Despite budget cuts, ‘Air Blagojevich' gets spruced up
Bloomington Pantagraph
By Kurt Erickson
Friday, August 31, 2007
SPRINGFIELD — One of the airplanes frequently used by Gov. Rod Blagojevich is in line for a $133,900 makeover. Included in the taxpayer-funded upgrades to the state-owned Beechcraft King Air 350 are new leather seat covers, new carpeting and new leather interior sidewalls with blue and maroon accent stripes. The contract also calls for a new sheepskin cover for the pilot’s seat and various other cosmetic interior and exterior upgrades. State lawmakers, who watched last week as Blagojevich slashed money for projects and programs in their home districts, questioned the expense.
“Meals on Wheels could feed a lot of people for what it would cost to paint that airplane,” said state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, whose district lost about $650,000 in funding for social service programs because of Blagojevich’s cuts. Among them was $20,000 to help deliver meals to seniors in Williamson County.
Mike Claffey, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said Thursday the agency believes the makeover would be a wise investment for a plane that is more than a decade old. “That’s the kind of preventive maintenance that extends the life of the aircraft. It will save money in the long run,” said Claffey. The nine-seat turboprop is the oldest in the state’s fleet of four King Airs. It is used primarily to shuttle top state officials between the state Capitol and Chicago. Claffey said the carpet and upholstery in the plane is “a little frayed around the edges.”
An Associated Press analysis found the governor has used the airplane at least 98 times since taking office in 2003. The state’s planes have been in the news this year because of questions about the cost of Blagojevich’s frequent trips between Chicago and Springfield. During a short span in late May and early June, records show his flights cost taxpayers more than $51,000. This week, he has used the state plane to travel between Chicago and Southern Illinois, where he is attending the Du Quoin State Fair. After spending the early part of the week at the fair, Blagojevich returned to Chicago on a state plane for a press conference Thursday. He is expected to fly back south today for a party on the fairgrounds.
State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, is opposed to spending money on the makeover. “We just need to be a little more frugal,” Mitchell said, adding that the cost of the governor’s flights have made his constituents angry. “It certainly strikes a chord with people in central Illinois,” Mitchell said.
IDOT had hoped to have the makeover completed by the end of August. But, because of the budget impasse, the work didn’t get under way because the state couldn’t pay for the job. Documents released earlier this month show that transportation officials have now given the Arkansas-based contractor until November to complete the upgrades. Claffey said there is no timetable for making a decision on whether to go forward with the work.
“It needs to be done. Whether we are going to be able to afford to do it in the near term, we don’t know. Money is tight,” said Claffey. In addition to the airplanes, the state also operates two Sikorsky S-76 six-seat helicopters and several single-engine Cessna airplanes.
Mike Claffey the IDOT mouth piece! There are hundreds of IDOT trucks that are used for real work such as snowplowing that are in critical condition, I used to work at IDOT and I know first hand where this money goes, Chicago has the best maintenance fleet in the US, downstate gets the junk that is too worn out to be traded to Blagos cronies in the truck business, Prairie International comes to mind. At any time IDOT has 20 to 30% of the fleet deadlined for mechanical reasons, The Illinois State Police has a bunch of worn out junk, a new fee was voted on to replace the aging State Police cars but I have seen very few new squads on the road. I hope this clown enjoys flying around in his spruced up plane. Senator Freirichs and Ms Jacobsen should be proud to align with this thief!! They talk tough about the Gov. but all will be forgiven by the spring and they will all be closer than Siamese twins! I would like to thank the voters once again that voted this misfit into office not once but twice! "Good goin!"