46 Comments - CircularFiringSquad - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 11:45 am: Actually he should get A+ becuase he is helping Billboards navigate through the wingnut jungleand sweeping after Quinn’s misguided efforts to look “in charge” Another 40 years sounds just about right! - Spliff - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 11:51 am: I gave him a B obnly because session isn’t over. He and Cullerton should get A’s if everything goes through that might. It has been a heavy lift and going to be heavier in the next week. - Honestly - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 11:54 am: He has accused injured workers of scamming the WC system, he has advocated for tax breaks for the richest corporations and groups in the state while the state continues to borrow money and can’t pay its bills, and he has called for ripping-off workers under the guise of pension “reform”. So as a GOP representative, I give in an “A+”. As a Democrat he has earned an “F”. - Inactive - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 12:00 pm: Laughable that he has so much concern about fiscal stability for pension funds. Where was the concern about it as he led others in the raiding of the pension funds for decades now? As he stated, he was on the constitutional committee in 1970…………..no pension fund would be unstable if their hands had been kept out of it. And 42 years? In the teaching world, they pay you those little “extras” for the last 3 years after you agree to LEAVE! Its an incentive to get you out the door…………thank you very much for your service you old hag. Too bad it isn’t common practice everywhere……….. - Liberty_First - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 12:11 pm: If I heard him right he wants to reduce the COLA for not yet retired tier 1 employees and not current retirees because it might past constitutional muster. Get out before the 31st! I’m not sure swapping a guaranteed COLA for an “promise” of insurance access at an unknown cost when you look at the College Insurance program rates is much of a choice. I would say an A for trying to keep changes constitutional. C for keeping the public informed and F for being himself. - Pale Rider - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 12:14 pm: The current problem with the pension is on his head. He has been at the helm of this sinking ship since 1982 (with the exception of 2 years). He needs to be held accountable. Nothing moves without his nod. He has failed in his leadership. If he was in the private sector he would have been removed long ago. But since he takes care of his district, they take care of him. Any pension solution should involve with him stepping down from a leadership position. - Soccertease - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 12:33 pm: Madigan lead Illinois into this fiscal mess with years of mismanagement and he’s trying to fix it overnight. I gave him an F for prior legislative sessions and the current one. Sad to hear it’s just the beginning of his career. - Foxfire - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 12:40 pm: I give him a “B.” He’s certainly saying the right things, but nothing has been accomplished yet. Let’s take the poll again in 2 weeks and see where things stand. I also agree that the Speaker had an instrumental role in the creation of this mess. If he has any sense of duty to the people of the state, he will lead the way to clean it up. As an example, if you’re going to make locals responsible for pension payments, how about also allowing them to control benefit levels? Or, at least allow them to have some meaningful input into the process? - Wensicia - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 12:44 pm: I give him a “B”. He’s serious about needed changes, so far. - JustaJoe - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 12:51 pm: I give him an F. For past and current performance. I don’t buy the smoke and mirrors nor do I buy that there is any concern for those affected by the two issues discussed or the people of the state. It’s all about politics and power. - Robert - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 12:56 pm: I give him a “C.” The question is about this session, and, unlike the previous, oh, 30+ sessions, Madigan does seem to be taking the budget/Medicaid and pension reform seriously. But he doesn’t seem to be seeing eye-to-eye with the governor or with his Senate colleague, and it will take all 3 working better together to get both pension reform and a balanced budget passed. - Rich Miller - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 12:57 pm: ===If he was in the private sector he would have been removed long ago.=== Yes, because I’ve never heard of a Fortune 500 CEO with a lousy record getting a huge bonus. Not saying MJM didn’t screw up. Just sayin… - PublicServant - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:00 pm: The video is very interesting. He’s stating that current employees will be given a choice which he believes is legal. The choice being “Accept the tier 2 COLA, and have future raises count towards your pension, and be able to participate in the state’s health insurance program, OR keep the current tier 1 3% compounded COLA, but have no future raises count towards the pension, and you will not be able to receive state subsidized healthcare upon retirement. But what consideration would be offered current retirees? He didn’t say. My take is since he’s emphasizing the contractual issues, retirees COLAs won’t be affected. - Ahoy! - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:03 pm: I gave him a D only because Incomplete was not an option. Since Madigan waits till the last minute to pass bills, you have to wait till June 1 to grade him. If he can get the entire Medicaid package passed and actual pension reform (not the cram down), he’ll get an A, but I want to see results first. - PublicServant - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:07 pm: Also, I don’t see how that video stops employees from getting out before the “new reality” takes affect… - PublicServant - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:09 pm: affect/effect…who cares, it’s good enough for state employment - PublicServant - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:14 pm: As for Madigan being booted, is Jamie Dimon looking for new work yet? Typical CEO made $9.6M last year, AP study finds. - Louie - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:20 pm: If he was a CEO of a privately or publicly traded company, he would have been fired long ago. Not talking about those CEO’s making $9.6 million. D grade. - Dave - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:31 pm: He’s largely responsible for the state of the State, which is not good. He’s either incompetent, or he’s done it on purpose. He’s not dumb. - titan - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:32 pm: Public listed/traded private companies can’t screw their own pension systems like Illinois has done for half a century. I think the execs in charge of such companies might even end up in prison. Although the Speaker is the only one who really seems to grasp it all now, why waasn’t anything done to fix it for the last 42 years? - John Laesch - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:37 pm: I think my “F” grade goes to the General Assembly for not pushing for a graduated income tax, speculation tax, closing corporate tax loopholes, or anything that relieves the tax burden on working people and asks the wealthy to pay their fair share. I know that members in the ILGA were told that this session would “focus on cuts” and that next cycle will “focus on revenue.” I think that members who are simply towing the austerity line need to think about people in their districts that will be affected by these austerity proposals instead of worrying about staying in the good graces of Mike Madigan. - Judgment Day - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:38 pm: Incomplete/B+. If he gets through the session with sufficient ‘adjustments’ to satisfy the credit rating agencies to where IL does not get any more reductions in our credit ratings, then it’s a solid “B+” (would have been an “A” except for the inconvenient fact that he led the way on creating many of these problems in prior years). If not and IL suffers additional credit rating downgrades, then it’s a solid “D-”. - Dave - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:43 pm: It’s like giving the guy who started the fire praise for putting it out. - wordslinger - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:44 pm: –If he was a CEO of a privately or publicly traded company, he would have been fired long ago. Not talking about those CEO’s making $9.6 million.– That’s a ridiculous statement on its face given recent history, but to the larger point, he’s not a CEO at all. He’s powerful, but not all-powerful. On his best days he can deliver one chamber. There’s still a governor and the Senate in the mix. He wasn’t all-powerful during the Blago/Emil Jones alliance, or when Pate was running the Senate during Republican gubernatorial terms, or even when Rock had his slim majority and Pate could pick off Dems here and there. Most of the time, he’s the most reasonable person in the room. I’d give him an “A” during this awful and sobering session for setting spending limits and pushing through painful but necessary cuts. Kudos to Cross as well for presenting a united front on low-ball revenue estimates. That wasn’t easy for either one of them. - titan - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:45 pm: After watching the video, if that is where the legislature ends up at end of session, and the state stays financially afloat the Speaker would earn a good grade (say B or perhaps even A - although it is VERY late in coming to even passing on the fiscal front), the rest of the GA is still largely failing. - steve schnorf - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:45 pm: ditto what word said - Bill - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:48 pm: I gave him an F because that was the lowest grade possible and because he jokingly implied that he was staying on. That is the worst possible thing that could happen to Illinois. - Sunshine - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 1:49 pm: I gave him an A for this session. Always thought he had the peoples best interest at heart and was genuine but haven’t been too pleased with him the last couple of years. Now think he is focused and resolute. He seems to work best under pressure and I think we see some of his best work then. I wish him the very best in his endeavor to bring spending under control. Lets hope what he fixes stays fixed. - CircularFiringSquad - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 2:24 pm: Public listed/traded private companies can’t screw their own pension systems like Illinois has done for half a century. I think the execs in charge of such companies might even end up in prison. Mr/Ms Titan How do you spell U-N-I-T-E-D-A-I-R-L–I-N-E-S? - Bob - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 2:25 pm: I can not beleive that a person in office for 42 years and saw the pension problem with blinders on and now he is coming on his white horse to save the day. The state is not trying to fix the problem. They are going to try and shift it to School district to worrying about it. I don’t get how people keep allowing the wealthy to keep growing and the middle class and poor to carry the load. This country was build on protecting thier citizens not just wealthy and corp. It is now the reverse. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 2:25 pm: I’ll disagree with Word and Schnorf here. For all intents and purposes, Madigan is the CEO/President of the Illinois House and the Democratic Party of Illinois. There’s an undeniable argument to be made that he’s the most successful political leader in the Country. And, if you use gross revenues as a means of comparing Illinois with private sector companies, there’s an argument to be made that Madigan is one of the most successful CEOs in either sector. Illinois’ annual revenues would rank it somewhere around 150th globally. How many CEO’s can you name who’ve been on top since 1983? Not many. Moreover, can you think of any private sector CEO’s out there that would last a session, let alone 30 years, in Madigan’s job? I can’t. I’ve disagreed with Madigan on many fronts. Many have and will continue to do so. But the measure of an elected official’s “success” while in office isn’t prudence or popularity, its the ability to maintain power. Madigan’s longevity is an indisputable measure of his success. History will judge him for how those 40 years were spent. - Rich Miller - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 2:32 pm: ===I think the execs in charge of such companies might even end up in prison.=== C’mon. Corporate execs are almost never sent to prison. You gotta be somebody extremely bad like Skilling to get a prison sentence. - Dave - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 2:39 pm: YDD He’s been very good for himself, his family and his allies. Not sure how you make the case that he’s been good for IL. I”m sure you’ll find a way. That being said, he’s virtually unparalleled at maintaining his power. But it’s to no one’s benefit buy his. - iamexistential - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 2:58 pm: If Illinois policymakers pass a bill to shift its responsibility of paying the “normal costs” to the local school districts, many school districts will not be able to afford to pay these costs, even if they are “phased in for a few years.” What will be the probable effects? In cash-strapped school districts, of which there are many, teachers will not receive increases in their salaries; many teachers will lose their jobs; student programs will be reduced or eliminated; class sizes will increase; it will be more difficult to recruit, as well as retain and attract, the best teaching candidates without offering an equitable and solvent defined-benefit plan (Education Sector Policy Briefs). “A shift would create a new and large financial requirement for school districts, which would be difficult for many to meet. Moreover, Illinois ranks last in terms of state spending on K-12 education, and school districts are already relying heavily on local property taxes. Shifting the state’s normal cost obligation onto school districts would only mean that an even higher proportion of school districts’ revenue would come from property taxes” (the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability March 2012). What would be some other outcomes? The public school system in Illinois will be jeopardized; the public school teacher’s dignity and guaranteed retirement security will be imperiled, and their students’ right to be taught by the very best teachers available in Illinois will be at risk. The passing of the proposed pension “reform” will create a dispossessed class of teachers in Illinois and guarantee that many of the best, potential teaching candidates will not consider working in the State of Illinois. It is noteworthy that the exploitations of governmental policies, that are often written or subsidized by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, create a financial deprivation for the vast majority of people in the State of Illinois. Each new tax break for the wealthy, for instance, means less money to run the state’s government and; thus, it requires policymakers to get money elsewhere or to cut essential services (of course, the Chicago Tribune, the Civic Committee and its obverse Illinois Is Broke website, et al. will continue to blame the teachers’ pension for cuts to services). Despotic governmental policies will not revive the Illinois economy and produce jobs. They will have, however, a negative economic impact on the state’s economy because retirees and most other middle-class taxpayers will be forced to reduce their spending. Consider that of the nearly 88,000 retired teachers in TRS, there are approximately 52,000 pensions below $50 thousand; more than 17,000 of them are less than $20 thousand (TRS). These people do not receive social security and, if they do, it is minimal. To further reduce the COLA for these people would lead to the impoverishment and destruction of their right to self-preservation. Reflect upon the fact that a “simple” COLA will not be sufficient for keeping pace with inflation for current teachers when they retire, and that members of the Civic Committee, Civic Federation and General Assembly will never have this concern. It is incongruous that nothing in the proposed pension “reform” will address the revenue problem in the State of Illinois. What will be most certain if pension “reform” is passed are costly lawsuits at the taxpayers’ expense to defend what is explicitly stated in the Illinois Constitution’s Article XIII – General Provisions, Section 5. Pension and Retirement Rights: “Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired,” and in Article I – Bill of Rights, Section 16. Ex Post Facto Laws and Impairing Contracts: “No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts or making an irrevocable grant of special privileges or immunities, shall be passed.” If one were to proceed even further with litigation, it would also be understood that according to The Constitution of the United States of America, Article I, Section 10: “No State shall… pass any ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts…” - DJ - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 3:00 pm: From the Chicago Tribune - May 25, 2012 “Take Madigan’s case. If he retired this year after roughly 40 years in office, the 1989 law would boost his annual pension from about $81,000 to $131,000 according to current figures from GARS. That’s 137 percent of his current salary. Cullerton’s pension would go up by roughly $31,000 to $112,000 a year, or 117 percent of what he now earns. Both lawmakers helped advance, and eventually voted for, the legislation that created the perk for longtime lawmakers.” Until Madigan reduces the GARS he gets an F. He is determined to destroy the future of hard working employes and retirees who earn pensions on average $32,000. Why should he receive a pension of more than 100% of his salary? In what world is this right? - espo - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 3:02 pm: HE gets an F- as does the entire ILL assembly, for hurting the poor and soon to be poor (i.e. the middle-class)and raising the income tax, and cutting programs just when needed the most… yeah an F- - titan - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 3:04 pm: Rich - companies shafted the way Illinois has been financially make Enron look like it is run by Eagle Scouts and nuns. So Skilling isn’t a bad analogy (although his misbehavior may not have been as bad). - sadie - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 3:09 pm: what about those of us that don’t get raises - we get all the COLA’s when we retire cause we didn’t get them when we worked? I can’t grade them any more - my frustration overflows - dying middle class - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 3:59 pm: Speaker Madigan has become an obstruction rather than an advocate for the people of Illinois. He has failed to address the need for generating revenue via a progressive tax structure. Instead, he has chosen to give tax breaks to CME stockbrokers, UAL, Boeing, and other large corporations while resting the burden of taxation on the middle class. He is attempting to change the rules in the pension game when retirees are no longer in play. His rationale is that the burden of the pensions is too great for the state to bear rather than admitting that the lucrative contracts he’s procured for his supporters along with the tax cuts for high-income earners, and the pension holidays he’s voted to take while he’s been in office are the real problem. He has betrayed his oath of office to serve the people and instead has established his own kingdom where nothing happens in this state that doesn’t financially benefit Mike Madigan or serve his power-hungry purposes. - Aaron - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 4:15 pm: @titan Might want to take a look at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and its current problems. Read up before you speak up. - mark walker - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 5:21 pm: Rating A- so far. Final grades are at Year End. His complex management challenges, and the simultaneous limits to his direct power and resources, make his job much more difficult than is typically faced in private industry. I would have considered him a capable Chief Operating Officer for almost any large and complex company in the USA, provided he had the required industry background. Ironically, he’s not as good at government-relations or PR as most of the top CEOs. He’s personally brilliant, and an exceptional people and process manager, but just not as comfortable or effective out front on stage. - jake - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 5:54 pm: I don’t know the letter grade, but here is my analysis. He acquires and retains power by understanding very well where the balance of power (weighing both insider power and voter opinion) is on every issue, and positioning himself there. He is also personally considerate and attentive to everyone, so he has no personal enemies. He is extraordinarily disciplined and works very hard. He falls short of being the kind of leader who can move public opinion towards supporting changes needed to solve long term problems. The result is that he never does anything catastrophically wrong, but the good that he does do is in the form of continually patching to keep things from falling apart, rather than restructuring for long term solutions. Often that level of leadership is good enough, and it is never destructive. But sometimes more is needed. Sometimes I wish Barack has stayed in Illinois and run for Governor. He is a very good President, but Hillary Clinton would have been very good also, so the nation would have had approximately as good leadership. But Illinois would have had way better leadership. - wordslinger - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 5:59 pm: –He’s personally brilliant, and an exceptional people and process manager, but just not as comfortable or effective out front on stage.– I think that’s a great strength. Too many in politics and government, at all levels, let the checker players in the ADD media (present company excepted) set the agenda. Or in these days, the Candy Land players. We need the chess players. Good book, for anyone that’s interested: “The Last Great Senate.” http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Great-Senate-Statesmanship/dp/1586489364 Baker, Byrd, Simpson, Jackson, Mansfield, Magnuson, Kennedy, Humphrey, Javits, Dole, Weicker, Russell, many more — some real heavy-lifting there when senators saw themselves as more than 24-hour programming props for cable TV. It’s worse in business. It’s not good enough on Wall Street to be well-managed and make a profit, you have to exceed expectations. Otherwise, your stock gets whacked. - kayaker - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 6:32 pm: He deserves an ‘F’ - Anonymous - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 6:33 pm: =He’s personally brilliant, and an exceptional people and process manager, but just not as comfortable or effective out front on stage.= I agree with word on this one. Besides, the opposite is being effective “out front on a stage” while being dumber than a box of rocks and not having any process or people skills. People will catch on sooner or later, and for those who like the stage, it’ll be sooner. - steve schnorf - Friday, May 25, 12 @ 11:01 pm: Extremely self-disciplined, listens very well, makes decisions and acts, is 3 or 4 moves down the board ahead of most others. I’ll stick with my “A” Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.