* I told subscribers about this interesting development yesterday afternoon…
Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete) was removed as chairperson of the powerful rules committee Wednesday by Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) after she clashed with Republicans over her handling of a bill that could have allowed voters to create a recall provision for elected officials.
Halvorson said she believes she was replaced by Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) because she had become a “distraction” and had publicly broken with Jones on several major issues, including recall.
* Halvorson offered up this explanation to her local paper…
[Halvorson] noted that she favors the “pay to play” legislation, voted in committee and on the Senate floor for the elected officials recall amendment, and against the automatic legislator pay raise.
“Maybe that’s causing a lot of heartburn,” she said.
That’s not quite it. She’s a distraction because she’s so vulnerable to political attacks as chair of the Rules Committee.
* More response from the Martin Ozinga campaign, Halvorson’s Republican opponent for Congress…
The sad part of this is that Halvorson has lost an influential chairmanship which she could have used to help her constituents. But because she has used that chairmanship for years to rubber-stamp the Blagojevich/Jones agenda, and because that is hurting her campaign, she is being removed.
That’s a bit harsh, but it is a campaign, after all.
* Halvorson had more to say to the Kankakee Daily Journal…
“It wasn’t until I got an opponent a couple of weeks ago that people started taking all this garbage out of context and putting it into their own context, and again, that was stopping us from focusing on the real issues of what needs to be done,” she said.
That’s true, but she should have seen it coming. I can’t understand why she didn’t resign that chairmanship months ago.
* Unsurprisingly, Illinois Review says this is “great news for Ozinga.” But today is May 8th. The November election is a long, long way away. This issue is now off the table.
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- Skeeter - Thursday, May 8, 08 @ 9:41 am:
I hate to say this, but Ozinga nailed it.
She could have stood strong and used that position for the good of what she believes. Instead, she voted as she saw fit, but worked for the Jones team.
Still, any day that Ricky Hendon takes a position of authority from Debbie, that’s a bad day for Illinois.
- wordslinger - Thursday, May 8, 08 @ 9:50 am:
Yeah, she should have protected herself a while back. I guess now she can spin it that Jones is against her, which can’t hurt if anyone chooses to believe it.
- Ghost - Thursday, May 8, 08 @ 10:20 am:
If Halverson is a rubber stamp for Jones what does that make Rickey Hendon? I don’t think Hendon will even select his breakfast cereal without Jones prior direction.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, May 8, 08 @ 10:50 am:
The Ozinga campaign got it right. Now that she is feeling some heat and trying to put a different spin on things. THe more she spins the tighter the web she trapped herself into.
The ethics bill has been bottled up by HER committee at the behest of HER leader for 13 months now. That is her legacy. She needs to deal with it.
- Madison County Watcher - Thursday, May 8, 08 @ 2:01 pm:
If Halvorson can’t do the job in Springfield, why does she think she can get the job done in DC?
THAT will follow her all the way to November. What was a Democrat-lean seat now becomes up for grabs again.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Thursday, May 8, 08 @ 2:11 pm:
I like Deb, but this smacks of a political manipulation being spun as a rebuke to a “reformer”. The harder she tries to shake the collar of Jones, the harder they will try to keep it yoked on her.
- Pot calling kettle - Thursday, May 8, 08 @ 7:50 pm:
It would have looked worse if she had stepped down. Honestly, the only position with any real power in the Senate is the President (just like the only one in the House is Speaker). Deb never could do anything without Jones’ at least tacit approval.
Up until now, the best position for Deb has been the one she had. While she had to do Emil’s bidding, she was in a position to promote her agenda in the back rooms where the important decisions are made. In addition, she was in position to step to the head of the Senate in a few years. All were to the good of her district and constituents. At least as good as could be expected in the current state of things. (There’s no way to know what she really thought of what went down. In the current, toxic atmosphere, that’s too much to expect of anyone.)
The opposition can say what they want, but that’s the way the show is run, and anyone who doesn’t play along is shut out. I fail to see the benefit to deb or her district of being shut out.
It is telling that Deb wants to move on and is willing to shed her ties. Is it a political move? Of course! This is, after all, politics we are discussing.
I’m guessing Marty O. won’t be giving any money to Dems this cycle (as he has in the past). That’s a smart political move, too.
- Mustang Sally - Friday, May 9, 08 @ 7:11 am:
Debbie Halvorson has been laying down next to that den of skunks in Springfield for so long that her getting up and moving away from them is not going to remove the stench of the odor that will still follow her no matter where she goes.
She knows that her close association with Emil Jones and Rod Blagojevich and her eagerness to carry the water bucket for them will haunt her in her current campaign. Republicans, Independents, and good Democrats have had a belly-full of Blagojevich and Emil Jones. Her “Guilt by Association” with them will haunt her in her campaign. Don’t know much about Mr. Ozinga but any change has to be better than no change at all. I will vote for him even though I like Debbie as a person.
- GOP'er - Friday, May 9, 08 @ 7:35 am:
Hasn’t Ozinga given a lot more money to Emil’s friend Blagojevich than Halvorson has?
Isn’t the IL GOP the lamest, most hypocritical group of weasels ever?
- VanillaMan - Friday, May 9, 08 @ 9:30 am:
Ozinga is right, and Halvorson is lying to scrap Jones off of her.
And as to the comment above, naturally Halvorson didn’t contribute money to Blagojevich - she does far more to support him than money could buy.
That’s her problem.
- Pot calling kettle - Friday, May 9, 08 @ 10:17 am:
And if she didn’t, she would be a third tier legislator and would not have been tapped to run for Congress.
So yes, she is tainted by her associations, but it is silly to pretend that it could have been otherwise. That is not how Springfield works. The leadership (in both parties) has no tolerance for freelancers.