Train wreck
Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told you yesterday that the House passed two different versions of the mass transit bailout bill. A similar bill came up short in the Senate. Republicans were under severe pressure to vote against the proposal in the Senate, but three ended up voting for it. The problem in the end turned out to be Democrats…
A mass transit bill passed the Illinois House Wednesday night, but fell one vote short in the Senate. Because three senators abstained– the bill’s sponsor is expected to bring the bill back for another vote Thursday.
* More details about the Senate vote…
“We’re still working, trying to get the votes,” said Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago.
[Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson] was not on the Senate floor to cast a vote when the Senate plan fell short of approval by one vote.
Halvorson had voted for the amendments, but took a walk on the actual bill.
* Senate President Jones blamed Republicans for the bill’s defeat, but he was obviously surprised by the result. Here’s some of his rationale…
The veteran leader said he thought he would get more suburban Republican votes on the plan—there were three—and that he couldn’t get enough votes from his fellow Democrats because so many Downstate senators held out for a statewide construction program. The legislation got 29 votes. There are 37 Democratic senators, so that means Jones got 26 of them to go along.
“I knew it was going to be difficult getting a bill out of the Senate,” Jones said. “I have a block of downstaters … who didn’t’ vote for the bill because of capital. There is nothing new.”
* Meanwhile, Sen. Hendon guaranteed that the governor would sign the transit bill last night, even though the governor has long said that he opposed any sales tax increase, which was included in the Senate proposal. Blagojevich has also said he would “improve” the bill with an amendatory veto if it contains a tax hike…
State Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the bailout, said he believed Blagojevich would sign the sales tax plan if lawmakers could get it to his desk.
A Blagojevich spokeswoman begged to differ.
“Nothing about the governor’s position has changed,” said spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch.
* Hizzoner made a good point about those promised gubernatorial “improvements“….
…any change [Blagojevich] would make through his gubernatorial authority to rewrite legislation still would need to return to the legislature for acceptance or rejection, a risky maneuver after months of gridlock. If lawmakers couldn’t agree with the governor’s actions, they would go back to square one, leaving commuters in the lurch and literally out in the cold as they wait longer for public transportation in January.
In Chicago, Daley said Blagojevich should not stay quiet. “Why doesn’t he improve it now?” the mayor asked.
* More from the mayor…
Daley is exasperated that the governor would talk about ways to use his amendatory veto power to “improve” the bills after the fact. Why not do it before, the mayor said.
“It’s unfair to everyone,” Daley said. “You don’t do business that way.”
- Ghost - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 10:30 am:
The reason he will not say how he plans to improve the bill is because he has no idea. Its like demanding people create solutions for his ideas, when he has no proposed bill or langauge to be considered. Alternatively he is hoping the bills never make it to him. Thus he never need express an actual idea subject to critiscim, and can just say he always had a plan that wouldd open up mana from heaven if the GA had not failed him.
I see still no mention of the bill backlog or other shortfalls in the States current spending plan, but yet we continue to take on more debt.
- North of I-80 - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 10:35 am:
Daley said. “You don’t do business that way.”
Right… but since when has this group of elected Leaders done any kind of business at all? Government by press release isn’t cutting it?
- Cassandra - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 10:38 am:
Kudos to the guv for holding out against the sales tax increase if in fact that’s what he is doing.
Only our protected-from-real-life legislators and their rich contributors buddies could be contemplating a sales tax increase during what is increasingly being called a recession. Because of those fat raises we clueless taxpayers gave them this year, they just don’t get it that real consumers are struggling.
Sales taxes are also regressive, as virtually everyone knows. But the Dems are only “for” the poor and the helpless when it pays for Dem pols. Otherwise, it’s every citizen for himself in an Illinois where you have to pay ever higher club fees (and support a lavish lifestlyle for our legislative club owners) to live here.
- Bluefish - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 10:41 am:
I’m sure Madigan and company are getting a big kick out of this.
- hmmmm - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 10:43 am:
Something tells me Debbie Halvorson will be in the chair this morning.
- tubbfan - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 10:52 am:
Rich, I’m curious about Halvorson. In your fax this morning, you said she changed her vote on the 3rd reading and later that she felt the issue should be tied to the capital bill. The Post-Dispatch stated “Halvorson was not on the Senate floor to cast a vote when the Senate plan fell short of approval by one vote.” This could be a critical vote for her, so I was wondering whether it could be cleared up.
- Squideshi - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 10:55 am:
Halvorson must be too busy campaigning,
- Dan S. a Voter - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 10:56 am:
Cassandra, do you post in the State Urnil-Register on Blago stories under the name of Paula? All of this reads very familiar.
- Pat Collins - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 11:00 am:
Who were the 3 suburban Rs? I can’t find where roll calls are on the legistive website
Maybe that’s not an accident, either…..
- The Curmudgeon - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 11:04 am:
In light of the Governor’s promise (threat?) to “improve” any transit bill that may be passed, I think the Legislature should stop trying to agree on anything and just pass a bill that says “xfgjlsxmvnnewwwxoooqwetrty” or something like that. Then, maybe, finally, we’ll find out what the Governor’s plan is… and there still may be time after that’s laughed out of Springfield to so something about mass transit before the next Doomsday.
- The Curmudgeon - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 11:06 am:
Time to “do something” — sorry –
- jerry 101 - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 11:09 am:
oh come on now, curmudgeon, they need to give him something to work with.
Maybe a statement, “We, the legislature do not understand what the Governor considers to be an acceptable RTA funding bill. It is resolved that the funding for the office of the governor and the salary and benefits for the governor will be defunded and redirected to RTA until further notice.”
Maybe that’ll get him to come up with something.
- Anon - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 11:10 am:
Since when does Daley get to say how business is supposed to be done?
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 11:14 am:
“Halvorson had voted for the amendments, but took a walk on the actual bill.”
Please Debbie, don’t start going Obama on us and disappear whenver decisions have to be made!
- Frank Booth - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 11:14 am:
Pat Collins,
the final roll call was wiped out when the bill was put on postponed consideration. I’m sure there are some “unofficial” tallies floating around the Capitol.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 11:30 am:
If local communities want CTA physical transport services they need to pay for it by making a fair per commuter/user (air, rail, or road) contribution to the CTA pot.
Communities not served by CTA or using airports or roads to commute to CTA service areas shouldn’t have to pay for it.
Far wiser to invest the money in high speed fiber optic internet infrastructure to help end our addiction to oil that drains our economy by allowing telecommuting and video conferencing.
Then we could save big bucks on the huge expense of maintaining and expanding redundent physical infrastructure.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 11:34 am:
“State Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the bailout, said he believed Blagojevich would sign the sales tax plan if lawmakers could get it to his desk.
A Blagojevich spokeswoman begged to differ.
“Nothing about the governor’s position has changed,” said spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch.”
I hope those who two days ago were reporting that the Governor had softened his stance on the regional sales tax took note of Ms. Rausch’s retort to Sen. Hendon. GRT here we come!
- Anon - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 12:22 pm:
It’s getting silly how repeated Democratic leadership failures always are blamed on “evil Republicans.” Look homeward, angel.
- Cassandra - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 12:37 pm:
Nope. I’m not Paula.
But if he/she sounds like me, I hope that means somebody else is concerned about the skyrocketing
fees we are being charged to live in Illinois and support the lifestyles of the wealthy and politically connected.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 12:38 pm:
Cassandra, a 1/4 of 1 percent sales tax means an extra PENNY on a $4 purchase, or an extra quarter (25 cents) on every $100. That’s not going to break anyone.
I am not by any means rich, but I believe small taxes that everyone pays are preferable to large taxes paid only by a few — because those few will inevitably find ways to avoid paying it (e.g. smokers buying their smokes out of state).
To “Dan S.”: I am more inclined to believe Cassandra could be the SJ-R’s “Helena” (who tends to bash state workers). I think SJ-R’s Paula is really “our” Bill
- Nort'sider - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 12:41 pm:
Cassandra @ 10:38 a.m.: A regional 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent sales tax hike to provide a regional transit system with a reliable source of operating revenue is fiscally responsible. Especially since that regional sales tax hasn’t been altered since 1983. Blasting a new $350-$400 million hole in theth state budget is not.
Anonymous @ 11:30 a.m.: Not sure where you live, but assuming you’re not in the Chicago region, by your logic I shouldn’t be forced to pay for your roads or any other state services to your area.
Why downstate legislators should oppose a sales tax increase that would affect only the six-county Chicago region — to pay for the six-county Regional Transportation Authority — is beyond sanity. At least suburban legislators have the fig leaf of saying they were looking out for their constituents. Until they have to explain why they voted “no” and allowed public transit to collapse.
If they’re just reacting to the knee-jerk “Screw Chicago” instinct, well, let’s go down that road for a few miles: CTA is the regional transit system’s linchpin. Pull it and the entire system will fall apart. Public transit boosts the region’s economy, makes it more competitive. Pull it and watch what happens, as the economy teeters on the brink of recession. Kneecap the Chicago region’s economy and see what happens to state revenues. Where will downstate legislators find money for the roads that we never use?
Public transit is one of the easiest steps people can take in their daily lives to combat global warming. Let’s do away with it and see what happens as unmitigated climate change turns downstate’s farms into parched grasslands.
A strong public transit is essential to a winning bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Let’s fiddle while the system burns and watch the 2016 games — and all the benefits of hosting it — go to Rio de Janiero. By that point, even Windhoek, Namibia, could present a better transit system and win the bid.
Then there’s Gov. Blagojevich, without whose intransigence the transit funding problem would have been solved months ago. Resign, you shameless fraud. It’s the least you can do before Patrick Fitzgerald indicts you.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 1:14 pm:
Nort’sider, the suggestion was that if we have a large sum of cash we want to invest, how about fiber optics rather than trains OR roads if we want to solve our oil addiction? That’s something that could be done everywhere in the state. Why not invest limited resources in the future, rather than the past?
- jerry 101 - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 1:21 pm:
I hope our fine legislators realize that the primary is less than a month away.
A special notice for Senator Hendon and Rep Collins: I will be voting for AmySue Mertens and Eddie Winters.
- Nort'sider - Thursday, Jan 10, 08 @ 1:56 pm:
Anon. @ 1:14 p.m.: Investing in a fiber optics infrastructure certainly makes economic sense, but it’s no substitute for public transit. The sliver of the white-collar working public that can work from home on a daily basis probably already does. The rest of us still take the bus, train, or drive. A strong public transit system that offers a viable, desirable alternative to driving is as much a solid public investment as fiber optics.