Thursday, April 05, 2007
Hospital Not an Issue – Shepley
The headline is a variation of that above the Northwest Herald’s on Tuesday by Regan Foster.
I’m sure Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley hopes it is not an issue.
Especially since Lori Phelps, his challenger for mayor, is the one who brought the need for a hospital in Crystal Lake back to the fore with her December 18th mayoral campaign announcement.
story
Just like Shepley hopes
Time will tell.
But, the potential negatives probably won’t be enough to tip the scales in challenger Lori Phelps’ direction.
After all, the power he has accumulated over almost eight years is considerable.
The hospital issue certainly did not come up at the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce candidates' luncheon on Tuesday.
Mercy Health Systems’ decision to play Illinois politics by the corrupt “rules” that existed at the time under the Rod Blagojevich administration…and, perhaps, before…was a bad one.
If there were no other deficiencies in its application, the participation in a corrupt scheme would and, I think, probably should have killed the deal.
But, people get second chances.
That’s what the Easter season is all about.
And the people in Crystal Lake have been waiting for literally decades to get a hospital in Crystal Lake.
They deserve a second chance.
The Ames family left money specifically earmarked for a hospital.
Sherman Hospital built the Ambutal on Route 31—the first urgent care center I ever saw—in hopes of eventually building a hospital in Crystal Lake.
After years of no hope for a Crystal Lake hospital, the Ames trust was broken and the money given to the Crystal Lake Public Library.
Now, Mercy is asking for a second chance.
Same location on the southeast corner of Route 31 and Three Oaks Road. Right across from the Holiday Inn.
Even though Crystal Lake’s mayor works for Centegra, the primary competition.
Mercy is bent on expansion of its market into Northern Illinois. It has bought many doctors’ practices. It even bought Dr. Bruce Bell’s practice and, presumably, building within sight of Good Shepherd Hospital. It has a “Mercy” sign on it.
Mercy built a medical office building between Woodstock and Centegra’s new Woodstock hospital.
This organization is a savvy competitor and, one would assume, must be meeting a need that the other medical systems serving McHenry County are not.
That’s competition.
Something Shepley’s employer and other competition certainly does not want.
That would lower profit margins for the not-for-profit competition.
The Northwest Herald says Phelps says that Shepley “faces a conflict of interest when it comes to bringing a hospital to the city."
Shepley told the paper he’s “firmly committed to doing the right thing.”
I’m sure Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley hopes it is not an issue.
Especially since Lori Phelps, his challenger for mayor, is the one who brought the need for a hospital in Crystal Lake back to the fore with her December 18th mayoral campaign announcement.
story
Just like Shepley hopes- his enthusiastic promotion of the Gay Games,
- his failure to carry through on promises to lead the efforts for a Recreation Center,
- the huge increase in water fees,
- his use of condemnation in the Vulcan Lakes-Route 14 Tax Increment Financing District after saying Crystal Lake would not use eminent domain and
- his vote for the TIF Tax Hike
Time will tell.
But, the potential negatives probably won’t be enough to tip the scales in challenger Lori Phelps’ direction.
After all, the power he has accumulated over almost eight years is considerable.
The hospital issue certainly did not come up at the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce candidates' luncheon on Tuesday.
Mercy Health Systems’ decision to play Illinois politics by the corrupt “rules” that existed at the time under the Rod Blagojevich administration…and, perhaps, before…was a bad one.
If there were no other deficiencies in its application, the participation in a corrupt scheme would and, I think, probably should have killed the deal.
But, people get second chances.
That’s what the Easter season is all about.
And the people in Crystal Lake have been waiting for literally decades to get a hospital in Crystal Lake.
They deserve a second chance.
The Ames family left money specifically earmarked for a hospital.
Sherman Hospital built the Ambutal on Route 31—the first urgent care center I ever saw—in hopes of eventually building a hospital in Crystal Lake.
After years of no hope for a Crystal Lake hospital, the Ames trust was broken and the money given to the Crystal Lake Public Library.
Now, Mercy is asking for a second chance.
Same location on the southeast corner of Route 31 and Three Oaks Road. Right across from the Holiday Inn.
Even though Crystal Lake’s mayor works for Centegra, the primary competition.
Mercy is bent on expansion of its market into Northern Illinois. It has bought many doctors’ practices. It even bought Dr. Bruce Bell’s practice and, presumably, building within sight of Good Shepherd Hospital. It has a “Mercy” sign on it.
Mercy built a medical office building between Woodstock and Centegra’s new Woodstock hospital.
This organization is a savvy competitor and, one would assume, must be meeting a need that the other medical systems serving McHenry County are not.
That’s competition.
Something Shepley’s employer and other competition certainly does not want.
That would lower profit margins for the not-for-profit competition.
The Northwest Herald says Phelps says that Shepley “faces a conflict of interest when it comes to bringing a hospital to the city."
Shepley told the paper he’s “firmly committed to doing the right thing.”
Labels: Aaron Shepley, condemnation, Crystal Lake, eminent domain, Lori Phelps, Mercy Hospital
