Bloemker No Longer at Heartland Human Services

Jeff Bloemker is no longer serving as Executive Director of Heartland Human Services.

Heartland Board President Kaye Dent said Bloemker's last day on the job was Friday.

(JEFF BLOEMKER)

Bloemker serves as mayor of Effingham.

Asked the reason for the change, Dent said, "these are changing times in Illinois for agencies such as Heartland, and everyone is trying to do what is best for the agency." She said the management team will oversee the daily operation of the agency. Meanwhile, the Heartland board will meet on a more frequent basis to determine what the next steps are to be taken. Dent said, "given the changing times, we're going to take our time to decide how to proceed."

In a text this morning, Mayor Bloemker said, "No real controversies there. The real driver is the current funding dysfunction by the State coupled with several years of program funding cuts. Heartland's business model has changed drastically. We've been watching this issue closely and felt this was the right time for me to step down. My presence at Heartland wasn't a vocational response, it was a community response to a labor relations crisis. I'm proud that we were able to stabilize the agency in the wake of that crisis and continue with the agency's mission over the past seven years. As the mayor of Effingham, I will continue to do what I can to see to it that Heartland gets the local and state support it deserves as a critical cog in the community health care wheel."