Skip to content

Local DHS office will remain open

If Illinoisans want an example of what government reform truly is, according to state Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon), they need to look to the employees of the Illinois Department of Human Services in Vandalia and other local residents.

It was those people, McCarter said, who held him and state Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Greenville) accountable at a time when DHS officials announced their plan to close agency offices in Vandalia and 16 other communities.

Three days after Vandalia Mayor Rick Gottman received unofficial word that the Vandalia office was not being shuttered, McCarter and Stephens announced that they were successful in thwarting off the closing of the Vandalia office.

“We (McCarter and Stephens) simply got the right people’s attention,” McCarter said Monday afternoon. “We made a plea that this was not going to be the right thing to do for the people of Vandalia and Fayette County.”

Stephens said he made clear to DHS officials last week why the local office should be kept open.

“I grilled the DHS people last Thursday during an appropriations hearing, pointing out all of the reasons the Vandalia office shouldn’t close,” Stephens said.

“Department officials were they were looking for budget cuts, and they put together a list of 17 offices they could close due to a low volume of clients and the clients’ access to other (DHS) offices,” he said.

“In some cases, that’s true, such as the Forsyth office, which is only seven miles from the Decatur office.

“But, I think, in their exuberance to make budget cuts, they added a couple of other offices, not having an understanding of the impact on the people who use those offices,” Stephens said.

Agency officials also told him that Vandalia and Fayette County residents could use the Internet for DHS services.

“I told them that we are talking about people who live in an area not served by buses and many people who don’t have cars,” Stephens said.

“I told them, ‘Don’t ask them to get on the Internet.’”

Stephens praised Gottman for again stepping forward on behalf of local residents, and for local residents for doing their part in letting Gov. Pat Quinn know the impact of the closing.

“Without a question, I know that the governor’s office received hundreds of phone calls … and that’s huge,” he said.

“It’s not quite the effort that it took to keep Vandalia Correctional Center open, but it was a concerted effort that was effective,” he said.

McCarter also praised the contributions of local residents, particularly those who man the local DHS office.

“Those six people, their attitude was spectacular,” McCarter said.

“They knew that they would still have jobs, and they were not whining (about having to go work in another office),” he said.

“They were truly concerned about the way they were going to care for their clients.

“They were willing to make sacrifices, and it was a genuine way in which they responded,” McCarter said.

“It’s a pretty good day, and we need more days like this in Springfield,” he said.

“We talk about the need for reform in government, and reform takes place when people hold their elected officials accountable,” McCarter said.

“A lot of things we do in Springfield don’t amount to a whole lot, and when you can come to the defense of the people, it’s a great day,” he said.

Leave a Comment