Vice President Joe Biden was talking up health care restructuring in Chicago today. He mostly steered clear of the more controversial elements.

The Vice President appeared at the Sinai Community Institute on Chicago’s West Side. He announced a billion-dollar down payment on converting to electronic health records. It’s not one of the more contentious health care proposals circulating right now. Biden seemed eager to stay away from subjects like the so-called public option, which has been stirring up both liberals and conservatives.

BIDEN: We’re trying to modernize. This ain’t government control, this is not about socialized medicine, this is not about any of the ideological stuff. It’s simple: modernize.

The money Biden promised comes from the federal stimulus package. It’s earmarked for a national exchange to let providers swap records, and for an IT support network. There was a small group of demonstrators outside the venue. By mid-morning, supporters of the Democrats’ plan outnumbered the opponents.