1:Our difficulties with procuring foreign arms are unsurprising, but deeply problematic. We must have those weapons in time for the next war. With Russia landing troops to directly crush the Crusaders, we cannot hope for Victoria to go unsupported. Unfortunately, we lack anything like the contacts we would need to get an in with various suppliers. Our plan was to rely on the Erie War to give us the cachet to break into the arms trade as a buyer, but other concerns have overridden us. We need to make ourselves noticed. I know that all of this is State's job, but it must be our first priority. We need to either find contacts or make ourselves attractive.
"As far as projects under my purview, my recommendation is to focus on officer training and the establishment of our standing army. I'd like to be putting our road map together, but we lack our sources of foreign arms, and those will be crucial in what we choose to do."
2:"The warning signs I saw last year about limited state power are coming due. We have more demands on our time than ever, each of which leads to a potentially spiraling issue.
"In terms of our priorities, I would dearly like to focus on taxation. The government can get a lot more done if it brings in more money. The issue is actually achieving that; we lack experts. Have you tried talking to Secretary Harris about an approach to the Diaspora? We could really use some qualified personnel. Otherwise, the situation with Detroit and Gary is a time bomb. We need to hash out a deal
3:More plans laid down. We have more work to do. Madame President, I echo my colleagues' calls for outreach to the Diaspora. I'm sure we're making mistakes, and the thought of handling the Gary-Detroit Works without them sends chills down my spine. And...there's a lot. We're starting to run up against early plan targets that we cannot fail without guaranteeing that we'll fall short of our objectives."
4:Secretary Doris Stratford, CSP.
"While it won't be my job, President Johnson, creating the Department of Education is one of my prouder achievements. Still, though, work remains. We have work in boosting our capabilities now. I add my voice to the chorus calling for outreach to the Diaspora. We need educational experts. We need to get some of our workers beyond DoE's remit trained to fulfill Plan goals. Frankly, despite the challenges, we need to start now or we'll start hitting personnel crunches."
5:Secretary Thelma Hartman, CPP.
"President Johnson, I'm honored to have been chosen for this position. I've worked in education for the State of Illinois for many years, and I'm excited to continue work for the Commonwealth. And there's a lot to do.
"First of all, every single one of my colleagues has visited, asking me to ask you to support State's efforts at outreach to the Diaspora, and I fully agree. We need experts in every field, and education is a skill of its own. We need teachers, qualified teachers who speak English and Spanish. There's work to be done even in their absence, but we're going to be sharply hampered until we can get them. It will take decades to reestablish domestic training of teachers. We need people coming in from overseas.
All that said, grand plans can wait. The first thing we absolutely must do is examine the state of education across the Commonwealth. I know how things are set up in Illinois. Some of our states have records over a decade out of date. I can offer no other realistic course of action but this. We cannot achieve anything of actual use until we understand what we're working with."
