Democratic candidate for governor Dawn Clark Netsch called Wednesday for Gov. Jim Edgar’s administration to release an Illinois State Police report on the head of a Downstate veterans home.
On the heels of her radio and TV ads blaming Edgar for problems at the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, Netsch said the case of Richard “Hap” Northern, superintendent of the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy, was another example of the Republican governor sweeping ethics problems under the rug.
“They are his people,” Netsch said. “It happened on his watch.”
Northern, also the 30-year Adams County GOP chairman, was ordered this week to reimburse the state $2,200 for questionable expenses. Northern also will step down from his superintendent’s job Jan. 1, but will not face criminal prosecution.
Edgar said that he believes Northern did nothing wrong and that Netsch is simply trying to avoid discussing her plans to boost income taxes, coupled with property- and selected income-tax reductions, to assist schools.
Northern has been on paid administrative leave during the investigation, which coincided with the filing of a whistleblower lawsuit by a home administrator.
Don Robeson, an assistant superintendent, said he was stripped of his duties after notifying the state Department of Veterans’ Affairs that Northern allegedly used state funds to buy personal items, including groceries, and used the home’s equipment for political purposes, including an Edgar fundraiser.
In Springfield, where Edgar was endorsed by the Illinois State Employees Association, the governor said: “I appreciate the fact that Ms. Netsch needs something to talk about in this campaign. A 42 percent increase in the income tax just isn’t doing it, so she is going to talk about this.”
Secretary of state: Patrick Quinn, the Democratic candidate for secretary of state, took credit Wednesday for forcing the tollway authority to retain all of its public records for three years.
Quinn objected to the disposal of records after 12 months, saying they contained details on authority board members and employees who avoided paying at least $375,000 in tolls by using a special agency-provided charge card.
Quinn, the current state treasurer, said he made the request as the official custodian and investor of tollway funds.
But tollway spokeswoman Sari Mintz said the agency made the reform on its own.
“Quinn did not force the authority to change this,” she said.
Meanwhile, incumbent Republican Secretary of State George Ryan promised to expand his organ-donor awareness campaign if re-elected, including efforts to increase minority participation in organ and tissue donation.
Attorney general: The candidates for attorney general quickly highlighted their vast differences during a Chicago Crime Commission forum. Republican Jim Ryan and Democrat Al Hofeld almost seemed to be running for different offices.
Said Ryan, the DuPage County state’s attorney who wants to use the position to fight violent crime: “The attorney general basically runs a large public prosecutor’s office.”
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Hofeld, a Winnetka lawyer who is more interested in the traditional work of the office, said, “Anyone who contends that the attorney general should be the chief crimefighter in Illinois is going contrary to the constitution and laws of this state.”
Cook County president: Joseph Morris, trying to become the first Republican Cook County Board president in more than 25 years, Wednesday attacked charges that his election would mean a stalemated county government.
“If the Democrats won’t do business with me . . . I will do what my boss Ronald Reagan did six times on my watch in Washington, and that’s shut it down,” Morris said, referring to the County Board, which is likely to remain dominated by Democrats.
Morris, who was a top official in Reagan’s U.S. Department of Justice, made the comments during an appearance on “The Reporters” show, to be broadcast Sunday on WMAQ-AM (670).