Petraeus protege brings honor, experience to Veterans Affairs
You don’t have to be an ex-bus driver to lead the Department of Transportation.
It certainly isn’t necessary to be a former state prison inmate to run the Department of Corrections (although being ex-cons might have deterred the last two governors from the Crossbar Hotel.)
Judging by the mess made of Illinois the past decade, being a Rhodes Scholar is not required for appointment to any top state position.
One department of Illinois government however absolutely requires a director with experience in the field to be regulated is the Department of Veterans Affairs.
With the appointment Friday of Erica Borggren as director of veterans affairs, Gov. Pat Quinn not only gets a veteran, he actually gets a Rhodes Scholar too. Upon confirmation, Borggren, 30, assumes control of a department that touches the lives of thousands of men and women who were willing to give of their own lives, many times actually putting them at risk.
The 1998 McHenry High School East Campus graduate served seven years of active duty, including time in South Korea and Iraq where she was personally summoned by commander Gen. David Petraeus to work as a senior aide and speechwriter.
She went to West Point and graduated at the top of her class, then used her Rhodes Scholarship to study social policy and theology at Oxford. Borggren married a West Point grad who is studying to be a chaplain with the Illinois National Guard. They have a 5-year-old son.
When I asked Borggren to answer some questions, even though she hasn’t been approved by the General Assembly, I had a feeling she would respond. Gen. Petraeus, her old boss — now headed to the CIA — would encourage his top battlefield commanders to speak with reporters. “We are in an information war” Petraeus is quoted as saying in “The Gamble,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning book about his managing the war during an especially bloody time. He told them not to worry about talking too much ... that he would let them know if they were getting too much face time.
In “The Gamble,” Borggren is described as among those junior officers around Petreaus who “seemed to have a maverick streak to them.” Here is our Q-and-A:
Q. When and how did you learn that you were being considered? Had you applied?
A. Former IDVA Director Dan Grant was my West Point classmate. Unbeknown to me, he gave my name and CV to Governor Quinn earlier this summer. When I later met with Governor Quinn, he said he was looking for good leaders who would bring integrity, energy, and a commitment to social justice to the team. I was thrilled at the prospect of joining his administration, and particularly at the helm of the Agency that serves the veteran community.
Q. News is just coming out about Americans (most Navy SEALS) reported killed in a helo crash in Afghanistan — worst single fatalities day of the war. What jumps out at you upon hearing that?
A. My immediate thought is of the families about to receive the most tragic and heartbreaking news possible. The depth of their loss and sacrifice is beyond words. My thoughts and prayers — like those of so many other grateful Americans — are with them during this difficult time.
Q. Are we really in a position to be leaving Afghanistan to the locals?
A. While I am certainly familiar with our effort in Afghanistan through my service with General Petraeus, my focus at this time is on serving Illinois’ veteran community.
Q. What was the closest call you had in the service?
A. I arrived in Baghdad at the launch of the 2008 Sadr City uprising and was in a building in the Green Zone as it is hit by mortar fire. That experience is deeply imprinted in my memory and, perhaps most importantly, gives me an understanding of the far greater dangers that many of our veterans have faced each and every day of their service overseas.
Q. Your qualifications read as impeccable, some might say too so for Illinois: bottom in finances, services, etc. in most polls. How will you not get swept into the cesspool that is Illinois?
A. I believe that focusing on our critical mission, as well as applying some basic leadership qualities — integrity, management competence, a heart for people — goes a long way. IDVA is already a highly respected agency, and I look forward to working with the team there to make us an even more effective and efficient advocate for Illinois’ veterans.
Q. Glamour Magazine once identified you as a woman to watch. Are you interested in elective office? Something else down the road?
A. My interests have always lain in impacting lives for the better through public service, regardless of the form that takes. I now have an incredible opportunity to do that at the helm of IDVA, serving a community I know personally and respect deeply. My focus now lies entirely in my working with and for Illinois’ veterans.
Q. What is your immediate goal for the state of veterans’ services in Illinois?
A. Illinois is already a leader in veterans’ services. That said, there is always room to build on success, and I look forward to sitting down with the IDVA staff and with leaders in the veteran community to identify particular priorities and initiatives in the areas of veteran education, health care, homelessness, and joblessness.
Q. Finally, how do you see your role as a Christian mother and wife of a pastor in balance with that of a military-related government official?
A. As a follower of Christ, I believe in a God whose heart breaks at suffering and injustice and who acts — often, amazingly enough, through us — to bring about justice. That belief certainly shapes my own commitment and that of my family to a life of service and to working on the side of justice, both within and through the church, as well as in the public sphere. That said, I do, of course, understand that those are separate spheres — and I’ll be working hard in the months to thrive in each of these roles.
Ÿ Chuck Goudie, whose column appears each Monday, is the chief investigative reporter at ABC 7 News in Chicago. The views in this column are his own and not those of WLS-TV. He can be reached by email at chuckgoudie@gmail.com and followed at twitter.com/ChuckGoudie.