Retired Chicago teachers at Illinois inauguration
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Secretary of State Jesse White, State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, and Treasurer Dan Rutherford were sworn in on January 8, 2011 at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center in Springfield.
The ice sculpture that decorated the inauguration. The scale of the thing can be seen as measured against the people in the background. Substance photo by Lotty Blumenthal.Music was provided by the Central Illinois Mass Choir and the Air National Guard Band of the Midwest 66th U.S. Air Force Band. They were all invited later to the Ball. Quinn was sworn in by Justice Anne Burke. So Alderman Burke, unlike other aldermen, got to sit on the stage. Lisa Madigan had both her parents on stage wit her children. It was good to see the people who really run the state on stage, and I don't mean the elected officers. Simon took the oath from retired Justice Anne McMorrow, Lisa Madigan from Jusice Mary Jane Theis, Jesse White from Justice Joy Cunningham, Toppinka from her son, Special Officer Joseph Baar Topinka, and Rutherford from Justice Rita Garman. Obviously, it was a great day for ladies. Prayers were said in the middle of the ceremony by a Catholic Priest, a Rabbi and a Muslim leader. The Invocation was done by Dr. Byron Brazier.
Quinn, who had the longest speech, quoted from many sources. Simon said she would concentrate on education. White spoke of his past streamlining of procedures to eliminate long waits for services and wants to pass laws about distracted drivers. Topinka said she was glad to be back and hoped to win again. Lisa Madigan talked of her support and that through fines and other procedures her office had taken in a billion dollars. Yes, she paid for her own department! Rutherford was briefest saying he'd get the job done.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Substance reporter Lotty Blumenthal at the inauguration.Before the ceremony began, Liz Belcaster, secretary to my former student at Prosser, Michael Yauger, now Teamster local 786 President, spotted me and brought him over where he introduced me to his lovely wife. Yauger and Quinn are close friends since they worked together in the early formation of "Helmets to Hardhats," which helps returning veterans get jobs and helps solve other problems. Later, we tried to go to the reception at the Mansion, which was supposed to be from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. But the state police shut off ticket holders at 3:30 p.m. Previous governors stayed over time.
The night before, my friend Ervina Colonna, a retired faculty member of the Art Institute, and I had gone to Lisa Madigan's reception where most were dressed in business casual. Therefore, there was a sea of black suit jackets, pants or skirts, and black shoes. It seemed like a uniform with a few grays mixed in, and lots of black coats in the coat room of the Illinois State Library on 2nd Street. We met Ch.cago Board of Education member Dr. Tarig Butt there and talked about health. He was with a member of the State Board of Health. I also spotted Alderman Mell.
[img=3010]The ball was held in the same Prairie Convention Center. This limited the number of people invited to 8,000 instead of holding it at the state fairgrounds where about 15,000 would fit and where shuttle buses would be needed. Most were dressed as the invitation had said "Black Tie Optional." We ended up being one of the few people with a table. In the entire room there were only four tables along the back wall with five chairs at each. We were there early and with a walker and sat at one of them. The remainder of the thousands had to stand.
Dancing at the inauguration.There were food stations with carved ice statues instead of large urns of flowers. The different foods were chicken skewers, a sea of shrimp, salads, tacos, pastas, and my favorite a cheesecake station with an official cake in the center.
Joining us were committee members from Munro County , committee chairs from St. Clair Country and supporters of Tony Preckwinkle including Peaches Stewart of Peaches Realestate with her friend Olivia. She got Tony Preckwinkle and Danny Davis to stop by our table. On the other side of the room Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez held court. She and Tom Dart are currently crossing swords with Preckwinkle over the budget. Most people left early because their spike heels were hurting. As we left we joined a group and danced our way out (even with a walker) to the music of the Chicago Cats who alternated sets with the Chicago cast of Million Dollar Quartet. If your feet did not hurt, it was a fun night with everyone being nice.
By: Bridget
Hi Ms. Blumental
Oh my gosh...I can't believe I ran across this article former student class of 1995.