No one doubts Edward Hospital CEO Pam Davis' credentials as a tough customer.
In 2003, she wore an FBI wire while meeting with thugs affiliated with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board so the feds could get dirt on corrupt officials seeking kickbacks from the state's “certificate of need” healthcare construction-approval process.
Former Bear Stearns & Co. Managing Director Nicholas Hurtgen pleaded guilty to a role in the scheme, and the trail of corruption led all the way up to then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. While Hurtgen eventually withdrew his plea and all charges against him were quietly dropped, Blagojevich is now serving a 14-year prison term after being convicted on 18 charges.
The Facilities Planning Board was dissolved and replaced with an entity hoped to be harder to buy off. And, for reporters, Davis became a go-to source when seeking a critical voice against the certificate-of-need process. She also went on to become an ABC person of the week and Naperville American Legion Post No. 43's Citizen of the Year.
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