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Capitol Fax

Rich Miller's commentary on State Government

A couple of years ago, Rod Blagojevich told me during a private conversation that all the talk about how close he supposedly was to indicted fundraiser Tony Rezko was just that. Talk.

Ah, but Chris Kelly, Blagojevich said, now that's a real friend, a close friend, a confidante. Blagojevich said he genuinely admired Kelly on multiple levels - his success in business, his family, his people judgment abilities and his uncanny knowledge of all things sports. The two men talked almost every day, Blagojevich said, sometimes several times a day. He said it seemed like he was as close to Kelly as he'd once been to his own brother.

Blagojevich said at the time that he was certain Kelly would never be indicted. But what if Kelly was popped, I asked, pointing out that the governor's buddy had been mentioned several times in Rezko's indictment. If Kelly is so close to you, wouldn't his indictment mean that the US Attorney was working his way up the ladder to get the guy at the top? After all, I pointed out, the old saying "If the feds want you, they'll get you," isn't too far from the truth.

I've rarely seen such a dark cloud move so quickly over someone's demeanor. Blagojevich's smile suddenly vanished from his face, replaced with what looked almost like a haunted expression.

He had been sitting straight upright, but then Blagojevich's shoulders hunched forward, his head dropped and he looked downward and to the right, rested his forearm on his leg, took a few deep breaths, and finally said, "If it happens, I'll have to deal with it then."

It seemed to me at the time that Blagojevich had never really talked about this subject with anyone. He may have given it some thought, but he didn't appear to have yet fully intellectualized the dire situation he was in. That Kelly question led to several others, of both him and his wife, about what they had managed to do to themselves. More on that another time. Suffice it to say that it was an all-around emotionally draining day.

Chris Kelly was indicted on tax fraud charges just a few months after my uncomfortable conversation with Blagojevich. So much for Blagojevich's certainty.

Kelly had apparently used his computer-like brain to make millions of dollars in sports bets, and then hid the profits from the IRS, as well as the money-moving to cover his debts. Several months later, with the feds in full pursuit of Kelly, Blagojevich replaced his old friend at the campaign with his biological brother Rob, who was brought in to handle the finances.

One brother out, another brother in. This time, though Blagojevich chose "real" blood. The kind of blood that one can be sure doesn't talk to government investigators. Turns out, he didn't need to worry.

Kelly pled guilty to the IRS charges this past January, then was indicted a month later on an O'Hare Airport bid-rigging scheme. Two months after that, he was indicted as part of the charges brought against Rod Blagojevich and Blagojevich's brother. According to that indictment, Kelly, Blagojevich and others had schemed since the first 2002 campaign to use the governor's office to pad their pockets.

It was clear as day that the feds were squeezing Kelly for all he was worth to get him to talk about how he ran Blagojevich's inner circle and how he and his co-defendants had used the governor's office to enrich themselves, Blagojevich's campaign fund and Blagojevich's family.

The federal case against Blagojevich would receive a gigantic boost if Kelly cooperated. Kelly talked to them about it a for a while in May, then stopped. He was sentenced for the IRS plea in June, then pled out the O'Hare contracting charge last week. He was scheduled to report to prison this Friday, but died early Saturday morning of a reported drug overdose.

"This is tragic," a distraught Kelly family friend told me shortly after the news broke that Kelly had apparently committed suicide. "Rod does not deserve this kind of loyalty."

He most certainly doesn't.

Senate Week In Review

September 14-18, 2009, A view from the Illinois Senate Republican Press Office

SPRINGFIELD ­ The focus is on gerrymandering and pensions this week, with the third public hearing of the Senate Redistricting Committee scheduled for Sept. 22, according to State Sen. Tim Bivins (R-Dixon).

Also this week, a Senate task force met to discuss the state's massive pension debt, and offer tentative solutions to reducing Illinois' pension obligations. Bivins said Illinois has consistently held the dubious distinction of claiming the worst pension funding problem in the nation.

Gerrymandering reform will again be the topic at the third public hearing of the Illinois Senate Committee on Redistricting, which is scheduled for 12:00 p.m., Sept. 22 in Bradley University's Hartmann Theatre Center, 1453 St. James Street, in Peoria. Gerrymandering is a term used to describe the drawing of legislative and congressional districts to provide an automatic advantage either to a political party or to incumbent officeholders to influence the outcome of elections.

Among those scheduled to testify at the hearing will be Brad McMillan of Bradley University's Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service. McMillan is a member of the Illinois Reform Commission, which has proposed a major reform of Illinois' redistricting laws to reduce gerrymandering. Bivins said the hearing will allow witnesses and guest speakers to present proposals for redistricting reform in Illinois.

Also this week, the Senate Pension System Modernization Task Force met Sept. 16. As Illinois' pension debt continues to grow, state leaders have met with business groups and unions to discuss possible solutions to reduce the state's overwhelming pension obligations.

Task force members heard from state retirees, as well teachers unions, the Civic Federation and Gov. Pat Quinn's staff. A representative from the Quinn administration presented the Governor's key recommendations, which focus on funding and revenue enhancements. Quinn is once again pushing an income tax hike as a way to increase state revenues.

The Governor is also encouraging the Task Force to consider taxes on retiree benefits and raising contributions for all employees, as well as creating a new system that would offer fewer benefits to new hires.

The Task Force has plans to convene three subcommittees on Oct. 2, which include a Funding Subcommittee, Benefits Subcommittee and a Collective Bargaining Subcommittee. These subcommittees are charged with assembling a Final Report to submit to the General Assembly; however, any recommendations on the state's pension benefits must meet with 75 percent approval from the Benefits Subcommittee members to be included in the final report.

Though Illinois' woefully underfunded retirement systems have been criticized for years, state pensions were recently the focus of the Chicago Sun-Times investigation "Pension Bonanza." The Sun-Times editorial board strongly advocated for pension reforms, including ending the practice of working at one government job, while collecting a pension at another government job ("double-dipping"); the collection of automatic, annual 3 percent pension increases; the taxing of pensions; and reducing benefits for new hires.

Interpreting Living Wills

Regarding living wills again, Paul Gonzalez wrote (Sept. 16) "me (sic), my wife, family and lawyer," developed one 10 years ago "in the event that I become mentally and physically incapacitated." He didn't say exactly what his instructions were, but if he is like many other people, he probably wants to avoid being hooked up to all kinds of life-sustaining equipment in his final hours, which is understandable.

But the law already permits patients or their surrogates to withhold or withdraw unwanted medical treatment even if that increases the likelihood that the patient will die. Thus, no one needs to be hooked up to machines against their will. Neither the law nor medical ethics requires that "everything be done" to keep a person alive. Insistence, against the patient's wishes, that death be postponed by every means available is contrary to law and practice. It is also cruel and inhumane.?One of the problems with legal documents like living wills centers on interpretation of certain undefined words, like "nutrition," "treatment," "terminal," etc. Unless you spell out what you think such words mean, you're at the mercy of court precedents.

According to Rita Marker, director of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide (whose website is a goldmine for those interested in understanding the scope of the problem better), "The word 'terminal' has become as hard to pin down as Jell-O to a wall. So, too, is "treatment. The word has been pulled and stretched out of shape. The average person believes it is simply and easily interpreted, referring to medical interventions intended to cure or ameliorate a condition. But, as with terminal illness, the public perception of what is meant by medical treatment has traveled so far beyond the original meaning that it almost begs for redefinition in Webster's.

"The tracks have been switched moving no longer in the direction of natural death but, instead, careening toward killing in the name of compassion."

Pivotal in this shift was what has become known as the "food and fluids issue." Marker cited two 1984 cases when discussing "G-tube" feeding that illustrates the point well.

Mary Hier was 92-years-old. She had lived in a state hospital for more than 57 years. Elderly and demented, she thought she was the Queen of England. However, she was not terminally ill. Because a Zenkers diverticulum in her pharyngeal esophagus made it almost impossible for food and fluids to pass down her esophagus to her stomach, she had received food by means of a gastrostomy tube for many years. When Hier's G-tube became dislodged, the care facility sought to replace the tube.

Although her guardian ad litem argued that "nutrition" should be differentiated from "treatment," the Court declared, "We do not agree that such a distinction should be drawn as a matter of law." The Court noted that the 1983 President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine had taken the position that "artificial feeding" should be thought of as a "treatment" decision. Additionally, the Court found that replacing Ms. Hier's gastrostomy tube would entail a "major medical procedure" that was "highly intrusive" and entailed a "relatively high risk to the patient due to her age." Permission to replace the tube was denied.

Hier's story and her life might have ended there had it not been for the fact that, just as her case was being reported, another story appeared in the same Boston newspaper. It concerned a 94-year-old woman who was doing well following "minor surgery to correct a nutritional problem." The surgery had been performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia.

The woman's name was Rose Kennedy and the "minor surgery to correct a nutritional problem" was insertion of a gastrostomy tube. For 94-year old Rose Kennedy, matriarch of a rich and powerful family, tube feeding was a mere "correction" of a nutritional problem. For 92-year-old Mary Hier, poor and mentally ill, it was termed "medical treatment" that was "too invasive and risky" for a woman of her age.

Last minute intervention by a local physician and an attorney did eventually lead to Hier' s tube feeding being reinserted. Both Mary and Rose lived for many additional years, but you get the point, right? Will the interpretation of your living will depend on your social status?

What it all leads to in the majority of cases is death by starvation. We read only about the ones that go to court, like Terri Schiavo, but we seldom if ever hear of the thousands of other patients who aren't as lucky as Ms. Hier.

What's it like to starve to death? If you're under the impression that it's not all that bad, read the following "Exit protocol" provided by a nurse who worked in a typical hospital. It's a recipe for how to kill someone by starvation and dehydration, and then manage their symptoms while they die slowly.

The nurses put lip balm on the patient because her lips will crack, peel, and bleed from the dehydration. Her mouth will not open after a day or two, so aides will have to pry it open to do oral care. They will use body lotion as her skin begins to break down and show signs of flaking, drying, cracking, or being parched. They will use a nice scented lotion so she would have stimulation. (The aides will never forget the smell.) They will put a "scopolamine patch" behind her ear to enhance the drying up of saliva and other secretions. (Imagine how your mouth would feel.) "Chux pads" will be used and changed often because of incontinence of bowels and bladder, but only for a few days. Soon there will be nothing left to void. (Ever had a urinary track infection? That's what it feels like.)

When the patient begins to writhe in pain (multifocal myoclonus) and she becomes agitated from metabolic changes and electrolyte imbalances due to no fluids or nutrition, the attending staff will gave her 5 to 10 mg of Valium (diazepam) rectally every four hours. But that only "cures" the movements, not the pain. She will continue to cry. If she experiences a Grand Mal seizure, they will gave her 15 mg of Valium immediately, and then as needed thereafter. (Ever have a seizure? It's not fun. It can kill you.)

When her body shows signs of an inability to breathe by gasping for air (dyspnea), they will immediately give her 2 to 4 mg of morphine every four hours. The morphine causes her respiration to decline even further, thus aiding in the process of death. All of this can go on for seven to ten dayssometimes longer.

Is this compassionate treatment? Is it better than receiving food and nutrition, if you can assimilate them? Remember, Terri's family begged for permission to care for her, but their pleas were denied. A living will wouldn't have changed the judge's mind. Why would anyone want to burden his or her family with a death scenario like the above?

Knowing how undignified such a death is, assisted suicide advocatesuse it to get lethal injections legalized.

Sincerely,

Richard O'Connor

Pearl City, IL

Common Sense

I get great enjoyment from the letters to the editor in the Advocate both pro and con on most issues. However, I'm always surprised when people advise checking with www.whitehouse.gov for information about anything. After all, they have a horse in the race.

I think this quote from Thomas Paine from Common Sense in 1776 sums it up, "Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best stage, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."

R. Stretton

Savanna, IL

GOOD NEWS!

I want the thank all the consumers, PA's and the general public who contacted Governor Quinn concerning the removal of the Personal Assistant Program from all the Centers for Independent Living.Never let it be said that we can't make a difference!

You wrote (over 4000 letters) and the Governor responded ­ He has restored the PA Program to all the Centers at 80%. It's not the 100% we were hoping for, but, in these difficult times, it is truly welcome news.

Thanks to his reconsideration, potential PA's will once again receive orientation to learn to assist consumers, consumers can request lists of PA's to interview, ask for assistance in hiring PA's, and be able to receive advocate services to hopefully receive or maintain their hours of PA service and therefore live independently instead of in an institution.

So, once again thanks to all those who cared enough to ACT on behalf of people with disabilities!

Kay Arity

PA Coordinator

NICIL, Rock Falls

Who Makes the Best Decisions?

Your newspaper issue of September 2 carried an article authored by Mike Kocal, with the headline "Important Questions about Love of Freedom, Love of the Nation". As the headline indicated a lot of questions were asked.

I do not have the answer to all of the questions but one sentence caught my attention. That sentence contained the words, which are taken out of content, can we trust government "with making major decisions for you and your family?"

My comments to this question takes me back some 50 plus years. I, like many other Americans, spent two years of my life on a desolate and rough terrain of Korea to stop the spread of Communism. We stopped the spread in Korea but did not unite the country, but that is not the fault of those who served in the armed forces.

I left Korea and returned to Northwest Illinois a civilian. One day I was in uniform and the next day I was returning to farm. I knew more about placement of machine gun interlocking fire to defend a hill than to plow and plant it.

But my return to farming, due to a lot of help with my wife, after a couple of years we were somewhat successful. It was then that I was mandated to share some profit with the Internal Revenue Service program called Social Security. This mandate, designed for my benefit some 50 years in the future, forced me to put off purchasing a self-unloading silage wagon for three years. This resulted in my wife and I to continue to hand rake silage out a wagon for several more years.

So while we were stopping the spread of international Communism, the U. S. Congress in 1950 put farmers and farm employees under a new program called Social Security. It seemed to be fairly benign. It started out as a tax of 3% on the first $3,600 of a farmer's income. It slowly increased and in the mid-fifties was large enough that the government made the decision for me it was better to pay that tax for my retirement instead of a self-unloading wagon.

Maybe these comments will answer your questions. Does the government or your family make the best decisions? The government did not have to hand rake the silage out. I think of this example often as we consider subjects such as cap and trade, health care and increasing existing social programs.

As an elected official at the township, county and state level, my experience shows it is very hard, if not impossible, to correct mistakes in making laws or regulations.

Remember the old carpenter's adage, "Measure twice and saw once." Lawmakers would do good to remember that, and we as citizens need to remind them often.

I. Ronald Lawfer

Stockton, IL

Bob Miller Memorial Run

On Saturday, September 5, the 5th Annual Bob Miller Memorial 5K race to benefit Scholarships for Eastland and Aquin students took place in Shannon. Thank you to all who participated, either running or walking. You made it a huge success! We are able to contribute over $2,000 for students in the Aquin and Eastland school districts.

There were many donations given this year from a lot of special people. Thank you! This event would not have taken place without the help of our sponsors: The Bob Miller family; Scot Miller-Garst Seed Co.; Bocker Chevrolet; Helsebus & Gehlsen Chiropractic; Wayne Wilhelm-Fawn Ridge Reality; First State Bank Shannon/Polo; Eastland Feed & Grain; Al's Quality Service; and Lindgren Callihan VanOsdol & Co LTD.

Also, a special thank you to the Shannon EMT crew for being a part of the race in case of medical emergency, and Troy Randall for leading the race in his squad car. Next, to all of the people that volunteered: registration, setting up the course, providing help at the water stations, timers and results.

I apologize if I have inadvertently left out anyone, but want you to know I appreciate everything you did to help. Finally, to the Miller family, thank you for allowing us to affix Bob's name to an event that we hope will continue to grow every year.

Sincerely,

Amy Snyder

Shannon, IL