19 Comments - Lincoln's Penny - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 1:05 pm: that also means they will have to swallow whatever the House sends them. And they wonder why madigan always wins. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 1:10 pm: Excellent point. - Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 1:12 pm: Could always vote it down with 4 “yes” votes to keep the proper perspective and ratio. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 1:15 pm: Another excellent point. lol - Gator - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 1:17 pm: I concur with Michelle - TwoFeetThick - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 1:41 pm: The GA should just start officially calling itself a full-time legislature. Since late 2006 it pretty much has been anyway - there’s hardly been a stretch where they’re out of town for more than a few weeks at a time since then. It would allow everyone involved some measure of predictability (sessions could be regularly scheduled every few weeks according to an annual calendar), AND we wouldn’t have to listen to people complain about how much those “part-time” legislators earn. Seriously. How often in the past 5 years has the GA left town after spring adjournment and not been back before the scheduled Veto Session? Or continued to come back after Veto was supposed to be concluded? Not many. Yes, half of that time was due to Blago craziness. But, he hasn’t been governor for almost 3 years and the GA still comes back out-of-schedule frequently. They should just give up the “part-time” status and do what Congress does: come in for a few weeks and go back home for a few weeks, and repeat that schedule on an annual, fairly predictable calendar. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 1:41 pm: ===There’s hardly been a stretch where they’re out of town for more than a few weeks at a time since then.=== That’s totally ridiculous. We’ve had two summers off in a row. Where have you been? - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 1:42 pm: ===Yes, half of that time was due to Blago craziness.=== Try 99 percent. - TwoFeetThick - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 1:57 pm: =That’s totally ridiculous. We’ve had two summers off in a row. Where have you been?= I recognize that. But, I also remember when it was a pretty big deal for the GA to be coming back off-schedule. There was Safe Neighborhoods to reinstate. Gas sales tax pandering to be done. Blago’s antics during his term desensitized everyone to how unusual it used to be to come back off-schedule. If the GA is going to do it, I don’t care. But I don’t see why they would continue to call themselves part time when they’re really not. Just sayin’. - Juice - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 2:52 pm: Also, had to go back that one day in June to do capital this past summer. - mokenavince - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 3:07 pm: Looks like what ever laws that are going to be pass this year will be done as soon as Madigan decides what they will be. - Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 3:29 pm: Also had to go back at Edgar’s request to finish the compromise school funding legislation back in late 96, early 1997. Safe Neighborhoods was a string of special sessions that kept lawmakers here almost to Christmas. There was also a Memorial Day special session called by Gov. Ryan to address his budget vetoes. The point is this has happened all the time. Under Rod it happened for no reason, let alone no good reason. At least now its for actual issues. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 3:37 pm: ===The point is this has happened all the time. Under Rod it happened for no reason, let alone no good reason. At least now its for actual issues. === Exactly. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 3:59 pm: I wonder how the dynamic of MF Global is effecting CME and its thoughts of moving. It’s a big deal, much bigger than any state tax deal. The old timers down there are in a state of shock; it would never have happened in the old privately-held days, they say, because the managers and traders owned the joint lock, stock and barrel. They thought long-term, not quarterly dividends or daily stock prices. The MF disaster is a blow to the brand name and has invited a Congressional assault on the self-regulation model. A little stability, a little less drama, might be in order. Because MF is just getting started. - TwoFeetThick - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 4:13 pm: ===The point is this has happened all the time. Under Rod it happened for no reason, let alone no good reason. At least now its for actual issues. === =Exactly.= Ok. So, if we’ve now established that the GA has a history of coming in off schedule, for good reason or not, that means the GA isn’t a full-time legislature how, exactly? That’s my point. It IS a full-time legislature, and should stop pretending it’s not. A state legislature that comes in biennially to handle the budget and whatever else needs to be handled, and maybe pops in once in a while in an off-year to deal with a crisis, is a part-time legislature. A legislature that’s in regular session for almost half-a-year, has a couple weeks scheduled a few months later, and comes back frequently in the off season, is full-time. Before you say it, I’m moving on now. - Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 4:36 pm: Of course if we had a full-time governor we might be able to get by with a part-time legislature. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 4:39 pm: === So, if we’ve now established that the GA has a history of coming in off schedule, for good reason or not, that means the GA isn’t a full-time legislature how, exactly?=== Because usually the extra time is only a few days. I’m tired of this silly semantics argument with someone who knew no facts and now won’t accept them yet still insists he’s right. Sheesh. Enough already. - Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 4:43 pm: The Trib says Buerhle is going to the Marlins. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Dec 7, 11 @ 8:21 pm: Actually, they are expected to be “full-time” by most folks in their districts. Not to mention the fact that it would be hard to hold down most jobs and a still be even a back-bench legislator. How many jobs allow you to take off from Jan-May and then a few weeks in the Fall, plus the call of the chair? Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.