Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2007

Monday, Aug 13, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson

You receive a call today from your preferred party’s chamber leader. He has read your comments on The Capitol Fax Blog and is impressed.

There is a vacancy in your district. He asks that you run in the upcoming election for the Illinois General Assembly.

Question: Do you do it? Why or why not?

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Gov. Irrelevant?

Monday, Aug 13, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I pointed out in the Sunday update… can you say “irrelevant”

The magic number is down to 11. That’s how many Illinois lawmakers showed up Sunday for special legislative sessions ordered by Gov. Blagojevich. […]

Blagojevich called two special sessions for Sunday, bringing the total number of such sessions to 15. […]

Only six of 118 representatives bothered to show up Sunday.

They were joined by five of 59 senators.

* And the AP has a good piece about the governor’s options with the budget…

Tired, angry legislators have put aside their many differences and managed to back Gov. Rod Blagojevich into a corner. Now they’re waiting to see whether he’ll try to fight his way out or compromise.

The maneuver came Friday, after five months of futile negotiations, when lawmakers passed a state budget that Blagojevich opposes. […]

This budget battle began in March, when Blagojevich delivered a bold plan to improve health care, increase education funding and cut pension debt with the largest tax increase in Illinois history.

Piece by piece, legislators said “no” to his plan. Now they’ve left him with a short list of ugly options.

Discuss.

66 Comments

More on pork

Monday, Aug 13, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Usually, my weekly syndicated column is an off-shoot of something I’ve written in the Capitol Fax. This time, however, I got the idea from a blog post last week.

llinois Comptroller Dan Hynes said last week that Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s hypocrisy “knows no bounds.”

Man, was he ever telling the truth.

The other day, Blagojevich was complaining about “pork barrel” projects that legislators inserted into the state budget they passed. […]

But the governor has been doing everything he can to prevent the General Assembly from passing a budget, in order to create a crisis situation that helps him achieve his grand dream of providing insurance to some of the uninsured. So he used the relatively small projects to attempt to demonize the budget in the public’s mind. While briefly visiting the Illinois State Fair on Friday, Blagojevich called the budget, “pork, politics and false promises.”

Blagojevich is the same man, mind you, who tried to “encourage” one legislator, Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-East Moline), to vote for his health insurance bill by offering him a $75 million project in his district. Jacobs turned him down, but Blagojevich’s offer was just a few bucks shy of the total amount received by all Senate districts in all of Illinois in the budget the Senate passed last week.

* And the Tribune had this interesting bit…

Reps. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) and Kevin McCarthy (D-Orland Park) made it clear to Democratic leaders they were going to vote against the budget, they were treated differently.

“I did not get offered any member initiative money whatsoever,” Phelps said, adding he was told by other lawmakers he shouldn’t expect the $650,000 allotment because of his position against the bill. […]

Steve Brown, Madigan’s spokesman, did not dispute the idea that lawmakers who indicated their lack of support for the budget weren’t given a chance to land $650,000 for their districts.

“If they are saying the state doesn’t need to spend any money, why would you waste any time asking for their spending ideas?” Brown said. “It seems completely illogical to me.”

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Morning Shorts

Monday, Aug 13, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson

* $1,023, 325 and we’re counting

* Phil Kadner: Budget wait pays off; it’s suddenly raising money

* Tribune Editorial: On raising the cigarette tax

* Editorial: Void remains in state’s capital needs

* Governor on safe ground endorsing recall

* Tribune Editorial: 25,000 ’superior’ teachers

* Illinois National Guard helps soldiers readjust

* Novak: Tidbit on race to replace LaHood

Aaron Schock, a conservative 26-year-old Illinois state legislator, is privately boosted by national Republican operatives as their choice in a contested GOP primary next year to replace retiring seven-term Rep. Ray LaHood from the Peoria, Ill., district.

Schock would represent a rightward shift in the centrist representation of the solidly Republican district by LaHood for 14 years and by his old boss, former House Minority Leader Bob Michel, for the preceding 38 years.

* On Lahood’s pension and support for Schock

* Duckworth & Bowlsbey know what the call of duty is all about

* Former state leader James “Bud” Washburn dies; more here

James “Bud” Washburn (R., Morris)-died this week:
Illinois House of Representatives from 1951 to 1979, where he served as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and was elected minority leader of the House during his last term. Past Director of the Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs
Served a term as Grundy County Treasurer, Mayor of Morris

* Dennis Byrne: Illinois politics a smear on Obama’s record

True, the first president to emerge from the Illinois legislature was Abraham Lincoln, but that’s little comfort. Today’s Illinois legislature is rock bottom, exceeded in incompetence only by the preening, useless Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And true, Obama can’t be blamed for the current madness in Springfield and the Democratic Party’s abject failure to govern. Yet, that’s where Obama cut his political teeth.

At last, the national media are catching on, noting that Obama talks a good game about bringing a new day to Washington, but what he’s really bringing are old ways from one of the nation’s most corrupt political states. The Boston Globe noted that two-thirds of the money Obama raised for his state Senate campaign came from political-action committees, corporate contributions or unions — all special interests. The Los Angeles Times reported that Obama has raised $1.4 million from members of law firms and consultants led by partners who are lobbyists. The Washington newspaper, The Hill, reported how he used lobbyists to help build his fundraising base.

* Laura Washington: Why aren’t others joining the call for gun control

A few know the clock is ticking and they are doing what they can. Mayor Daley knows. Daley may be the Evil Enemy of Black People to some, but he is doing more than just about anyone to get guns off the streets. He has made gun control a signature issue and has vainly pushed to get anti-gun state legislation through the intractable and juvenile Illinois General Assembly.

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Sunday updates…

Sunday, Aug 12, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 3:20 pm - The waiting continues. The legislature has not yet transmitted the budget bill to the governor. The governor has called a special session for 5:15 this afternoon, so maybe it’ll take place then. I’m planning to be there, just to see what, if anything, is going on.

* 4:42 pm - I’ve changed my mind. After making some calls, I see no reason to show up for today’s 5:15 pm special session. I think I’ll do some laundry, instead.

Also, the Senate claims that it was always the intention to send the budget bill to the governor on Monday, so, they say, the attention placed on whether it’s been transmitted or not is misplaced.

Much, much more for subscribers in tomorrow’s Capitol Fax.

* 4:49 pm - One more thing… Several subscribers know my daughter, Vanessa, through her occasional Capitol Fax columns (mostly about the State Fair). Today is Vanessa’s birthday. It’s hard to believe that the little girl in this picture (with her great-grandma) is now 21 years old. Wow…

Happy birthday, sweetheart!

* 7:23 pm - Can anyone say “irrelevant“?

The governor has been calling one special session after another in an attempt to pressure lawmakers into agreeing to his budget demands. He called two for Sunday, bringing the total number of sessions to 15. […]

Only 6 of 118 representatives bothered to show up [for Sunday’s special sessoin]. They were joined by 5 of 59 senators.

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Saturday update *** Updated x1 - Guv calls yet another special session ***

Saturday, Aug 11, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 10:53 am - Despite all the headlines, the General Assembly has not yet officially transmitted the budget to the governor. So the governor can’t take action yet.

The House says that they have certified the bill, which is a requirement of both chambers before it can be officially sent to the governor. The Senate has not yet certified it.

So, just like yesterday, we’re waiting a very long time (in relative terms) for the Senate to take a technical action on this budget bill. The games continue.

* Here are some thoughts from a House Dem on what Senate President Emil Jones may or may not have agreed to during his meeting with the governor on Friday. I speculated yesterday that the only way the governor could make any sort of veto stick was to cut a deal with Jones not to override it…

Keep in mind that Jones already agreed to a budget deal with the four leaders that includes votes on all bills and all motions needed to enact the document.

Don’t know how he could agree to something with the governor.

* Meanwhile, the governor’s office responded last night to the Speaker’s statement about members not needing to return to Springfield until there was actual work to do, but I was taking a nap. The governor, you’ll recall, issued two special session proclamations for the weekend…

We are disappointed in Speaker Madigan’s intentional disregard for the Constitution. When the Governor issues a proclamation for Special Session, he takes it very seriously. In this case, he directed members to work on a 30 day budget. Passing a 30-day budget is very important as work continues on a full year’s budget - one that is balanced, funds mass transit, education, health care and addresses capital needs.

* The Senate didn’t do anything at their special session this morning, either, but whatever…

Just 14 of the 118 House members attended, and they conducted no business. Speaker Michael Madigan told members to skip the special sessions.

In the Senate, fewer than 10 of the 59 members showed.

*** 3:52 pm UPDATE *** Gov. Blagojevich has called yet another special session for Sunday at 5:15 pm. This one, which nobody will probably show up for either, has to do with the RTA. As usual, the governor has not introduced or pointed to any legislation that the General Assembly is supposed to consider.

Also, I’m told that when the House tried to hand-deliver the certification for the budget this morning nobody was in the Senate offices. The certification process requires both legislative leaders to initial each page and sign the final page after a bill passes before it can be officially sent to the governor.

Cos people believe that they’re
Gonna get away for the summer
But you and I, we live and die
The world’s still spinning round
We don’t know why
Why, why, why, why

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