Bill Daley, the brother of the mayor, had a stern warning for Gov. Blagojevich in a Chicago Tribune op-ed today. Emphasis added for full impact…
This is the best year to do it; after this year we will be too close to the statewide elections in 2010. Everyone needs to jump into the pool together — Democrats and Republicans, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the legislative leaders — and stay in until consensus is reached. Politics must take a back seat to public policy. Give the rhetoric a rest.
We live in an age of activist governors, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, Edward Rendell in Pennsylvania and Eliot Spitzer in New York. All three have had to compromise on their agendas because of the power-sharing nature of government. President Bush is learning the limits of his power. His domestic agenda has stalled and his war policies face increased scrutiny from an impatient Congress.
Blagojevich might take note: step back from health-care reform, move forward on other issues, demonstrate thoughtful leadership and a willingness to compromise, and earn a second chance. If state government shuts down or Springfield adjourns without any real progress, people will not be so generous with him or his fellow Democrats in the next election.
An unfavorable comparison to Bush and an implication that his time is running out. Oof.
* Meanwhile, the governor’s office has responded to Comptroller Dan Hynes’ attack yesterday. First, here’s Hyne’s statement again, in case you missed it last night…
“It is astonishing that after signing four budgets, billions of dollars out of balance, the Governor is now finding a moral objection to a potentially out of balance budget while threatening to shut down state government in the process. The Governor’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.”
And here’s the administration’s response…
As the comptroller knows, the governor proposed a one month budget to legislative leaders last friday precisely to remove all uncertainty that a shutdown would ever be necessary. We ask Comproller Hynes to join us in this effort to have the legislature pass a one month budget immediately.
What’s most ironic about his statement is that his own office has certified that we have generated $1.8 billion in supluses over the last three fiscal years. You don’t produce unbalanced budgets when you generate surpluses of that size. These surpluses have allowed us to reduce the state’s GAAP deficit from $4.1 billion when we took office to $2.3 billion at the end of fiscal year 2006 (the FY 07 fiscal year audit has not been completed yet). Clearly, this represents steady progress in reducing this longterm debt.
As the CFO of the state, he has an obligation to the public to speak up if he believes that the general assembly is about to pass an unbalanced budget before they act, not after the fact.
Discuss.
- watch dog - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 9:33 am:
Nice try Governor. You forgot to mention the increase in the states long term debt from $7 billion to over $21 billion, the nearly $2 billion in unpaid medicaid bills, the $2 billion in pension raids, the $2 billion in road fund diversions, and the hundreds of millions in fund sweeps.
The administration has been drinking too much of their own cool-aid. Hines is more right than you can possibly understand.
- Anon - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 9:35 am:
Rod’s right, Dan’s wrong, and if Bill is so opiniated, he should have run for governor and shown us how its done.
- Leigh - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 9:47 am:
Let me think, who do I believe a hair-do with a record of misleading the public or an honest man who is frank and truthful. Does anybody believe the governor can recover from what has to be one of the most mishandled, screwed up public relations nightmares that any governor in this state has ever seen? Even without possible federal indictments, I can’t see him doing anything other than looking for a new job in a few years.
- Blago's Creative Accounting - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 9:53 am:
The financial state of Illinois is of Governor Blagojevich’s doing. Watch Dog is correct!
You sir are the one who’s been and still wants to continue to spend like a “drunken sailor”.
- DeepFriedOnAStick - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 9:57 am:
Surplus? Gimme a break. These Blago people get nuttier every day. That must be why health care providers continue to wait months to get paid for their Medicaid expenses. It must also be why health care providers shudder every time Rod rolls out a new health care plan. They figure it’s just one more opportunity for them to wait months to get paid.
It must also be why the state’s auditor general has repreatedly cited Blago’s administration for strong-arming all its agencies into kicking funds into a central pot so they can attempt to nickel and dime the state’s expenses.
Did they put John Filan in charge of writing that beauty of a statement? Or did the illustrious Becky Carroll spew it out? Probably, the two of them got together, popped off their shoes, then counted their toes. Shazam! They found a $1.8 billion in surplus!
Only, the problem is that Hynes is telling the truth. Blago did indeed preside over a series of budgets that pepetuated a $2 billion backlog of Medicaid bills. At the end of each fiscal year, they simply rolled the snowball into the next budget year, then called the budget balanced!
Meanwhile, they borrow $10 billion ostensibly to pay down pension debt, then slice $2 billion off the top of those borrowed funds to cover general fund expenses for the year. Pretty cool how that worked, too.
Sure, it’s all done in the context of a so-called balanced budget. But, guess what, taxpapyers?
It’s time to drop your drawers and bend over the table because Rod is running the state’s finances. And, by his delusional expectations, he will be long gone from Illinois — in the White House — by the time the tax bill comes due for the ordinary folks he swore to protect.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 9:59 am:
“At some point, Illinois will have to bite the bullet and find some new revenues while seriously reforming its way of doing business. We can’t just continue to hope that natural revenue growth will keep the state solvent.” - Bill Daley
Why is this true?
It is because Illinois’ economy is dying.
After 25 years of watching the Industrial Age end, Illinois has been living off it’s heritage and capital while searching for the next big thing. As the factories were abandoned, union households moved out or retired, Illinois government fell asleep. Young families moved out, leaving behind grandparents. Young people continued to live in Chicago, but then married and move out. Illinois is losing children - our future tax base - at a time when those remaining in Illinois are older, poorer, and demanding more freebies.
Yet our current administration refuses to believe this. Instead of seeking reforms and new approaches, Blagojevich thinks he is LBJ creating a New Great Society. Unfortunately, he is 50 years too late. Illinois was in it’s glory during those years - it isn’t now.
The city that once shook up the world with new inventions like catalog shopping, canned foods, advertising, nuclear power, packaged meats, coast-to-coast transportation, and was the hub of North America, now refuses to even allow Wal-Mart to do business - fearing the future of the Market instead of creating it. Today, Chicago’s “leaders” are no longer building a city - they are fighting over crumbs.
Chicago has lost it’s mojo, and with it goes a great deal of Illinois’ future as well.
We can get off of our duffs, rip down the barriers keeping business in the doldrums here, and start making money again - or we can continue fighting over scraps as our pie shrinks, business leaves and families move to where the jobs are.
The last thing we should be doing is creating more social programs.
Bill Daley knows this, Mike Madigan knows this, Dan Hynes knows this and the entire GOP after Ryan was hooted out of office knows this. Unfortunately, we have a governor intent on building a political legacy at our expense so he can move on with his political career - too selfish to care.
- I.D.O.T. Bleachers - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:07 am:
Speaking of waiting months to get paid, just call the many Illinois road building contractors and see how far the state is behind in paying their bills.
- Ravenswood Right Winger - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:08 am:
Every ILGOPer should call his/her opponent a “Blagojevich Democrat” in 2008.
- Cassandra - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:12 am:
Interpretation:
Da Mare is facing a very large shortfall in his next budget.
Citizens and the city council are getting a bit restive about those possible property tax increases. And restive isn’t good when you are
going up for the 2016 Olympics in Chicago. In particular, hundreds of millions are needed to bribe the CTA unions, the police unions, the school unions with beyond-the-pale salary increases, pension sweeteners, and $3000 housing subsidies for all.
No more fooling around, Junior. Da Mare needs Springfield to provide it….now.
- jaundiced eye - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:15 am:
Amen, VanillaMan, well put. Isn’t it nice to have a brother to deal with Springfield stuff and Rod that frees the Mayor up to deal with Sharpton and the Sun-Times? All this circus needs is for Alan Keyes to move back to IL!
- Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:19 am:
The Daley family has been on the public payroll, with its cushy health insurance, since before most people on this blog were born. It doesn’t surprise me that they think that health care for the uninsured can wait, while THEIR problems get taken care of. Where you stand often depends on where you sit.
- Team Sleep - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:20 am:
There is no surplus. The state is way behind on key payments, and he pays a lot of support staff poorly. Sadly, he and his administration think there is all of this money to pay for a healthcare plan, capital projects, education and additional pension funding - but there isn’t any. How sad is it when three of the constitutional officers are opposed to a great deal of what the governor, who is in their party, wants to do? It’s sad.
- Napoleon has left the building - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:21 am:
VanillaMan - our economy is not dying. It’s the state budget that has been on a long death spiral. The economy and the state budget are two different things. The state budget impacts employees and those who benefit from state paid for services, such as education, higher education and health care programs. The economy impacts everyone else.
Illinois’ economy is actually very vibrant especially compared to neighboring states. Luckily the Governor has very little to do with how our economy performs.
- The King of Pain - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:21 am:
Nobody’s going to tell Rod what to do.
Not now, not ever!
- Captain America - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:23 am:
Madigan/Jones/Cross/Watson have cut the governor out of the process because of his intransigence and political irrationality. At this point there is no way in “heck” that his health care plan will pass this session.
Dan Hynes spoke up forcefully,and given my personal belief in his character and political integrity, accurately.
Now Bill Daley has imparted some words of wisdom publicly. Although, Mr. Daley is his own man, I imagine that he and the Mayor are in agreement.
It is time for non-legislative politcal leaders of both parties and other civic leaders to stand up and be counted publicly and speak their minds like Dan Hynes and Bill Daley have done.
I don’t think the Governor has any political support from the movers and shakers/opinion leaders for the doomsday/scorched earth political/budget policy he is currently pursuing.
If the Governor continues on his present course, I believw he will hecome a politcal “dead man walking” for the rest of his administration.
Can anybody save the Governor from himself? He’s publicly destroying himself and any future poltical/policy aspirations that he might have.
- Got My Mojo Workin' - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 10:31 am:
Vanilla Man said it best. Rod is 50 years back.
But what did you expect from the guy?
- Dollar USA - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 11:15 am:
Please tell me one thing in Dan Hynes statement that is not true. The truth often hurts.
- Team Sleep - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 11:29 am:
I must say that it is disingenuous of the Blago team to say that we’ve had a real surplus. We haven’t; this has all been done with smoke-and-mirrors. Sometimes, the simplest approach is the best approach, and Blago’s advisors think it best to come up with elaborate schemes. At some point, even the greatest magicians and illusionists run out of tricks.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 11:34 am:
“Illinois’ economy is actually very vibrant especially compared to neighboring states.”
Illinois’ economy was, at it’s peak 50 years ago, global as global was defined 50 years ago. Chicago was one of the world’s largest cities, it was the home to numerous multinational corporations on the cutting edge of industry. When Americans opened their kitchen cabinets or walked through their garages, they could pick up most items and read on the backs of labels that Chicago was where the world was made. Not anymore.
It isn’t because how we make things changed, it is because as time changed, Chicago’s success kept it from changing. What has kept the bubble from popping for the past 25 years has been the vast foundation of wealth created during the last century. But we are seeing the bottom of that well.
Comparing Chicago Illinois to Des Moines, or St. Louis, or Milwaukee is a sad admission to justify our decline. Chicago used to be compared to NYC, London and Paris.
Not anymore. We barely have a top financial institution in town. Our tallest building is the SEARS Tower - built in 1973.
Mojo? - Lost it after 1982.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 11:37 am:
Bottom line:
Pennsylvania has inplemented a concerted effort to keep it viable as an economic power. After ten years, all they have to show for their effort is a .03% growth.
So, not only will we face a tremendous uphill climb to get of the 20th Century rut we were so comfortable in, we needed to have started years ago.
Daley is right - but his comments are like those of a reporter after a fire, “Looked like a hot one, eh?”
- Anon - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 11:48 am:
This is all Filan; the statement, the bravado, the threats, the smoke and mirrors. He is the “wizard” behind the curtain.
- Little Egypt - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 12:09 pm:
Perhaps I am the only fiscal educationally deficient person who posts here but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what GAAP meant in Blago’s response to CFO Hynes’ comment (BTW, we have no CFO in this State - we have a Comptroller). Businesses have CFO’s. I believe Governmental bodies hae CFO’s. Anyway, back to the subject. For others like me who wonder in Blago’s response what GAAP means, it is Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. So why did he put in the acronym, which lent nothing to his statement other than being just another acronym with no relevance to the issue? Woght, Wo, did I say the “R” word. I meant to somehow work in the “I” word - no not impeachment, which would be pretty nice at this point in time - but Irrelevant.
- Little Egypt - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 12:14 pm:
As I recall, The Great Oz said “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” And then we learned The Great Oz was, indeed, the man behind the curtain. The Great Oz is Blago himsElvis, and we are all learning at the same time what an irrelevant stumblebum he really is.
- Super Mega - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 12:36 pm:
With all of this going on, if the GOP can rustle up some likable candidates, they could actually capitalize on this circus and win some seats.
- Ghost - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 12:44 pm:
If we have unpaid bills, how can we be generating a surplus.
More interesting. Gov sold 10 bil in bonds, put 1.8 of it into SRS, then pulled 1.2b in payments back out of SRS….so the surplus he has created comes almost entirley from not funding SRS after selling 10b in bonds that still have not been accounted for in his budget. I would say he has done nothing but put us another 10 Billion in Bond debt that we did not have when he took office.
- Anon - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 1:13 pm:
GAAP was the clincher to identifying the author of the statement. Filan is the only one in the bunch who actually thinks he knows what it means.
- Garp - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 1:20 pm:
Did Bill Daley just announce for governor?
- A Citizen - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 1:54 pm:
If the budget/appropriation bill is passed as an “Emergency” status bill, does the gov still have 60 days to sign or veto? Also is a veto override effective immediately or does the 60 day limit also apply?
- Disgusted - Thursday, Aug 2, 07 @ 11:27 pm:
To give further creedance to the popular idea that the governor is a classic megalomaniac, notice the use of the royal “we” in the statement.
Who the hell is “we”? Just because you look a little like Queen Elizabeth II, doesn’t give you the right to imitate her speech patterns. Off with your head.