Illinois & State Of Hope

Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois announced Sunday at a South Side church in Chicago that Illinois is expected to house up to 10,000 displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina as part of its ongoing relief efforts. Blagojevich refuses to call Katrina Hurricane victims refugees.

The Quinn Chapel AME Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once stood, symbolizes the challenge to help those in need, and Illinois will step up to the plate, Blagojevich told a cheering crowd.

"They're not refugees," Blagojevich said of the widely protested terminology to describe the victims. "They're Americans who need help, and it's about time."

Today, 1,000 people from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama will arrive in airports all over Illinois, joining the 500 survivors currently in the state, Blagojevich's spokesman Gerardo Cardenas said. About 2,500 survivors are expected by the end of the week, Cardenas said.

Indeed, they are Americans who need help. With the actions of the Governor and its people Illinois will become a state of hope to Americans affected by Katrina, according to Senate President Emil Jones.

"Governor, your actions will turn the state of Illinois into the state of hope," state Senate President Emil Jones said.

It may be that officials will have to find jobs for the displaced, but Blagojevich said his first priority is to get the needy food and shelter. He didn't know how much Illinois' efforts have cost so far.

"When your house is on fire, you don't ask yourself, 'What's it's going to cost to rebuild a house?' You first try to put the fire out," the governor said.

While GOP politicians main concern is repealing the estate tax for the extremely wealthy, Gov. Blagojevich brings some common sense to the relief effort.

When your house is on fire, you don't ask yourself, 'What's it's going to cost to rebuild a house?' You first try to put the fire out.

Federal Government efforts should be focus on Gulf Coast and on Americans survivors of Hurricane Katrina.