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* From a few days ago…
Employees at the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Fulton Street office say they are battling a bedbug infestation.
An employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said the 2650 W. Fulton St. location has had bedbugs in the past, but the current problem at the department’s West Side office started a few weeks ago.
The employee filed a grievance with AFSCME Local 2858, which took the matter to management. It took higher ups about four days before a fumigator was called in and only one room was fumigated, union spokesman Anders Lindall said.
“We are not convinced they’re resolved. The local union has requested that management have the fumigators inspect the infested areas before employees are returned to work in them,” he said.
Usually, grievances like this one don’t get filed unless management is failing to do something about the problem. In other words, I’d bet this grievance isn’t the first time management knew of the bedbug issue. That the employees felt the need to take the matter up with the Sun-Times indicates even more management indifference.
But, hey, no worries. The union isn’t needed, right? The administration cares for the workers much more than that awful Afscammy.
* Today…
Employees of an Illinois Department of Human Services office on Tuesday called on Gov. Bruce Rauner to create a “rapid response and comprehensive” bedbug protocol after a recent infestation at one of the department’s Chicago offices.
The group, brought together by the Alliance for Community Services, brought a letter listing their demands to Rauner. […]
One room was fumigated, even though the bugs were found in other areas of the office. Edwards says employees were told to catch the bedbugs as proof of their existence for other rooms to be fumigated.
“This is just another example of the Rauner administration’s neglecting the staff,” Edwards said. “As one of the staff representatives told me, ‘you shouldn’t have to catch Cujo in order to prove he has rabies.’ I think it’s quite telling that the Rauner administration has neglected staff, and it’s a sad tale of the continued neglect from downstate.”
A couple friends of mine suffered through a bedbug infestation after staying at a nice hotel. The nasty things were everywhere in their house. You can’t just fumigate one room because they move. And those bites will drive you crazy.
* And yet, according to Rep. Skillicorn, this is “comedy gold”…
This is comedy gold. Bureaucrats who are responsible for running our lives can’t handle #bedbugs in their office.
Employees of bedbug infested state office take letter of demands to Gov. Rauner https://t.co/hhPgkmpexv
— Allen Skillicorn (@allenskillicorn) August 1, 2018
I don’t get the joke. Are the workers supposed to hire an exterminator? Are they just supposed to tough it out and deal with the bedbugs forever? Also, how does the Department of Human Services run our lives?
Leave the comedy to comedians.
*** UPDATE *** From IDHS…
The IDHS facility in question was treated for bed bugs within 1 business day of the initial report of bed bugs. Staff were removed from the area immediately after the bugs were spotted. Bed bug monitoring devices have been installed at the facility and pest control has consistently visited to treat the area and monitor the situation. Only one additional bed bug has been seen after the initial sighting and there has been no other bed bug activity reported at this office since.
Like any other public office, bed bug activity is a result of many different people visiting our offices every day. We take the health and safety of our staff and customers seriously and are happy to have dedicated local staff that acted so promptly in response to this situation. We encourage all staff or customers to report any sightings of bed bugs to our management immediately so we can act as quickly as possible.
If you’ve seen one bug, there are definitely lots more. Just sayin…
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 10:48 am
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Just when you thought Skillicorn couldn’t be a more juvenile twit.
Grow up, laughing boy, and do your job. You actually have a responsibility for oversight of the executive branch.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 10:55 am
Skillicorn is the joke.
Comment by PJ Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 10:55 am
I took it as Rauner, who controls Republicans, can’t even get bed bugs out of one of his offices.
If you read it as Skillikorn pointing out yet another Rauner failure, it makes more sense.
Comment by Michelle Flaherty Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 10:59 am
Ask Rauner why he shrunk all the investigators.
Public health inspectors, IL Osha,IL EPA, DHS Child investigators….all AFSCME jobs and all barely staffed.
Then things like Quincy and this happen. Rauner should be getting called out on this stuff.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:00 am
Well said Word.
Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:00 am
Skillicorny as heck.
Step away from the Twitter, your stupid is showing.
Comment by dray Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:02 am
Skillicorn has no clue. This is comedy gold: “Why do they call it Ovaltine? The mug is round. The jar is round. They should call it Roundtine.”
Comment by Steve Rogers Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:03 am
What do you think Skillicorn would be doing if his Stratton Building office was overrun with bugs? Probably blaming Madigan on twitter.
What a troll.
Comment by Roman Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:04 am
Allen, delete your account.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:06 am
Skillicorn also has a tweet saying “It’s not that hard to call an exterminator”…
So you want employees to pay for it themselves? Or regular employees to be able to make the call themselves, and not go through management, in order to have the state pay for it?
So it seems like he is mocking them for not taking care of it themselves, when they literally do not have the ability (or responsibility) to do so… not too bright, is he?
Comment by Perrid Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:09 am
This one tweet is more than Skillicorn has ever done in Springfield.
Comment by asbestos in stratton Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:10 am
Allen Skillicorn is the person who thinks once the North Koreans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans overrun ‘Merica, and take our guns, they will fix the bedbug infestation.
That tweet still wouldn’t be comedy gold, but reflects further who Skillicorn is.
To the Post,
This is unacceptable. No matter party, the person leading the agency, the governor… enough.
Get this fixed. Human decency is never a low bar, it’s the starting point behind ridding beds with bedbugs.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:13 am
AFSCME should have some bed bug pins made up, and give one to rauner for his costume vest.
Comment by Langhorne Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:16 am
It would appear that the conservative skillicorn is mocking the governments inability to take care IOC the issue yet so many on the left want to turn even more of our lives over to government to run, interfere with, or have some say
So yea its tragically comedic
Comment by Dozer Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:21 am
Rauner and his lickspittles like Skilicorn
Have disdain for all public employees
They flaunt the courts and rule of law
Yesterday Rauners Administration
Stated that they wouldn’t pay for the
Wage theft they committed
Which was affirmed by three courts
And the ILRB
Rauner has of today illegally withheld
12,581 dollars
So add being victims of wage theft
To bed bugs
And people wonder why
We’ve lost 35% (by my count)
Of the workforce
Which was already the smallest per capital
Since he took office
Comment by Honeybear Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:23 am
That’s 12,851 from just me
Comment by Honeybear Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:25 am
There was an outbreak at JRTC five years ago and I heard that there were previous outbreaks
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:25 am
Skillicorn is undoubtably being a banned word starting with D, but is the building State owned? If not the responsibility of getting the exterminator may actually fall on the land lord. Granted the state should be on his behind to do so yesterday or earlier.
Comment by State Engineer Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:26 am
Skillicorn should watch what he says…replace bedbugs with legionella and his comment suddenly is a bit different.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:27 am
This must have been caused by Madigan as he has consistently protected bedbugs.
Get it together IDHS so these employees don’t have to take time off so they can deal with the problem when they bring it home.
Comment by illinifan Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:27 am
@Dozer, I don’t think so. He didn’t say “the Government … can’t handle bedbugs”, he attacked the workers, and also saying they can’t “handle” it, as opposed to “fix” it or something like that, belittles the problem and makes it seem like the workers are making a mountain out of a molehill. That’s not the case. If he wanted to blast Rauner’s administration for not being capable of fixing the issue, or even just state government for ineptitude, if that was the goal, he needs to take a communications class because that’s simply not what he said.
Comment by Perrid Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:29 am
Am I the only person who reads honey Bear’s posts as blank verse?
Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:37 am
===Am I the only person who reads honey Bear’s posts as blank verse?===
(Raises hand)
I hear the words in iambic pentameter. Sometimes I want to tune that off, but it’s the default, which I don’t mind.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:39 am
I get why no administrator wants to take action on this issue. Once knew an employer who took a looong time to fix a heating issue. It was purposeful. Cold or bug bitten in this case, frustrated, ignored employees soon leave.
Comment by Barrington Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:40 am
Let’s hope the bedbugs are nipping at the freeriders in the office area.
Comment by Steward As Well.... Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:41 am
I read Honeybear’s verse to the tune of “Yellow Rose of Texas.” It works for me most of the time.
Comment by G'Kar Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:44 am
What a jerk comment for him to make. If you have these bugs at work, you bring them to your home, to your bed to your children’s beds. They bite. They leave marks. You have to get rid of furniture and belongings, and then they’re still likely not gone. I too know a family that dealt with these bugs when their landlord (Springfield slumlord) would not even attempt to help. They had to walk out of their home, clothes on their back only, and even change out of those before relocating to another rental. Their very small kids had bites all over them. Absolutely nothing funny about a bedbug infestation.
Comment by itsmyopinion Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:46 am
It’ll be a a riot when Skillicorn gets a bed bug infestation.
Comment by Precinct Captain Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 11:58 am
Isn’t skillcorn literally a bureaucrat? Is he suggesting that caseworkers are bureaucrats as well? Does that make caseworkers entitled to the same benefits and pay that he receives? /s
Comment by Ike Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 12:07 pm
My local has some issues with management, but something like heating issues or bad plumbing comes up, they do what they can to get the landlord on it ASAP. This sounds like an LOA that either A) doesn’t care, or B) is having issues getting the building owner to address it. I’m hoping it’s the latter as that’s something that can be addressed when the contract comes up for renewal. If it’s the former, that’s going to be a lot harder to correct.
Comment by Fixer Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 12:22 pm
How does “stupid” like that ever get elected? What an embarrassment. But it’s getting to be all too common these days.
Comment by Markus Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 12:36 pm
Yet another in a long line of exhibits illustrating why Mr. Skillicorn has no business being a representative.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 12:45 pm
This is likely a leased property. Where the heck is CMS? Have they been contacted?
Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 12:47 pm
==Where the heck is CMS? ==
It’s efficient to have CMS manage all state property isn’t it.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 12:51 pm
Bed bug monitoring device. I see no better qualified person than Blago. Save us about $80k/yr in incarceration costs and we won’t have to pony up for these devices.
Comment by BlueDogDem Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 1:00 pm
Skillicorn should keep the laughs coming by offering to store the office furniture at his house.
Comment by Jocko Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 1:04 pm
“It’ll be a a riot when Skillicorn gets a bed bug infestation.”
He won’t get bitten. Professional courtesy.
Comment by a drop in Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 1:10 pm
I thought he was just a total derp frat bro Republican but he’s really he’s worse. I can guarantee a person of this level of intelligence and lack of common sense always does themselves in one way or another. Wait for it.
Comment by Sonny Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 1:33 pm
For the millionth time
Taxpayers are not my employer
The moment you and I remit our tax payment
It is no longer our money
We elect representatives to determine
The use of our remitted tax money.
It’s called representational democracy
The State of Illinois is my employer
Thank loving God a callous insensitive boar
Like you
Robert the 1st
Is not my employer.
You and your ilk are exactly what is motivating
Labor to go
door to door
Neighbor to neighbor
To politically destroy every Raunerite candidate
You make my job easier
Thank you
And btw a recent study showed the Illinois public supports Public Servants by an 83% margin.
Comment by Honeybear Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 1:53 pm
Demo, it should be more efficient, especially since they turned property management into another fee-for-service racket, er, enterprise. You sure see things that make you wonder, though.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Aug 1, 18 @ 5:10 pm
Rauner culture, find pleasure in the misfortune of others
Comment by Rabid Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 5:50 am