* The two Republican legislative leaders appear to have different outlooks on how the Rezko verdict will impact Statehouse progress.
* Glass empty…
“Things have changed obviously,” said Senate Republican leader Frank Watson, whose GOP members last week swallowed their contempt for the governor to back his major gambling expansion plan. “It is going to be difficult to move forward, to be honest about it.”
* Glass full…
“I’ll concede it’s a big distraction, we’ve got stuff to do, we’ve got a budget that’s out of balance by $2.5 million, I can’t just walk away and say ‘we’ve got a distraction, we’re not going to do anything about it’,” said Rep. Tom Cross, (R) Illinois House minority leader.
* And Senate President Emil Jones is sticking by his guy…
Jones said the conviction has “no impact” on his trust of the governor or his support of his budget and policy agendas.
* Cross made a good point in a different story…
“While the governor gets a lot of attention, it’s Democratic House and Senate members that have helped cause this,” said House Republican leader Tom Cross, of Oswego. “These guys have been trying to run the government, and they’ve failed miserably.”
* Watson’s quotes were put in more context in the Tribune…
“We do need to move forward, but it is getting difficult,” Watson said when asked how the Rezko verdict is interrupting government business. “It just taints the whole process now that we have this in front of us. . . . There is a certain lack of trust” in Blagojevich. […]
…” It’s been said, ‘There’s a trial going on.’ Well, the trial is over now, and the guilty verdict is in. And I just think that resonates considerably with the people of this state.”
* Rep. Hamos makes a good point…
Democratic Rep. Julie Hamos of Evanston said it’s too early to say how the Rezko conviction might affect Blagojevich’s already sour relationship with the Legislature.
“I don’t think it can get any worse,” Hamos said.
* Madigan’s spokesman lays out the Speaker’s thinking in more detail…
“If you look at that in context, with the lawsuits and threats and firings and the decision to abandon the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (J-CAR), it’s impossible to imagine that going to meetings with (Blagojevich) is an appropriate approach,” Brown said. In the just-concluded legislative session, three items of substance were accomplished: rate rebates for ComEd and customers, money for the RTA and ethics reform, “and all three happened without the help of Rod Blagojevich.” […]
“The speaker is hopeful on the capital plan. He thinks there’s a need for a capital plan; he’s offered support for at least three different ideas,” Brown said. But the bill sent from the Senate to the House was “in a take it or leave it fashion.” The most important problem with it, Brown said, is that “they wanted the city to pay for a casino in Chicago, and the mayor was opposed, and he was opposed to how some of the money would be spent. It’s hard to expect that anybody’s going to support a bill like that.” […]
“The very real and drastic problems facing Illinois right now are primarily because of the person that occupies the governor’s office,” Brown said.
“This person has a fundamentally destructive view of how government operates in Illinois, and Mike Madigan is not going to go along thinking everything is hunky-dory.”
* One of the two remaining Spin Sisters says her boss is focused on his job…
Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff suggested that the governor wasn’t distracted by Wednesday’s guilty verdict and instead is focused on doing his job.
* But the governor may speak about the imbroglio soon…
Aides said the governor would appear in public to address questions about the Rezko matter and other state business “within a few days,” but gave no further specifics. The governor has declined to take questions since the Rezko verdict and for months has curtailed his public appearances following Rezko revelations.
I wonder who he’ll hide behind this time.
* Related…
* Editorial: Governor should sign ethics bill
* Editorial: Governor’s credibility takes another hit
* Kadner: It’s so sad about sleazeball Rezko
* Rezko verdict ‘taints whole process,’ lawmaker says
* Illinois GOP to Blagojevich: Give it all back
* Rezko’s money woes mount
- ChiCountryGuy - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:22 am:
Rich,
I always thought Nix was also one of the spin sisters, am I wrong?
- Wumpus - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:33 am:
Nix may have left to go to the private sector.
Rep Hamos, it can get worse. Let’s see if an indictment comes down. Is that worse?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:33 am:
Correct. Abby, Sheila and Rebecca. Rebecca’s gone. Two left.
- Grenade thrower - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:33 am:
Those quotes from Steve Brown are the most honest and accurate thing we’ve heard about the Governor all week.
This quote from the Tribune article was telling:
“On the legal front, sources said Thursday the investigation into the Blagojevich administration would heat up in the coming days and weeks
Days? Weeks? Wow, that’s not months people. That’s days and weeks. And why should the legislative leaders be meeting with this guy or trusting him with the capital budget?
Sorry, but all of you Madigan critics need to take a step back and really look at what’s going on here.
- Bill Baar - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:37 am:
Hard to have any hope for the Illinois GOP if Cross and Watson can’t figure out Rezko is NOT a distraction but the tip of the fundamental problems with Illinois Politics.
Rezko should be the focuse, not the distraction.
Where are the Greens when Illinois needs them?
- Ghost - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:38 am:
“I wonder who he’ll hide behind this time.”
QOTD or rhetroical musing?
Oneman may have State jobs for his kids.
- Dan S, a voter and Cubs Fan - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:39 am:
Well ya Emil is “sticking with his guy”, because Emil is sleeping with the same convicted felon that Blago is. Both Blago and Emil need to resign before they do any more damage, but that is just wishfull thinking I know.
- Garp - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:52 am:
Dan S is right.
Jones knows the Governor is crooked, so why would a conviction have any impact on his trust of him.
There will, however, be a huge impact on Jones who has destroyed his credibility with any right thinking individual by helping to prop up a pariah to bolster his own personal gain.
- DumberThanYouThink - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:54 am:
Sweeney is a genius
This Sock Puppet quote tells all …
“However, it remains unclear how widely state Republicans will harp on the Rezko verdict and intensifying federal investigation of Blagojevich.
House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego said today the verdict will not have influence on the budget negotiations, or his trust of Blagojevich….”
Now that sounds like a statewide hopeful to me
What is HE thinking?
- GofGlenview - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:58 am:
Well, if you take Fizty at his word, then the distractions have yet to begin…
- House Revisionism - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 9:59 am:
Who is Mr. Brown kidding. This is the most do nothing state legislature in a generation. ComEd rebate checks–what a joke–check out your electric bill this summer. It was the democrats goofy dereg bill that created the mess in the first place. RTA–the trains are falling off the tracks–ethics? An ethics bill is passed every year. This $2b spending spree the legislative democrats have passed w/out the revenue to pay for it and killing the 700,000 jobs bill is a formula for disaster. Would love to be a House GOp incumbent right now.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 10:02 am:
===Would love to be a House GOp incumbent right now.===
FYI, pretty much every suburban House GOP incumbent with any sort of opponent voted to kill the gaming bill, which would’ve funded the capital bill.
- House Revisionism - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 10:24 am:
House Dems chose to kill the capital bill..easy pivot there. 2b in spending growth–mostly in social programs for Chicago w/out paying for it–please let me run on that if I am a suburban GOP member.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 10:27 am:
If deficits were an issue in campaigns, a whole lot more congresscritters would lose their seats every two years.
I just don’t see this as a giant issue. An issue, yes. Pivotal? Doubtful so far.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 10:52 am:
The reasons we are deadlocked is due to the people in top leadership positions in our state government and having a government organized so that we have top leadership positions invested with too much authority.
A real reason we need to have a Constitutional Convention is so that we can create a new state government that models itself after more modern, open, transparent, diverse, and one where power is spread throughout - preventing the kinds of situations we face today.
Since we have allowed a few individuals to control our government, we see what happened to our system when those few are politically or personally incompatible. Previously we had elections to offset any political incompatibility issues among these power brokers. However, as a one-party state government, we have a more sinister personality-driven incompatability issue. Since these power brokers are from the same political party, and voters are unwilling to vote for another one at this time, these power brokers are re-elected ensuring a continued fight and continued paralysis.
We need a Constitutional Convention, not only because we have rampant corruption, but that our current system is too fragile and in the hands of too few to allow for them to become incapacitated by corruption or incompatability.
The few power brokers we have are finger pointers and have ample evidence to not trust one another. We need a system that prevents these few from having the power to lock up our state.
- Garp - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 10:54 am:
Kadner’s column about why Obama and Blogo say nice things about Rezco is thoughtful but misses the reason why they tread so lightly. They want him to keep his mouth shut and nothing gets a guy talking like one of the beneficiaries of his malfeasance calling him a bum and a crook.
The phrase, Oh yea, I’ll show you comes to mind.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 10:59 am:
Garp. you’re missing something. A guy facing a combined 300 years behind bars (I know that’s way too high, but they could keep him locked up for the rest of his life), another federal trial and a felony beef in Vegas is apt to make up just about anything to get out of prison. That’s why one treads lightly.
- Anon - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 11:07 am:
House Revisionism should ask Rep Brent Hassert if he is enjoying being a House Repub incumbent this time around. He is a big target and it looks like the challenger is polling very well in that district.
- Captain America - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 11:10 am:
Given that Rcihard Nixon is reportedly one of the Governor’s favorite Presidents, it’s obviosly time to roll out the ” I am not a crook” strategy. I don’t think anyone will believe him. I imagine he’ll have some Reaganesque memory lapses too, not to mention Clintonesque episodes of perjury - maybe even some Libbyish obstructiveness.
- problem - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 11:15 am:
Grenade Thrower made me laugh.
The day this blog is overrun with Madigan critics, I will be an old(er) man.
We didn’t get “Dumber”’s take on Steve Brown’s attack, yet. What do you think about it?
:)
- Six Degrees of Separation - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 11:48 am:
Here’s the teeny tiny window of pportunity to pass a capital plan.
*All projects are named in the bill-no slush fund
*Madigan’s gaming safeguards are written in
*Passed by a veto proof majority in house and senate, effectively cutting the gov out of the process.
Who knows, it has about .001% chance of happening this summer, but maybe it’s set up better for the veto session that way.
- Garp - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 11:54 am:
Rich,
True enough, they don’t want to become the object of a convicts wrath whether warranted or not.
- Maggie - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 12:52 pm:
These people act like everything was just hunky dory before the Rezko conviction. It would be hard to see how things could get worse. Watson is a joke. This makes it harder to trust the governor ? Who in there right mind trusted the governor before the verdict ? Just more grandstanding. They’re all fools and the public is getting sick of their childish games.
- Anon - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 2:19 pm:
VanillaMan wants us to change our present “government organized so that we have top leadership positions invested with too much authority”. You mean go back to proportional voting for representatives, like we had before 1980? It made it much harder for anyone to control the house. Maybe after POA is gone, you could suggest the change to Gov. Quinn.
- PhilCollins - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 2:56 pm:
Maggie, you said, “Watson is a joke.” Who do you think the republican state senators should choose, to be their leader? I think that St. Sen. Lauzen and St. Sen. Brady would be very good choices.
- Nearly Normal - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 3:08 pm:
Anon @ 2:19 p.m.–
“You mean go back to proportional voting for representatives, like we had before 1980?”
It was Quinn who was behind the changes in the constitution that got rid of proportional voting for representatives. It would be amazing to hear him admit that the change backfired.
Rarely does a politician admit that he erred.
I have recently been reading about 19th century politics in New York (Tammany Hall) and Chicago. Sure hasn’t change much, has it?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 3:11 pm:
===It would be amazing to hear him admit that the change backfired.===
He was asked about this a few months ago and said he made the right choice then and sticks by it today.
- Anon - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 3:46 pm:
Glad to see someone picked up on the Quinn reference, even though they missed the intended humor.
- Disgusted - Friday, Jun 6, 08 @ 10:28 pm:
So Emil is sticking by his man, eh? The last time I saw him on the news,he had joyful tears in his eyes over his relationship to Obama and said he plans to travel the country in support of him this summer. Sound like Blago’s being dumped for a cuter guy!
- Holdingontomywallet - Saturday, Jun 7, 08 @ 4:58 am:
The republicans should start criticizing Emil Jones more. This guy has got to go. He is out of touch with the citizens of Illinois and has become the biggest obstacle in Illinois Government (next to Rod). The man is living in La La Land…