You’ll remember that they were opponents during the 2006 GOP gubernatorial primary election. (Charlie Watts can be seen standing between the two.)

There were three Republican state senators, if you count Carol Pankau, who isn’t a big boat person.

She mingled with people before the Lake Michigan cruise.

As I’m told did former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Gidwitz did as well.

More tomorrow.

Yesterday, I put up an article about Phyllis Schlafly’s receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award on Paul Caprio’s Family PAC cruise.

It was pretty late when I finished it and I promised to do a piece on the candidates working the crowd on the cruise.

There were plenty there.

Schlafly said they were the generation who would reform the Illinois Republican Party.

I know I won’t do them justice, but here goes.

There were two congressional candidates.

Jim Oberweis gave me hope that he might reverse the special election results. He did that by pointing out the extremely low turn out this spring, compared with the numbers who will vote this fall.

Oberweis explained that 100,000 people voted in the special election, while 300,000 will troop to the polls in this traditionally Republican 14th congressional district at this fall’s presidential election.

That is reason for optimism, it seems to me.

Antoine Members, the Republican Party candidate opposing 1st congressional district Congressman Bobby Rush

Republican Cook County State’s Attorney candidate Tony Peraica also was on the cruise, as he has been before.

There were two incumbent state senators, Bill Brady and Randy Hultgen. You can see Brady below, but, unfortunately, my best shot of Hultgren has his tongue out. (No, not like my son likes to do when I take his picture; more a indication of concentration, I think.)

Brady and Oberweis spent a lot of time talking to each other. You’ll remember that they were opponents during the 2006 GOP gubernatorial primary election. (Charlie Watts can be seen standing between the two.)

There were three Republican state senators, if you count Carol Pankau, who isn’t a big boat person.

She mingled with people before the Lake Michigan cruise.

As I’m told did former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Gidwitz did as well.

More tomorrow.

One of the first articles on McHenry County Blog was

It went up on October 24, 2005.

At a town meeting conducted by State Senator Pam Althoff and State Rep. Mike Tryon in Lake in the Hills on October 24, 2005, the question came up and impressed the Northwest Herald reporter and editor enough that it ended up on the front page of the paper.

As far as I can figure out, the NW Herald was the only in the state to alert people in a big way as to what was coming down.

State Senator Chris Lauzen was the first politician to send out a press release on the subject. I ran it on October 27, 2007.

As Lauzen put it,

“So now, in addition to free elementary and secondary education in Illinois for illegal immigrants with no questions asked, those breaking the immigration law will have another incentive as taxpayers subsidize universal medical insurance for their kids.”

Maybe it should be state policy that Illinois taxpayers pay for health care for children brought here illegally.

But, if so, I strongly believe that should have been vibrantly debated by the Illinois General Assembly.

If such a debate took place, it was not reported in any major Illinois newspaper.

In early December, Elgin’s Daily Courier-News wrote the only editorial opposing the plan. The title was

Here’s part:

“Blagojevich’s All Kids program is…the greatest financial and social blunder in the history of the state…

“The All Kids bill manages to fail on every conceivable legislative, moral, social and intellectual level…there is

• no wealth test…
• no residency requirement…
• no need for proof of citizenship…

“Hallelujah!

“Illinois has solved the world’s health care problems. This state has one of the largest illegal alien populations in the United States, a trend sure to accelerate if this becomes law…(two of five babies born in Kane County are to mothers who are illegally in this country…)”

How bad was the bill?

Here’s what Democratic Primary opponent Edwin Eisendrath said on December 20th “”The bill was shorter than the press release.”

By the end of January, the Daily Herald had figured out the illegal alien angle. It reported Ester Lopez, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said,

“…the state provides in-state tuition and affordable health care to all immigrants.”

Better late than never, I guess.

Eleven months after my first article, my son’s pediatrician’s practice issued this notice about not accepting Kids Care anymore.

Guess the state was not paying its bills.

Another notice, this time on red paper, showed up at his doctor’s office in December.

On May 30th, Daily Herald reporter Nick Shields wrote a major article on All Kids.

Guess what.

Although “Illinois has enrolled thousands of undocumented immigrant children…officials don’t know how much taxpayers are spending on their care.”

Let’s see.

The question is being addressed only about two and a half years after the bill passed.

Blagojevich’s spokesman says they account for less than 4% of the total enrolled. About 56,000 kids, the Daily Herald was told.

But Blagojevich really doesn’t want to know.

If the figures were available someone like Roselle’s State Sen. Carole Pankau might raise a stink.

Good for her.

Also in the article is this quote from Mahomet Republican State Rep. Chapin Rose:

“We haven’t paid our nursing home bills in six months, yet we’re opening up an entitlement package to a whole class of individuals who aren’t citizens.”

Maybe forcing Illinois taxpayers to finance health care for the illegal alien kids living here is the right thing to do, as Blagojevich people assert. Morally wrong not to do it, in fact.

One thing is for sure.

Unlike Medicaid payments for citizens and legal aliens, those for illegal aliens cannot be submitted to the federal government for a 50% match.

That means Illinois taxpayers foot the entire bill.

And, Blagojevich’s bureaucrats won’t tell the cost.

One of the first articles on McHenry County Blog was

It went up on October 24, 2005.

At a town meeting conducted by State Senator Pam Althoff and State Rep. Mike Tryon in Lake in the Hills on October 24, 2005, the question came up and impressed the Northwest Herald reporter and editor enough that it ended up on the front page of the paper.

As far as I can figure out, the NW Herald was the only in the state to alert people in a big way as to what was coming down.

State Senator Chris Lauzen was the first politician to send out a press release on the subject. I ran it on October 27, 2007.

As Lauzen put it,

“So now, in addition to free elementary and secondary education in Illinois for illegal immigrants with no questions asked, those breaking the immigration law will have another incentive as taxpayers subsidize universal medical insurance for their kids.”

Maybe it should be state policy that Illinois taxpayers pay for health care for children brought here illegally.

But, if so, I strongly believe that should have been vibrantly debated by the Illinois General Assembly.

If such a debate took place, it was not reported in any major Illinois newspaper.

In early December, Elgin’s Daily Courier-News wrote the only editorial opposing the plan. The title was

Here’s part:

“Blagojevich’s All Kids program is…the greatest financial and social blunder in the history of the state…

“The All Kids bill manages to fail on every conceivable legislative, moral, social and intellectual level…there is

• no wealth test…
• no residency requirement…
• no need for proof of citizenship…

“Hallelujah!

“Illinois has solved the world’s health care problems. This state has one of the largest illegal alien populations in the United States, a trend sure to accelerate if this becomes law…(two of five babies born in Kane County are to mothers who are illegally in this country…)”

How bad was the bill?

Here’s what Democratic Primary opponent Edwin Eisendrath said on December 20th “”The bill was shorter than the press release.”

By the end of January, the Daily Herald had figured out the illegal alien angle. It reported Ester Lopez, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said,

“…the state provides in-state tuition and affordable health care to all immigrants.”

Better late than never, I guess.

Eleven months after my first article, my son’s pediatrician’s practice issued this notice about not accepting Kids Care anymore.

Guess the state was not paying its bills.

Another notice, this time on red paper, showed up at his doctor’s office in December.

On May 30th, Daily Herald reporter Nick Shields wrote a major article on All Kids.

Guess what.

Although “Illinois has enrolled thousands of undocumented immigrant children…officials don’t know how much taxpayers are spending on their care.”

Let’s see.

The question is being addressed only about two and a half years after the bill passed.

Blagojevich’s spokesman says they account for less than 4% of the total enrolled. About 56,000 kids, the Daily Herald was told.

But Blagojevich really doesn’t want to know.

If the figures were available someone like Roselle’s State Sen. Carole Pankau might raise a stink.

Good for her.

Also in the article is this quote from Mahomet Republican State Rep. Chapin Rose:

“We haven’t paid our nursing home bills in six months, yet we’re opening up an entitlement package to a whole class of individuals who aren’t citizens.”

Maybe forcing Illinois taxpayers to finance health care for the illegal alien kids living here is the right thing to do, as Blagojevich people assert. Morally wrong not to do it, in fact.

One thing is for sure.

Unlike Medicaid payments for citizens and legal aliens, those for illegal aliens cannot be submitted to the federal government for a 50% match.

That means Illinois taxpayers foot the entire bill.

And, Blagojevich’s bureaucrats won’t tell the cost.