Will intra-party politics kill a good idea that could save the state millions? The battle lines between Governor Blagojevich and the Illinois General Assembly have been drawn. Who will win is anyone's guess, but industry better pay attention and make their voices heard.

In March 2006, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed Executive Order 2006-06 which began the consolidation of several human resources, procurement and financial functions into five Shared Services Centers (SSC).

Source: Shared Services Program

Two have been implemented -- the Public Safety SSC (PSSSC) and the Administrative and Regulatory SSC (ARSSC). On March 31, 2008 Governor Blagojevich moved to create the last three remaining SSCs when he signed Executive Order 2008-01. These organizations are the Social Services SSC, Healthcare SSC, and the Environmental and Economic Development SSC. The first two new SSCs -- Social Services and Healthcare -- will provide identical services to their agencies as do the PSSSC and the ARSSC and will be housed within the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Human Services, respectively. The Environment and Economic Development SSC (EEDSSC) will provide those services as well as IT application development, making it unique among the SSCs.

The EEDSSC will be housed in the Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the center director is Ann Schneider, who is the Director of the Office of Finance and Administration for IDOT. She was interviewed in the most recent Shared Services Program newsletter, which was published on March 31. Deloitte Consulting was retained to develop the launch project plan for the EEDSSC.

These SSCs will consolidate 158 fiscal IT applications, 175 human resources applications and inconsistent paper-based processes. Many of the IT systems are over 20 years old, technologically obsolete and incompatible with each other. Consolidation should save the state millions of dollars each year. So what's not to like about the concept of shared service centers? Ask Illinois Senator Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) and Representative Jack Franks (D-Woodstock).

According to an article in the Springfield Journal-Register, the Senate Executive Committee by a vote of 10-3 told the administration no to the reorganization. Senator Sliverstein said, "You cannot guarantee there won't be bureaucratic mess." The Northwest Herald reported State Representative Franks introduced a resolution to overturn Executive Order 2008-01, which was passed by the House State Government Administration Committee.

Blagojevich has been weakened recently with revelations in the federal corruption trial of Tony Rezko. The Washington Post reported star prosecution witness, Stuart Levine, testified Blagojevich told him that if he "stuck with us you'll do very well for yourself." The two-term governor has not been charged with a crime and has denied any wrong doing. However, that's the legal view. The political view is more immediate and more dire. Blagojevich has a reputation for being heavy-handed with the legislature and he doesn't seem to be in any competition for the title of "Great Communicator." The legislature feels this latest reorganization has been "sprung" on them, according to Franks, even though the plan was originally announced in 2006. Now that Blagojevich's name has surfaced in the corruption trial, he's on the defensive; the legislature has gone on the offensive.

Franks believes the SSCs would allow the administration to outsource jobs, get around state hiring rules and give the governor unlimited power to award no-bid contracts. That sounds a lot like paying off contributors, friends, family and supporters -- jiving nicely with Levine's recent testimony. The Illinois General Assembly and the governor's office are both controlled by the Democrat party so this fight can't be about politics, right? Don't be so sure. Senator Silverstein said, "The instrument has yet to be invented that can measure how little faith there is in the management ability of this administration."

Stayed tuned...