56 Comments - hmmm - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 2:50 pm: Someone should ask Madigan : Do you think funding the state’s services is spending too much money? - Bill - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 2:52 pm: For his next move Quinn should start calling Madigan a Republican. - OneMan - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 2:53 pm: You have made me very angry…. - Me - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 2:55 pm: To Hmmmm: If the state’s servives could be funded at the level necessary they would be. The money in the appropriations bills is all the money we have. I believe he voted for the income tax so maybe you should ask the members that voted no on the income tax hike. - What? - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 2:58 pm: Madigan is doing the right thing. He has told Quinn to cut the waste that Blago created. Quinn has not done that. Why would any reasonable person give him more tax dollars to waste. - TheCommonDenominator - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 2:59 pm: is basically the only criteria for governor an ability to get along with the Speaker and follow his orders directly? Our state continues to be a joke, Madigan has shown no desire to implement any reforms and now he is name calling with Quinn. Great leadership from the “chess master”…. - Bill - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 2:59 pm: When in doubt, blame Rod! - Mom to 50 - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:03 pm: And by “enough money to manage the government” what exactly do you mean Mr. Madigan? Please define your version of “Government” because in my real world your budget does not allow me to manage my business… - Macbeth - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:04 pm: Why isn’t Madigan governor? I mean, it’s clear that he’s pulling the strings here. Quinn looks pathetically ineffectual next to Madigan. Why is the power concentrated with Madigan? - Bill - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:04 pm: Quinn should have taken the 70% and made do. Messing with Mikey will not end well for him. - Secret Square - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:05 pm: Second verse, same as the first… I know there’s been talk for weeks that the House Dems simply want to put off voting on a tax hike until November so that they know whether or not they will have primary opposition before they cast their vote. But, what if that strategy backfires and most of them end up being challenged in the primary so they STILL can’t bring themselves to vote for a tax hike? Then what happens? Remember how Emil Jones’ attempt to keep the Senate from voting against a pay raise until after Election Day backfired, big time, last year? I have a feeling MJM could be making an equally big mistake this time. - You've Got To Be Kidding! - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:07 pm: Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said … “We surveyed members and tried to figure out when their schedules would allow them to come back, with the least amount of disruption to their lives,” Brown said. “The president and the speaker are trying to treat members as if they’re human beings and they have their own lives.” Apparently the lives of their constituents affected by the budget do not matter! - um - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:08 pm: Interesting - almost all state programs are created in the legislature - almost all of the must do’s and shall provide these services come from the legislature - so now what - make it so - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:10 pm: Mr. Speaker, if there is enough money to manage the state government, why can’t the house pass a balanced budget that accomodates everyone? - Captain Flume - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:11 pm: The Governor has said he wants the services funded at his level. He has said he does not want to fund them at a lesser level. He vetoed an attempt to fund those services at a lesser level. He stuck to his guns on that one. I cannot believe that this whole session is not somehow orchestrated, tin-hatism maybe. I wonder what we would have benn going through without the stimulus money propping up some of the budget. I guess we will find out next year. - dupage dan - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:13 pm: Quinn wants reform but no cuts. MJM wants cuts but no reform. OK, “gentlemen” go to your neutral corners and come out swinging I think Bill may be right. =Messing with Mikey will not end well for him=. To bad the rest of us are the gloves in this fight. We have hands shoved up our a$$%&!#s, are covered with sweat and can’t see a darned thing. SNAFU, TARFU and FUBAR - take your pick. - Idontgetit - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:13 pm: Mac You are right about Madigan. He wants all the power and truth be known he will probably endorse a republican so he can be the man. Oh wait why do that he has all the power now. They are all to blame. I can assure you I will not vote for Poe or Bomke this go around. - question - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:13 pm: if madigan over rides Quinns veto what happens after that? - Mom to 50 - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:15 pm: Ummm…in my business we don’t ask employees when they want to work we schedule them and they show up. That is how you get paid. While I respect that they have their own lives they also have a job and if they want to put their golf outings in front of their jobs they should just quit! - Captain Flume - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:16 pm: More BIMP bills filed today. That makes 4 since yesterday. - impeach - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:17 pm: Time to fire up the impeachment panel. - Six Degrees of Separation - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:21 pm: if madigan over rides Quinns veto what happens after that? Google is your friend. Read Section 9. http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm - Secret Square - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:21 pm: If Madigan overrides Quinn’s veto (he can’t do it all by himself, but for all practical purposes it seems as if he can), the bill also goes to the Senate for an override vote; if the Senate overrides also, it becomes law and the 50 percent funding takes effect. - No Confidence - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:21 pm: It would be funny if this was happening in Wisconsin. - Smitty - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:22 pm: This is just another example of why we need term limits for the leadership. If you are the majority leader in the chamber you determine what bills come to the floor. There are no provisions in the State Constitution for the body to over-ride the leader in calling bills to the floor. This fundimental power held by the leader of the chamber creates an inbalance in the normal “checks and balances” system of government. Bottom line, Madigan has more legislative power than Quinn. - Scooby - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:23 pm: LOL @Bill 2:52pm - Give Me A Break - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:24 pm: After what occured with the pension borrowing bill last night, I would not bet on the Senate having the votes for an override. - Secret Square - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:25 pm: Smitty: yet another reason why I wish con-con had passed. - Quinn T. Sential - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:27 pm: “The governor’s flip-flops have not helped.” [capital bill, pension note, Meeks tax hike bill, mini capital] Did he veto the Capital Bill as well as the half-baked budget too; or is he sitting on the Capital Bill until after the 14th? - Some Guy - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:28 pm: Won’t the Senate get first crack at the override, since it is SB 1197? “If the Governor does not approve the bill, he shall veto it by returning it with his objections to the house in which it originated.” Do they have the votes in the Senate, or is Cullerton planning to make a comment at some point? - Some Guy - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:29 pm: Won’t the Senate get first crack at the override, since it is SB 1197? “If the Governor does not approve the bill, he shall veto it by returning it with his objections to the house in which it originated.” Do they have the votes in the Senate? - Some Guy - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:31 pm: Sorry about the double post…Rich, can you delete one of them, along with this message? Thanks. - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:33 pm: “there’s enough money to manage the government” So - balance the damn budget and get out of our lives for a while! - BigDog - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:35 pm: We should have seven year-olds in these positions. More would get accomplished. - Anon - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:37 pm: I agree with CommonDenominator @ 2:59. Most writers on these comments seem to forgive everything MJM does and seem to hiss loudly when actions move against the direction he is trying to go. Please explain. - Retired IDOC - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:42 pm: So 1000 lay offs in corrections. Did they pass the bill to release the convicts early? Close all the ATC and Work camps? - George - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:53 pm: “there’s enough money to manage the government” Notice, he didn’t say WHICH government. Wyoming, maybe? - Capitol View - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 3:54 pm: It’s a 50% human services budget, not a 70% — the Senate rejected borrowing to meet pension needs so that we could spend those dollars on operating costs. Bond money going towards operating costs is never a good idea. If the Senate fails to override the veto, Madigan has the option of trying to revive that bonding gimmick as an alternative to tax increases. But he would be wrong to do so — we have a structural deficit, not just a recession heavy demand on services deficit. Pass the income tax increase at 5%, with a reduction to 4 1/2% after two years. The extra money goes to eliminating the current backlog of indebtedness and beginning to shore up the pension funds. After the first year, start restructuring reimbursement rates for community based human services to be closer to actual cost, and try to tuck a half bilion a year into a “Rainy Day” fund. I know, too logical… - Irish - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 4:03 pm: If not term limits then leadership positions should be a statewide vote. - dupage dan - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 4:05 pm: Captiol View, Thanks for reminding us that the human services budget was 50%, not 70%. We have got to keep clear on this. Plenty of people have proposed the reasonable plan you have (or something similar). This isn’t about the budget, it is about who controls what. MJM is shooting the moon - going all in. I wonder if any dems in the house are sensing any weakness yet? - Central IL Guy - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 4:18 pm: Yes, Quinn’s efforts to govern have been feeble at times, but Madigan has been a major contributor to the financial mess we find ourselves in. No more gimmicks, it’s time to face the music. Quinn should find more areas to streamline or cut, and Madigan should negotiate in good faith on a tax increase, or get out of the way. I’m beginning to like term limits more and more. - Segatari - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 4:30 pm: Capitol View - income tax increase to 4.5% will only cover $4.5 billion of the $11.6 billion deficit. I assume each half percent will add $1.5 billion which leaves almost a $6 billion hole left to fill. So in reality taxes would have to be raised to 7-8% to cover the full deficit. And that will never pass. - phocion - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 4:30 pm: Madigan: I find regrettable some of Quinn’s remarks Better watch out, Quinn. The Speaker is gonna get all Yoda on your ass now! - CrossMeEyes - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 4:38 pm: If Quinn would have shown a little mustard and dumped a chunk of people when he took over–like a bunch of the crew members from the Good Ship Blago who didn’t slink away–he might have just shown enough good faith to make Mike think he was a man with whom he could do business. Instead Madigan has watched all the same old faces parade past him since Quinn took over, watched the same people making the same decisions and listened to the same tired excuses. If this gets to Joe’s grandma or Jane’s aunt Velma, maybe, just maybe, we’ll see a shift in the House Dem Caucus/House GOP Caucus positions. Otherwise, the polling must be showing that not a lot of Illinoisans are clamoring for a tax hike and more spending for “corrupt” government. Then again, maybe I’m not seeing this too clearly either. - SouthernGirl - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 4:54 pm: Why is the all powerful Oz (Madigan) blocking an income tax increase – Is it really what it seems, because his members are facing re-election? Or is it more Machiavellian — he has an agenda and this is his opportunity to ruin Pat Quinn and flex his muscle? Why is the Governor insisting on more $, if there isn’t the political will for it, and he doesn’t have the political base to support it? Why do we even have a dang Gubernator, if Madigan is running the show? I guess it could be worse, we could be New York. - fed up - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 5:00 pm: Mom of 50 any buisness that relies on goverment handouts to operate really isnt all that stable. you provide daycare to low income children noble yes sound buisness debatable. Maybe get a few clients that can afford daycare on their own dime. Quinn is not a leader and Madigan believes himself to be king this is going to get ugly/funny. Remember though the longer and more screwed up goverment gets the more people will be looking for a change (Lisa). I think shes hiding in Dick Cheaneys undisclosed location, waiting for the smoke to clear. - ahoy - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 5:06 pm: I’m starting to think the best thing that could happen to our state is a complete government shut down. Maybe once the house has burned to the ground we’ll finally realize we need to rebuild it… or maybe not. - steve schnorf - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 5:11 pm: fed up, the state subsidizes day care for working poor parents. No child care, no job. No job, back on welfare. Pretty simple math. As a Republican, I believe people are better off working than on welfare, so I can’t be so stupid as to oppose the things that let people take their first, minimum wage, job. - Mom to 50 - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 6:07 pm: Fed Up- I had to laugh at your comment. I haven’t been of sound mind for 6 years now!! Anyway, 6 of our 50 are private pay. I could hold spots for the private pays but some money is better than the empty spots that bring in no money. Fact is, if people have enough money to pay for daycare around here, the mom stays home or as had happened to our other private pays, they are losing their jobs….sad state of affairs all around. At 76% subsidized we are at the mercy of the state. Not how I intended it when I wrote the business plan, but I don’t have the heart to turn away someone who WANTS to work. - 618er - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 6:38 pm: Why is the all powerful Oz (Madigan) blocking an income tax increase – Maybe he doesn’t want to prove ol’ Blago right…. - Mike Ins - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 6:46 pm: Fed Up Well, point well-taken from a logic standpoint, but gee, what businesses would we have left? Let’s see. Nothing in a TIF district. No auto industry, no banking industry, very little health care (all these industries, generally (no, not in every single case)) have relied on tax-payer money to some extent or other for their operations. - fed up - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 8:15 pm: Mike TIF districts are the biggest scam going, and every industry does get gov money in some ways. I said relying on it as your only source of income is a bad idea. Steve I too think anything to help someone get off welfare and go to work is a good thing. My point is to rely on goverment handouts is a bad idea. Its like having all your 401k in your company stock if your company goes belly up your screwed. Diversify and yes have some govt susidized kids but also diversify and have other options. If you depend on any one entity for your whole income you are setting yourself up to fail. Its like if Ill suddenly had good goverment Rich’s traffic would plummet and he would need to find other areas of interest to draw viewers. I think Rich is safe for a long time. - PalosParkBob - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 8:36 pm: What matters to Madigan is that the McKenna/Topinka Republicans will lose control of what base they have remaining and perhaps grass roots Republicans will be so disgusted that EVERY Dem Rep will have an opponent in 2010. His strategy is to be unchallenged in many races so that he only has to fund and man a few campaigns with union knee-breakers and patronage workers. If people are so upset that they challenge each of his candidates in the Dem Primary and the General election, even with poorly funded candidates who aren’t particularly strong, he’ll have a lot of trouble coming up with the bucks to fight off the challengers and ALSO have plenty of dough to help out Lisa. The non-profits that are being cut can’t accomplish this, but the “tea party” folks just may be able to fill the Dem Party Primary and GOP ballot slots. You wouldn’t believe how much a candidate spends even against an outspoken opponent with no money or organization. I know. I’ve done it. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 1, 09 @ 8:42 pm: Madigan is a conservative in the true sense of the word. If his caucus insists on a tax increase, he’ll go for it, if he thinks in their interest. Left to his own devices, like a lot of bungalow guys around Midway, he’ll make do with what he’s got, and expect others to do the same. - No 2 for 1 - Thursday, Jul 2, 09 @ 4:41 am: “I find regrettable some of MADIGAN’s remarks”. Sponsored by Citizens determined not to re-elect Madigan….or his silent relative. Illinois voters are not interested in a two for the price of one Governor or Senator…. Our states name is Illinois….and the Capitol is in Springfield….not Madiganville. I wonder if the legislators read capitol fax….nawwww they are so out of touch with reality,…what was I thinking! - CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Jul 2, 09 @ 7:13 am: looks like madigan is on the right track Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.