Revenge a factor in stunted Edward Hospital growth?
Thursday, January 15th, 2009The Daily Herald has an interview with Edward Hospital CEO Pam Davis who was shaken down for kickbacks. Her cooperation with investigators helped blow the lid off the massive political corruption in this state. She told the Daily Herald her cooperation may have come at a price: Edward’s expansion plans getting shut down.
Q. Do you think Edward Hospital’s Plainfield proposal will ever get a fair shake from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board?
A. I think they’re in a very difficult position. They are still being advised by people in place during the corruption. I actually believe there is revenge occurring. There’s been a lot of attention focused on how this whole process worked. I’m hoping we’ll have a fair and reasonable review.
Davis, though, reminds us what it takes to be a hero.
Q. Having seen little come of it for Edward, do you regret sticking your neck out?
A. Absolutely not. I’d do nothing different. I did this for every citizen who lives in a free country in a free world. I feel the world functions best when good citizens take responsibility and speak up.
Q. What advice do you have for someone thinking about being a whistle-blower?
A. I think it is an individual decision. I would encourage anyone to speak out against evil. I certainly would not be critical and judgmental against those who do it. I was lucky to have a lot of resources and friends and family supporting my decision.
Evil is an interesting word choice, but perhaps appropriate. The article doesn’t give much background on what happened, but it is worth reviewing.
The whole flap centers around a fellow named Stuart Levine, portrayed in the Tony Rezko trial as a lying, corrupt junkie with a poor memory, who somehow got appointed by Govs. George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich to the very important state boards, like the Health Facilities Planning Board and state teachers pension board, in addition to his position on the board of the school now known as Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.
Levine’s hobbies included getting high off animal tranquilizers at the Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood* and raising lots of money for the Republican Party and Gov. Blagojevich.
Because hospitals are very competitive in this market, and we can’t have hospitals running each other out of business all the time, the Health Facilities Planning Board is supposed to oversee expansions and new hospitals to make sure that the new space is actually needed and serves the best interest of the community without killing hospitals around them.
Pam Davis, the CEO of Edward Hospital in Naperville, went in front of the board with a request to build a hospital in Plainfield, a fast-growing suburb in need of additional health care resources. However, there was a lot of competition for this market, and Levine took the opportunity to allegedly shakedown Edward for kickbacks to win approval.
Instead of paying the kickbacks, which might have been tempting, Davis went to the feds and agreed to wear a wire. The evidence she collected against Levine allowed prosecutors to flip him into a witness against Tony Rezko.
Rezko was later convicted on influence peddling and has not yet been sentenced. The speculation is that he may be cooperating with prosecutors investigating Gov. Blagojevich.
* Once the jewel of Lincolnwood, the Purple Hotel closed in 2007 due to disgusting conditions, disrepair, and a slight downturn in all-night drug parties. But it is now reportedly back up for sale, for anyone who wants a purple** piece of Illinois political corruption history. See Chicagoist for the story.
** Please note that such a mixture of red and blue is somehow fitting for the story.