* As i told you early Sunday morning, the governor is considering calling a special session this month. The Tribune has a piece today entitled “End to spring session may be short-lived for Illinois lawmakers.”
Legislators shook hands, slapped backs and loaded boxes into cars after their spring session was gaveled to a close, but the celebration was clouded by the realization that their liberation from the state capital may only be a temporary reprieve.
After approving a proposed ban on the style of pay-to-play politics alleged to have taken place in Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration, sending him an underfunded state budget and stalling his push for a huge public works program, the legislature’s return to Springfield may be counted in weeks instead of months.
Anyone thinking that the squabbling among the state’s Democratic leaders ran its course with the legislature’s rare on-time adjournment late Saturday night need only to look at the official statement Blagojevich issued after his pet $33 billion public works plan passed the Senate but was quashed by House Speaker Michael Madigan about 10 p.m.
“I want to congratulate three of the four legislative caucuses for their efforts to pass a capital [construction] plan,” the Democratic governor said… “Despite the House Democratic leadership’s effort to kill the jobs bill, this is only the beginning.”
* Only the beginning. Oy. Gov. Blagojevich asked GOP congressional candidate Aaron Schock what Schock would do about the unbalanced state budget if he was the governor. Said Schock…
“I told him I’d veto it. And he looked at me and goes, ‘You know, I just might do that.’”
* How underfunded is next fiscal year’s budget? The AP takes a look…
It assumes tax revenues will grow by $1 billion despite the weakening economy. That’s twice the growth that Blagojevich’s office estimated in his budget proposal. It doesn’t include $500 million the state will have to contribute to government pension systems. It ignores significant red ink in the current budget, which will carry over to next year.
* Gatehouse claims the deficit is $2 billion, while the Sun-Times says it may be as high as $2.5 billion. Speaker Madigan says the guv can just use his line item and reduction veto powers to put the budget into balance, but…
“I always took the view that the General Assembly could not appropriate more than it estimates to be available in funds, and that doesn’t mean after the reduction vetoes, etc.,” said Lousin, who was the House’s chief lawyer in the early 1970s.
I’m pretty sure she’s right.
* And then there’s the promised amendatory veto of the ethics bill…
There’s no telling what sort of amendments the governor has up his sleeve this time.
* If we do come back to session, it may not be for long. Here’s why…
But given the threat of impeachment, even his allies don’t believe Blagojevich will play the special-session card in the coming weeks after last year’s draining summer-long budget impasse when little was achieved but ill will.
“He knows what’s going on,” said Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) said of the governor. “From what I’ve heard, he certainly doesn’t want to stir up the natives and have them start talking about impeachment and all this other kind of stuff.”
* Madigan was asked Saturday night about impeachment. Patterson summarizes part of the back and forth…
Q: What would it take to impeach Blagojevich?
A: “It’s going to take 60 votes in the Illinois House.”
* If you were reading the blog Saturday night, you saw that Gov. Blagojevich made a rare visit to the House floor. More from Patterson…
Blagojevich: I’ll call you. Will you take it?
Madigan: Ha, ha, ha
* And what about the stalled capital bill? Bethany Jaeger has the lowdown…
(T)he speaker said the biggest problem with recent attempts to approve a capital plan is that legislators don’t want to accept the tough choices. “My position is there should be a construction program, but it’s going to require some people to do something which is going to carry some pain. They’re not going to be applauded when they vote for a fee increase or a tax increase.”
He wouldn’t offer any alternative revenue sources tonight, “but we’re open,” he said.
* Translation: Madigan wants to do this on his timeline and his way, just like the electric rate issue and the mass transit bailout last year. And, like the transit bailout, he wants higher taxes. Here’s a story that Rep. Jim Sacia has been telling lately. The legislative leaders and the governor are on a bus with four flat tires, so…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich blows up a tire. House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, blows up a tire. Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, blows up a tire. Senate President Emil Jones Jr., D-Chicago, blows up a tire.
“We’ve got all four tires blown up,” said Sacia, R-Pecatonica. “Now what’s the problem? Madigan has got the keys to the bus.”
LIVE session coverage...
- OneMan - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 7:07 am:
===* Madigan was asked Saturday night about impeachment. Patterson summarizes part of the back and forth…
Q: What would it take to impeach Blagojevich?
A: “It’s going to take 60 votes in the Illinois House.”===
All that was missing was the rim shot.
- Feeble - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 7:23 am:
The McKinney piece in the Sun-Times clearly illustrates Rod’s problem. His inability to take that undeniably strong political campaign and convert it to strong stewardship of state government just shows what his cavalier attitude will get you. He needed to roll up his sleeves and get to work, but he’s squandered every single opportunity to do it. Sad.
- Ghost - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 8:08 am:
=== “He knows what’s going on,” said Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) said of the governor. “From what I’ve heard, he certainly doesn’t want to stir up the natives and have them start talking about impeachment and all this other kind of stuff.” ===
Trotter may be close to Jones with his ear to the Gov, but I think he has not been listening carefully, there is nothing about logic or restraint in our Gov’s leadership methods. In fact, you can prettymuch identify the worse way to approach somthing from a team building or concillation standpoint and count on the Gov to adopt that approach.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 8:44 am:
I mentioned this the other night, but the salesmanship of this capital bill has been terrible. It’ s not even phoning it in.
First off, capital bill. Sounds sexy doesn’t it? Give it a name. Give it a logo. Sell it!
Then, what’s it going to do? Not vague promises, but go district to district, media market to media market and bring the cameras out to some stretch of road, school, bridge, el line or something that would be built or improved. Feel free to bring along local union, school, transit and civic leaders.
The get the letter campaigns going, the rallies, the human interest stories on how lives will be improved. Set up some committee of interests to take contributions for TV, radio, print, direct mail and pr.
My hunch is that a large majority of Illinois citizens how no idea whatsoever that there’s a debate on this subject or why they should care.
Realistic funding mechanisms would be nice, but probably not necessary to sell a program.
This is simple stuff. Do I smell a rat? Are we just going through the motions here?
- Bluefish - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:02 am:
wordslinger - The reason Blago did not try that approach is that by identifying specific projects he would be on the hook to actually fund them when his real goal is to divert the money elsewhere (which is why Madigan is unwilling to move the cap bill without specifics). Nothing like promising to rebuild a school then skipping off without paying the bill to really tick off the voters. He may have got away with that downstate in the past but it would come back to haunt him big time if he did it statewide.
- Selene - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:05 am:
Salesmanship of the capital bill bad? Hmm..It passed almost unanimously in the Seante on both sides. Corss put an incredible number odf members on it. Madigan had to lobby against it on the house floor and resort to procedural methods to kill it. Oh yes, there was Art Turner’s timely trip to the bathroom to avoid voting against it in committee.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:10 am:
Selene, I’m not talking about selling it to your allies. I’m talking about selling it to the public and creating pressure that forces your enemies to play ball.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:12 am:
wordslinger, the problem with your theory is that the projects just aren’t listed that way. It’s a lot of lump sum stuff, like a billion dollars for “urban revitalization” without any line item specifications.
- Cassandra - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:13 am:
I presume Madigan would like to get an income tax increase out of the way before Lisa takes over. If she’s going to run in 2010, that doesn’t give him too much time, though. If the economy continues to worsen, which seems at least likely, maybe very likely, over the next few years, given gas prices, food price increases, and the continuing housing meltdown, better to get it out of the way in 2009.
Even though it will almost certainly coincide with an Obama-inspired federal tax increase.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:24 am:
Rich,
Understood, but for marketing purposes, you could use a pressing need in any district and use it as a backdrop for selling your program. Odds are it could get in.
Going back in the time machine, weren’t a lot of Build Illinois projects line-itemed in authorization bills? Seems to me I recall that.
- Vote Quimby! - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:25 am:
Yeah…we need a catchy name. Illinois FIRST and Build Illinois are already taken…. how about Jobs for Everyone to Rule my Kingdom. JERK Illinois…
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:28 am:
=== Understood, but for marketing purposes, you could use a pressing need in any district and use it as a backdrop for selling your program. Odds are it could get in.===
And who will attend the press conference? Governor “Don’t ask me no Rezko questions” Blagojevich?
- Vote Quimby! - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:34 am:
They could have the Opportunity Returns director play a DVD recording of the governor…. kind of like Krusty the Clown’s ‘I heartily endorse this event or product’ taping.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 9:46 am:
===And who will attend the press conference? Governor “Don’t ask me no Rezko questions” Blagojevich?===
That’s one of the reasons I asked whether they’re just going through the motions. You’re talking 30-plus billion in projects, presumably all over the state, with a purportedly painless funding mechanism — if you can’t leave your bunker to rally public support for that, then who’s he kidding?
- Truthful James - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 10:46 am:
Within my memory the political commentator P.J. O’Rourke wrote an essay (and included it in a book of essays under that title “A Parliament of Whores.” He was referring to the U.S. Congress/U.S. Government.
The last legislative session now makes it possible to pass the name down to the Illinois General Assembly.
Instead of having the testicular fortitude to particularize and pass a balanced budget, these cowardly lions decided to renege on their duties and pass a budget perhaps $2 Billion out of whack… and pass their responsibility onto the governor.
You won’t find me defending Blago in the very least. He should, but won’t veto the whole budget and tell his AG see if she can find grounds for a suit charging legislative non feasance.
- Ghost - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 10:52 am:
Rich and Word, you mean a slogan like “Illinois First”
seesm they have sloganized capital projects in the past :)
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 10:57 am:
Slogans won’t help.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 11:01 am:
You know, I just looked on the gov’s website, and it has a name and logo. It’s Illinois Works. It has a desktop publishing logo of a bulldozer in the foreground and a state map in the background.
I didn’t know that. Mea culpa, but I think it reinforces the lack of salesmanship point.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 12:38 pm:
Funny…the website I have has the governor and 3 old white men at the podium.
http://www.illinoisworkscoalition.com/
And the “coalition” has made a number of stops around the state trying to market and solicit public comment for the plan. This may have not been the most effective effort, but it was a lot more effective than what has gone on in the past 2 or 3 years attempting to market a capital plan.
- What a Schocker! - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 3:24 pm:
Aaron Schock is running for Congress and he is agreeing with Uncle Rod. Maybe we can send the Boy Wonder and Uncle Rod on the nuke express proposal to Taiwan…brilliant policy!
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 3:36 pm:
According to Crain’s, the governor called the capital bill the “Hastert-Poshard jobs plan.”
Crain’s also said “gubernatorial aides released a copy of key improvements in Chicago that would be funded if the current plan passed.
Included is $400 million for new schools, $200 million for the Create program to speed freight railroad traffic through the city, $330 million for work on Wacker and Lake Shore drives, and $4.25 billion for the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace.
Also included is $22.6 million for bridge work on Congress Parkway, $10 million for road work near Union Station, and $62 million for an underpass to improve access to the Ford Motor plant at Torrence Avenue and 130th Street on the Far South Side.
And aides said the plan includes $1 billion in spending on unspecified economic development projects in high-poverty areas.”
The name doesn’t thrill me, but the other stuff is at least a start on how you sell it. Should have been done long ago.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 4:05 pm:
The above was at today’s press conference.
- Disgusted - Monday, Jun 2, 08 @ 5:58 pm:
If these do-nothings hate being in the Capitol so much, why did they run for election in the first place? Oh, silly me, there’s money to be made for this part-time job, perks to collect, ribbons to cut. We don’t need no stinkin’ budget!!