What does Patti Blagojevich think of the extension funding mess?
Kelley Quinn, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Office of Management and Budget called me Friday about this editorial. She characterized it as “frustrating.” Come to think of it, so do I.
Anyway, she mentioned that Illinois First Lady Patti Blagojevich has been a big supporter of 4-H in the state. As mentioned in the editorial, 4-H is one of the programs that is in serious jeopardy because of the governor’s threats to University of Illinois Extension office funding. I asked Quinn what the First Lady thought about this. Quinn said she didn’t know and that the two haven’t even met. That’s fair enough I suppose, but surely that might be a pretty relevant question to ask, especially considering that the First Lady got a degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Turns out I’m not the first to think this. From Sharon Mosley via The Herald & Review:
University of Illinois Extension Unit Leader Jim Looft asked the board to support a letter writing campaign to urge Gov. Rod Blagojevich to return $12.5 million to the Extension budget. Shelby County’s share of that money is $82,000 and without it, Looft said Extension would not be able to stay open in Shelby County.
“Our future has a lifecycle, and I can tell you it won’t be long,” he said.
Looft said 4-H families, farmers and members of its HCE program also would be contacted to urge Blagojevich to release the funds.
“The governor has done this sort of thing before and backed down, but we don’t know if he’ll back down in this case,” he said.
The board noted that First Lady Patti Blagojevich has been active in encouraging 4-H participation throughout the state.
“Perhaps we should contact her,” Amling said.
“I’m sure it couldn’t hurt,” Looft agreed. “But without this money you won’t see 4-H at the State Fair, something she has taken an active interest in.”
Not a bad idea at all.