Reboletti Opposes Additional State Dollars for Chicago Transit Authority & Stroger Hospital in Cook County

July 02, 2007

Springfield … As budget negotiations continue, State Representative Dennis Reboletti (R- Elmhurst) opposes Governor Blagojevich’s attempt to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) with $100 million and Speaker Madigan’s proposal to earmark $100 million to John H. Stroger Hospital, formerly known as Cook County Hospital.

“Why would the Democrat leadership in this state even remotely consider any notion of pumping state dollars into this horribly mismanaged hospital?” Reboletti asked, noting that Stroger Hospital has been plagued with numerous problems. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has cited the hospital 16 times on patient care and safety issues and the FBI has an ongoing investigation into the hospital’s hiring practices.

“Even the Chicago Democrats in Congress - including Senator Dick Durbin - have publicly stated that they have no plans to provide additional federal funds to bail out Stroger Hospital,” Reboletti said. “They know how poorly this hospital is run and how federal dollars would be wasted on mismanagement.”

The Chicago Transit Authority is no better than Stroger Hospital. The State’s Transportation Secretary in the past has pledged to audit the agency’s activities to prove they weren’t wasting public money with administrative inefficiencies. However, the audit was never conducted.

“I’m tired of seeing the middle class families in my district and across the state, diligently pay their state taxes – only to see their dollars go to bail out another grossly mismanaged institution in Chicago,” Reboletti said.

For additional information, Rep. Reboletti can be contacted at (630) 530-2730.

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