51 Comments - Garp - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 9:52 am: He has another option and that is to begin negotiating next years budget now by working with lawmakers instead of “punishing them”. - pickles!! - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 9:54 am: If there are enuff votes to override the veto, He’s has to sign it, then “hold the legislature hostage” during the summer till he gets the health care option he wants. - Siyotanka - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 9:56 am: How about an AV with a “drop dead” date of Sept 30. Gives him an “almost” 2 month budget. Then forces the Legis. to stay and work on an budget ready to go at the end of Sept. Question tho…can he continue to do this AV process indefinately until he gets what he wants? - CrazyInSessionOverTime - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 9:57 am: Line item vetos to punish lawmakers, especially Madigan would only further isolate the Governor .. of course thats assuming he cares. Letting it sit for 60 days may force the Senate or House to pass a 30 day budget, but I would like to know what he could gain from another 30 or 60 day budget, eventually unless he convinced them pass another 12 month budget the one he gets today would still stand. So.. I would guess he signs it, complains about it, calls special sessions until veto session, or until his projects are funded….but who really knows what he will do?? - Pocket Veto? - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 9:58 am: I wonder if he will try a pocket veto, or some variant thereof. He has been known to let important legislation languish on his desk, after all. He could try to shift blame for a government shut-down onto Dan Hynes (he is already trying to do that) while pressuring the legislature to do his bidding on the budget. - pickles!! - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:00 am: Hasn’t he made it clear, though, that he will not sign a budget that does not address heathcare? This is going to be an interesting day. Stay tuned…. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:00 am: There’s no such thing as a pocket veto in Illinois. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:02 am: Madigan wins under all four scenarios, but my bet is that Blagojevich will use his line-item veto because its the most vindictive thing to do. That option does create several problems for Blagojevich. If he doesn’t veto all of the member initiative money, leaving Emil’s intact, he’s going to come under severe fire from everyone whose funding he gutted and from the media for handing $48.1 to the Senate Democrats for unspecified projects. No matter how he uses the line item veto, its quite likely that Madigan will find the votes for an override. Blago’s antics have united the legislature and increased their clout while subsequently diminishing his. Even if Madigan can’t find the votes for an override, he still wins, for the simple reason that he still has the underlying budget and a line-item veto only further drives a wedge between rank-and-file lawmakers and the Governor. Also, let’s face it, no lawmaker is going to lose re-election because the Governor vetoed a $50,000 grant for their fire departments. The SMART thing for the Governor to do would be to praise the budget for increasing funding for education, but note that we still need to address health care in 2008, and sign the budget. Cut your losses and stop the bleeding. But don’t look for the Governor to do anything smart. - Central Illinoisan - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:02 am: A veto could result in an embarrassing override so he won’t do that. Blago could stall and take his case directly “to the people” but the risk he gets blamed for the shutdown is too great. I think he reluctantly signs the budget then keeps legislators throughout the summer until he gets at least some of what he wants. This option has the least amount of potential political risk. - Pocket Veto? - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:04 am: Rich, he has 60 days to play with before he vetoes. We don’t have a precise pocket veto here, that is true. But imagine the havoc he can raise in 59 days. - National Media - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:04 am: Remember, this is Blago we’re talking about. Every single thing he does is designed to improve his long term political prospects. As I read somewhere before, he will let government shut down. That will catch the attention of the national media. He will then be able to be seen and heard from coast to coast telling all that he and he alone is fighting for health care, education, blah, blah, blah. If people have to suffer for him to get on television, then so be it. - One from column A and one from column B... - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:08 am: I think he vetoes the bill after letting it sit for a week or more to let Hynes twist in the wind for a while. When his veto is overridden, he believes he’ll be able to say it is everyone’s fault but his own. He will then try to punish lawmakers by bringing them back to Spfld to address his pet projects. - Marcus Agrippa - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:09 am: Are fund sweeps used to fund this budget? Are the pensions fully funded? - Jaded - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:10 am: If he has any sense left (assuming he had some to begin with), he will just veto the thing outright because he feels it is out of balance, insufficient, loaded with pork, or whatever other made up reason he can come up with. He can then call a special session for a 30 day budget which the GA will hopefully ignore as they come back and override his veto. Then he can start calling special sessions on a capital bill, health care, mass transit, and any other thing he can think of, but state government continues to chug along. I don’t think he will line item the thing, because even if he lined out all the member projects, he has claimed the overall budget is out of balance and inadequate to meet the needs of Illinois citizens. If he just lines out the stuff he doesn’t like he would be accepting the rest of the budget on its face. I think a total veto is his only reasonable option, but who says he has to be reasonable. - wordslinger - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:12 am: National media makes some sense. I’ve heard in the past about Rod’s delusions about the presidency, and that his confrontational style with the legislature is supposed to be out of the Bill Clinton playbook in Arkansas (I don’t know if Clinton was actually like that). Of course, it’s possible he’s just not very smart and is way out of his league. - Captain America - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:21 am: The logical and practical thing to do would be to promptly sign the budget,as passed, without any further ado, given the overwhelming majorities. in the Senate and House. If Blago wants to become a lame duck for the duration of his gubernatorial career, then he’ll do something else. I was amused by his audacity in declaring Mayor Daley irrelevant with respect to the contemplated Illinois casino plan. - A Citizen - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:22 am: He stated unequivocally that if the budget didn’t contain his criteria for acceptance then the legislature would have forced him to shut down state government. This may well be the first promise he actually keeps as far as senators and representatives are concerned. And as others have commented it gives him a broader than Illinois exposure for pr - “Univ. Health Care is just too important.” - Alex - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:24 am: He simply hasn’t left himself the wiggle room to let him sign it. Just yesterday he was slamming it and his floor leader was saying “Never”. Signing it is essentially his endorsement. His only option is to sit on it and try to push something else through in the meantime before an ultimate veto. - jwscott72 - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:25 am: It depends on which side the coin lands. I can see a rationale for a full veto, a line item veto, sitting on it for a few days and signing it. My gut says the budget hits his desk this afternoon. He uses the weekend and vetoes it at a big press production at 10 AM Monday. - Ghost - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:25 am: Line item veto He gets his talking points, but avoids the moniker of responsibility. He has been trying to maneuver this so that he can shift blame for a shutdown or lack of (insert benefit here) not being available. If he does not sign this makes it almost impossible to sift blame. Line item veto lets him say he continues to fight for what he wants, but is not responsible. - Moderate Repub - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:27 am: no fund sweeps that I saw. I think it depends on whether the Taylorville judge orders Hines to pay state workers. Thats what will help lend insight as to what the Gov will do. - KiR - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:33 am: He is going to sit on the budget and make us all bleed. - Esteban - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:36 am: If he tries for my Special Sessions, will the House and Senate show up? I have my doubts since we’ve already seen that he can’t force attendance. - VanillaMan - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:38 am: He will try a little of everything. He will demand a 30 day budget, sit on the one until the checks stop completely, do a national tour as a universal health care leader, get as much mileage out of our anguish as he can get, then use the line item veto as the pressure mounts. He will be checking to see if there are any cracks in the anti-Blagojevich ranks as the weeks pass, and decide his next course based on what he is hearing from his flying monkeys. After today, it becomes the “Rod Blagojevich Show”, and he will milk it for every political opportunity he can. He finds the silver lining in every bad situation, so he will be surfing the sewer with a smile on his face. - Down in Egypt - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:40 am: What were bill numbers for Rod’s initial budget, as well as the one the House passed earlier this year? - anon - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:41 am: “…long term political prospects.” He’s toast! - Huckleberry - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:42 am: He’ll sit on the budget. In the meantime, I’d pass a 60 day emeregency budget and wait for 3866 to become law. - NSSRepublican - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:48 am: - National Media - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:04 am: Remember, this is Blago we’re talking about. Every single thing he does is designed to improve his long term political prospects. As I read somewhere before, he will let government shut down. That will catch the attention of the national media. He will then be able to be seen and heard from coast to coast telling all that he and he alone is fighting for health care, education, blah, blah, blah. If people have to suffer for him to get on television, then so be it. TO NATIONAL MEDIA Does anyone really think that Blago has any future in politics!?!?!?! Think he has proven that he is a joke and no one will trust him again. - Milorad - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 10:57 am: I am assuming Mr. Hoffman made his comments yesterday without consulting with his handler. I think he signs the budget and spends the rest of the year whining, as he is prone to do, and blaming the GA. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:01 am: Milorad, you assumed wrong, but that doesn’t mean Hoffman’s prediction was accurate. - JP - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:06 am: Interesting that the budget bill passed last night has not even arrived in the House yet. Check out the bill status for HB 3866 on www.ilga.gov. - countryboy - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:09 am: If Hynes gets his court order, the budget could lie in state the full 60. The alleged shutdown gets the national media, gives him two months to wrestle votes and figure out how to make it all mjm’s fault. - L.S. - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:10 am: He does not have the political capital to sit on the budget. The pressure will get too great if he is the only obstacle. Nobody is going to blame a state comptroller for employees not getting paid. Every editorial board, interest group etc. will gang up on Rod. How long can he take that kind of heat? We’ll see. He should veto it and walk away. He played his hand and lost. If he has any hope of fighting another day he needs to find some closure. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:12 am: Countryboy makes an excellent point. Either he’s a subscriber or an astute observer. - countryboy - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:14 am: High praise… observer - The Votes - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:16 am: Rich, Would you please link to the roll calls on the budget? One was 99-9, the other was 52-5. I want to know who voted “no” and “present” and was absent. Thanks - Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:18 am: I hope the Governor’s staff is at least smart enough to realize that the national media’s coverage of Rod’s governing abilities won’t be any different than Illinois media’s coverage of his governing abilities. You want to be politically impotent coast-to-coast? Have at it Hot Rod. The rest of the country might as well be in on the joke. - the Other Anonymous - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:24 am: If he’s true to form, he’ll sign the budget and try to take some credit for it — like arguing that he stopped evil Mike Madigan’s plan for a tax hike. Reality means nothing to this Governor, it seems. And past statements and positions mean nothing to him either. It seems like the only way to predict his behavior is to think of the most bizarre, most hypocritical, most alienating thing he can do. - Ok, no - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:24 am: @the Votes: This takes three seconds on the GA web site. Look up HB 3866 in the box where it says “search by number”. - HighwayMan - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:28 am: This isn’t really about the budget. Its about the Rod vs. Lisa primary battle in 2010. With Saint Barack’s ascension, Blago’s national hopes are deader than road kill. He has no choice but to stay in re-election mode. (Caveat: Unless of course The Saint wins the presidency and Elvis appoints himself to the US Senate.) The Speaker won’t give The Do any achievements to run on. Why should he? And, Prez Jones is staying in the middle just to squeeze as much money out of the state as he can for his faction. This is pure power-politics Illinois-style. - Alex - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:29 am: Re: Countryboy… i think we are a week or two from having the Hynes/pay issue resolved in favor of the workers. The court in Taylorville almost has to follow the prior 4th Dist. opinion, assuming the issues are the same (don’t know). Then, they will need to expedite an appeal to the 5th District, which will probably side with labor. Don’t know how fast that process can go, but I’d say a week or two at a min. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:34 am: Ok, no makes a good point. No offense to the other commenter, but it kinda irritates me when people post a question here rather than first using the Google or other means like the GA website, or just scrolling thru yesterday’s postings (which has the answer to your specific question). Take a little time to do a bit of basic, grade-school level research before you ask a question here. We’ll all treat you much better. - Question Rich - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:43 am: (d) The Governor may reduce or veto any item of appropriations in a bill presented to him. Portions of a bill not reduced or vetoed shall become law. An item vetoed shall be returned to the house in which it originated and may become law in the same manner as a vetoed bill. An item reduced in amount shall be returned to the house in which it originated and may be restored to its original amount in the same manner as a vetoed bill except that the required record vote shall be a majority of the members elected to each house. If a reduced item is not so restored, it shall become law in the reduced amount. - Alex - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:44 am: My personal counsel to the Gov… You played your game on an operations budget and you are going to lose this one. There is no way you can avoid this bill becoming law. Realize you’ve lost the game but can still win the series. The season isn’t over. Put in the scrubs before someone gets hurt (workers) and complain about the refs. Take your lumps and change the focus to the next game (health care etc.). Come back and win the next one and try to take the series. In other words… veto it quick and let it become law. I just see no way he can avoid this budget becoming law. All he can do is hurt people in the process. The season isn’t over, but this game is. - Squideshi - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:46 am: “Which of these actions do you think the governor will take?” Should be easy enough to figure out. Commission a poll, find out what the most popular option is; and we can assume that Blagojevich will do the opposite. - National Media - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 11:52 am: Does anyone really think that Blago has any future in politics!?!?!?! Think he has proven that he is a joke and no one will trust him again. 10:48: I think he has petered out. Apparently HE thinks he has a future in politics on a much larger stage. Anything is possible in America. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 12:14 pm: Country boy and Rich - If Hynes gets his court order, there is no government shutdown and no national media attention. Moreover, there’s not even ancillary pressure on lawmakers to come back to Springfield and pass a different budget. Not only that, but with health care still stuck in the Senate, the only one the Gov can really use the stick on is Senators. That will go over big with Jones. Not. And with a budget already through the GA, the Gov has lost his biggest bunch of carrots with the House. He can’t promise them anything more than is already in the budget. He could call them threatening to line-item veto their member initiatives unless they [do whatever], but my guess is that by the fifth phone call, someone is going to run to the press. No stick, no carrots: stop the bleeding and cut your losses, Governor. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 12:28 pm: ===there’s not even ancillary pressure on lawmakers to come back to Springfield==== There’s plenty. School aid payments, contractors, not for profits, etc. - Legaleagle - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 12:46 pm: I cannot imagine any competent Judge ordering the Comptroller to issue checks without a budget. How does the Judge even know if the checks will be good? Will he be overseeing the whole state budget, without a budget??? Even if the workers have a claim for wages, that is a damages question and not an injunction question. And there are separation of powers and Appellate Court precedent counseling a denial of any injunction. Will Hynes fight it though? Will the AG? I’ve been surprised by bad judging before, however. - zatoichi - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 1:07 pm: No ancillary pressure? Guess the road contractors, not for profits with 4 weeks of bucks, medical providers, nursing homes and thousands of other organizations that contract with the state are simply nobody’s who can be ignored. Let a couple of people getting home care services die or have a major incident because their local provider cannot pay for the services due to no checks cause the Gov did not sign the Budget. Let the road projects linger much longer than usual because of no bucks being paid. A couple of high profile events with bad outcomes will force the issue. Man of the people? Please. Man of his resume. - Commisar Abe - Friday, Aug 10, 07 @ 2:55 pm: Please. Who thinks Blago can get national attention with Barak and others in the race for the POTUS? What he does not is small potatoes and will not gain attention. He is a Huey Long without charm or a positive track record. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.