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Firing seen as slap at Madigan

Posted October 03, 2007 11:00 pm

Bernard Schoenburg

The wife of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's chief of staff is losing her state contract in a situation seen by observers as an escalation of feuding between Madigan and Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Bronwyn Rains, wife of Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes, has worked for the state for more than 24 years, Mapes said Thursday.

Rains is a psychologist who has a contract to review Social Security claims. She is paid $48 per hour and received a total of about $101,400 in the fiscal year that ended June 30.

Tom Green, spokesman for the state Department of Human Services, said the federal Social Security Administration notified DHS that certain disability determinations must be signed by psychologists who either have doctorates or, alternatively, master's degrees coupled with a listing on a national register of health service providers in psychology. Rains and another person doing the same job at DHS had only master's degrees and aren't on the national register.

The state Bureau of Disability Determination Services has 26 psychologists with doctorates, Green said.

Because of the change in rules, he said, "It was a decision that was made by the federal government."

Rebecca Rausch, spokeswoman for the governor's office, said Blagojevich's office was informed of the situation, but did not intervene.

"DHS had all the facts in front of them and determined that that was the appropriate course of action," Rausch said.

Steve Brown, spokesman for Madigan, D-Chicago, said, "We find the administration devoid of credibility."

Brown said he was advised that the new educational requirement - something that has "bounced around for four or five years," he said - is required for those who actually approve reports, not reviewers such as Rains.

Green said the Social Security Administration "is saying the two master's psychologists were doing double work and were not cost-effective."

"The SSA made the change in level of education in 2005," he said. "DHS didn't let those two (Rains and the other psychologist) go as they tried to work it out, but now the feds have made it clear they will not allow it."

In a letter stamped as received by the director of DHS's rehabilitation services division on Sept. 27, Jerry Kayser of the Social Security Administration in Chicago wrote to Ann Robert, deputy director of the state's disability determination office in Springfield and spelled out the guidelines.

"We simply can no longer afford to fund any contracts to psychologists who do not meet our regulatory standards," the letter stated.

Asked about the governor's motivation, Mapes told reporters, "You'd have to ask the governor's office. Maybe Mr. Harris can tell you."

John Harris is chief of staff to Blagojevich.

Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said he views the dismissal as "dirty, hardball politics, not reform and renewal."

"When you have a $50 billion-plus state budget, you can deal with this type of situation without sending out pink slips if you want to," Redfield said. "The situation gave them the opportunity to send the message that they wanted to send, and they sent it."

Redfield also said he thinks the action puts Senate President Emil Jones Jr. in a more difficult position. Jones, D-Chicago, has said he would not allow the governor's budget vetoes to be called for override votes - a position backed by Blagojevich, but not by some of his fellow Democratic senators.

Jones' wife also has a "very high-paying state job," Redfield said. If Jones sticks with the governor, "People are going to ask, 'Are you doing that in the best interest of the state, or are you doing that because you're afraid the governor will fire your wife?'" Redfield said.

"It poisons an atmosphere that was already incredibly bad," he said.

Doug Finke of GateHouse News Service contributed to this report. Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at 788-1540 or bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com.

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