I had a chance to sit down for half an hour with Mayor Rahm Emanuel when he was in Springfield on Tuesday.
Most of the conversation was off the record. Going off the record was my choice because Emanuel was sticking so tightly to his script that I wasn’t getting anything new or interesting out of him.
“I’m spending my Springfield political capital on pensions.”
“I’m serious about cleaning up this pension problem.”
“Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”
He didn’t actually say that last sentence, but that’s what it sounded like after a few minutes, so off the record we went.
The unscripted Emanuel was a lot more interesting, but off the record is off the record, so I can’t tell you what he said.
Suffice it to say that he’s pretty much on top of Statehouse events.
The mayor has some definite holes in his understanding of Springfield’s sausage-making process, but that’s to be expected from anybody who has never spent time down there. There’s a reason why people hire lobbyists. Navigating Springfield’s ever-complicated currents is treacherous work for all but the most experienced deckhands.
And while I can’t tell you what the mayor said, I can tell you what I told him.
Emanuel was in Springfield to ask the Legislature to include Chicago’s pension systems in its planned pension reform bill. The mayor had previously indicated to other reporters that he thought pension reform could be put off until the lame-duck session next January. Delaying a vote would give him and other mayors around the state more time to put pressure on the General Assembly.
The reality, though, is that at least one New York bond rating agency has warned Illinois that any delay in fixing pensions and Medicaid (which is bleeding red ink right now and facing a $2.7 billion deficit next fiscal year alone) would result in a dangerous double-downgrade of Illinois’ credit rating. The state has been threatened twice with double-downgrades in the past couple of years. The first time, in 2010, resulted in a drastically scaled back pension plan for new state employees. The second time, in late 2011, resulted in the 66 percent income tax increase. New York bond houses rule the state’s world, unfortunately, and they have to be heeded.
Since that conversation, I’ve been told that top legislative Democrats are hesitant to include a city pension fix in the mix because of worries that it could draw even more opposition to the bill. They think they have the votes for pension reform, but when the city unions crank up the heat, that might all fall apart.
I also talked to him about guns. Downstate is in the process of seceding from the Democratic Party. So every time the brash Chicago Democrat mayor starts screaming about guns, that secession movement grows even bigger.
This is a remap year. Downstate Democratic legislators have tons of new turf to represent. That means they have a lot of new voters who don’t know who they are and likely don’t care.
If Emanuel is perceived as hurting Downstate Democratic interests, he’ll be shunned at the Statehouse.
And, finally, I told him he should probably go a bit easier on Gov. Pat Quinn in private. Emanuel got all up in Quinn’s face last year during a meeting over a Chicago casino and angrily issued some not-so-veiled threats.
Quinn’s favorite line when he feels disrespected is, “I’m the governor!” — usually bellowed when he’s pounding on a table.
He’s like Eddie Murphy’s character on the old “Saturday Night Live.”
“I’m Gumby, damn it!”
Is a wide grin off the record?
- James the Intolerant - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 9:46 am:
Did you think it was in poor taste for the mayor to leave the hearing right after he spoke and not answer questions? Will that be viewed as a slight in Springfield?
- Rich Miller - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 9:48 am:
===leave the hearing right after he spoke and not answer questions?===
He answered lots of questions. Not sure which hearing you were in.
- regular deomcrat - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 9:55 am:
I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that conversation You are now officially in the big leagues Rich LOL For him to give u a half hour is impressive to say the least. First ICT and then the mayor! What a week
- wordslinger - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 10:02 am:
The dynamics between governors and Chicago mayors are always interesting, but I think the lesson learned over the years is that governor is still the top dog in the state, no matter who’s governor or who’s mayor.
Back when I was a little more tuned in on a daily basis, it was clear at the beginning that Daley thought Edgar was a rube who could be rolled. He was disabused of that notion, early and often.
A mediocrity like Blago killed Daley’s casino plan. And Emanuel surely has learned already that Quinn can waylay his own wish list with the stroke of a veto pen.
Better learn how to play nice.
- Robert - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 10:11 am:
Very interesting column!
Rich - I understand you can’t speak to what Mayor Emanuel said off the record of course, but given your impressions of him and your knoweldge of the other personalities involved, do you think Rahm will have any effect, postive or negative, on state senate leadership / state house leadership / governor getting along enough to reach compromise?
- anon - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 10:13 am:
The Gumby comparison works much better when I imagine the Governor in a Gumby suit. Seriously though, I’m proud of the Governor’s leadership this year. But who wouldn’t be funny in a Gumby suit pounding a desk screaming “I’m the Governor!!!”
- It's Just Me - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 10:13 am:
Quinn should instead yell, “I’m the accidental Governor and the only reason I won election outright is because I ran against an idiot.”
I’m sorry, but that is how me, and most of the people I work with, view him.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 10:26 am:
QOTD?: What unsolicited advice would you give Mayor Emanuel if you had half an hour?
YDD:
Refocus your attention on school funding. You want to lengthen the school day, but CPS already has about a $800 million budget hole last time I checked. Even if you weren’t trying to lengthen the school day, you still need revenue from somewhere, and that will be 200% easier with the CTU as your ally. Maybe even impossible without them.
Again, last time I checked, state funding for K-12 schools was around 75 percent of the EFAB recommended levels. Imagine what it would mean to Chicago schools, your ability to attract employers, and the city’s economy if the state were pumping in an additional $400-$500 million a year. And keep in mind that the underfunding doesn’t just impact traditional K-12 schools, it is also undermines funding for charter public schools and magnet schools.
- Rich Miller - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 10:29 am:
===the only reason I won election outright is because I ran against an idiot===
This is a constitutional republic. The political reasons for a win are irrelevant. All that matters is that he won. Legally. Fair and square.
Get over it, already. It’s been almost two years, for crying out loud.
- Rich Miller - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 10:30 am:
===I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that conversation===
It wasn’t that great.
- Wensicia - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 10:39 am:
My advice to Emanuel, don’t overreact to Quinn’s outbursts. He doesn’t always follow through with statements he makes, but he will dig in his heels when aggressively opposed.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 10:41 am:
=== It wasn’t that great ===
Not as much fun as road tripping with Rod, I’m sure.
- Benny - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 11:07 am:
Thanks for explaining the importance of the gun issues, let’s hope they weren’t lost on him.
- mark walker - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 11:15 am:
Great insight provided to Rahmbo on the importance and impact of downstate Democrats. Many Chicago pols are clueless about that.
- Shore - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 11:31 am:
Judging by what happened to rural and conservative democrats first when Rahm was in the first 2 years of the clinton administration and then his tenure as white house cos if I were a democrat in any area outside of the city I would want Rahm extremely far away from any major pushes like guns.
Looking forward to your columns comparing Rahm to daley.
- James the Intolerant - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 11:41 am:
What I meant to say was that the mayor left before the end of the hearing, it seemed that he could’ve stayed the other half hour since it was his first trip to Springfield.
- Rich Miller - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 11:46 am:
===the mayor left before the end of the hearing==
That happens all the time.
- Robert - Friday, May 11, 12 @ 12:44 pm:
==the mayor left before the end of the hearing==
Mayor Emanuel is a busy guy. If memory serves, he also left a National Conference of MAYORS after delivering the keynote speech.