Cullerton - I’ll tell Bruce, “If you get Mike on board, I’ll run those bills with Republican sponsors,” and you tell Bruce, “Until you can guarantee at least 30 GOP House votes, my hands are tied.” That will have him chasing his tail till March.
MJM - He talks a lot, you motice that? He just talks and talks. Two and a half hours, talk, talk, talk….yeah, ok, it’s a good start. Then we’ll hit him up on what we want.
Cullerton - Exactly.
MJM - Bruce gets the votes, to get what we want passed, and converage for our targets. Then it’s May.
Cullerton - Then it’s May.
MJM - Ok, gotta go, Chuck Goudie is down here today.
Cullerton - Come January, these floors will all be carpeted, handrails on all the walls.
MJM - Really?
Cullerton - Jeese said its the only way he can get the building insured. The big staircase? Yeah, they’re closed for “repairs”, four years of repairs, starting January. Big changes here Mike.
MJM - Usually the #2 is a liability to the state for other reasons. What a shame, the floors never looked better.
Now opening in Springfield, IL: another Madame Tussauds Wax Museum !!
“Get close enough to hug your heroes and take the perfect photo with wax figures of the world’s most famous faces.”
A special note for our Illinois customers: the figure of the governor that usually stands to the right in this photo has been withdrawn temporarily for renovation. Check back soon!
Cullerton - 82 out of the 137 legislative races this November were unopposed. 60% of them had only one candidate on the ballot, what are we going to do about that?
MJM - Well, 8 of those were slated, so let’s get rid of slating altogether so voters have even less choice. 73% of our GA elections unopposed is better than 60%.
Cullerton - We really should change the name of our party if we’re not going to be the least bit democratic anymore.
MJM - Give it time. The Madigan Party will stick soon enough.
“Hey, what’s the most politically and socially tone-deaf way we can present a revised eavesdropping bill? The cops really don’t like to be recorded while “tuning up” suspects or “directing traffic”.
“Hm, yeah, in the wake of Ferguson, obviously, the thing to do is clamp down on transparency before we all get taken to court for something we said… and can we somehow muzzle all these “journalists” with their eye-phones?”
I imagined something like “Hey, what’s the most politically and socially tone-deaf way we can present a revised eavesdropping bill? The cops really don’t like to be recorded while “tuning up” suspects or “directing traffic”.
“Hm, yeah, in the wake of Ferguson, obviously, the thing to do is clamp down on transparency before we all get taken to court for something we said… and can we somehow muzzle all these “journalists” with their eye-phones?”
One day, making tracks
In the prairie of Patch,
Came a North-Going Zax
And a South-going Zax
And it happened that both of them game to a place
Where they bumped. There they stood
Foot to foot. Face to face.
* * *
Well . . .
Of course the world didn’t stand still. The world grew.
In a couple of years the new capital came through.
And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax.
And left them there, standing un-budged in their tracks.
MJM - Now that the pension “deal” is right where we planned it would be, it will be interesting to see how Bruce wants to solve the problem going forward.
JC - Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!
Madigan: Drinking bourbon until you can’t see straight won’t make Rauner go away. I am sure that I will be able to handle him once I determine where his Achilles Heel is at. A little sweet talk and a few pats on his head to stroke his ego and he will be mine.
Cullerton: Maybe not but it seems to temporarily ease the pain. Why did you allow Lisa to do this to us? Can’t you control your own kid like I do?
Madigan: We don’t want to go there Cullerton.
- Wowser - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:24 am:
Who said you have to be tall to run things??
- Stan in Ascent - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:26 am:
“This is the last time you get to have me pull you out of a meeting because Frerichs won’t go away.”
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:26 am:
Stan takes a very big lead!
lol
- zatoichi - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:28 am:
M: Apple?
C: Perhaps.
- From the 'Dale to HP - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:30 am:
MM: “I see you’re literally carrying my water right now.”
JC: [to self] “Not your water…”
- B-non - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:31 am:
“Is it January yet?”
- Peoria Guy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:31 am:
“You know, Rauner has no idea what we are going to do to him. This ought to be fun”
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:32 am:
The real Five Tops meeting
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:32 am:
Cullerton - I’ll tell Bruce, “If you get Mike on board, I’ll run those bills with Republican sponsors,” and you tell Bruce, “Until you can guarantee at least 30 GOP House votes, my hands are tied.” That will have him chasing his tail till March.
MJM - He talks a lot, you motice that? He just talks and talks. Two and a half hours, talk, talk, talk….yeah, ok, it’s a good start. Then we’ll hit him up on what we want.
Cullerton - Exactly.
MJM - Bruce gets the votes, to get what we want passed, and converage for our targets. Then it’s May.
Cullerton - Then it’s May.
MJM - Ok, gotta go, Chuck Goudie is down here today.
Cullerton - Talk to you later.
- workerbee - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:33 am:
Change for a dollar?
- A guy... - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:38 am:
If they want the tree in the background, tell them to move the tree.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:41 am:
MJM - Welp, one seat flipped. One
Cullerton - Yep. I guess that means you win Mike. One Dollar.
MJM - Thanks, John. Like I said, it’s nurturing, not genetics…
- BW - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:42 am:
So yeah, no, probably not going to contribute to the office pool gift for Pat Quinn’s retirement.
- Norseman - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:44 am:
Mike, you’re driving me to drink.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:44 am:
MJM - Whst do you mean “You don’t want Drury”? Next cycle he goes to the Senate.
- walker - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:46 am:
“Any new pension ideas?”
“You killed my last one.”
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:47 am:
(Long pause)
MJM - Nice Tree?
Cullerton - Yeah…real nice tree.
(Longer pause, Cullerton finishes drink in one gulp)
Cullerton - (points to glass) Well, Gotta go.
- OneMan - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:51 am:
Yeah, glad we got that minimum wage increase on the ballot…
Yep…
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:52 am:
Nature Abhors a Vacuum, but not Madigan and Cullerton
- Anonymous - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:53 am:
I will kill it you pass it.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:53 am:
“Tell Pam I said Happy Birthday.”
- Casual Observer - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:55 am:
JC: So, is Lisa giving the arguments on the pension case?
MJM: Nah, she can’t keep a straight face.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:55 am:
Cullerton - Come January, these floors will all be carpeted, handrails on all the walls.
MJM - Really?
Cullerton - Jeese said its the only way he can get the building insured. The big staircase? Yeah, they’re closed for “repairs”, four years of repairs, starting January. Big changes here Mike.
MJM - Usually the #2 is a liability to the state for other reasons. What a shame, the floors never looked better.
Cullerton - Enjoy this while we can I guess.
- Third Reading - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:56 am:
Now opening in Springfield, IL: another Madame Tussauds Wax Museum !!
“Get close enough to hug your heroes and take the perfect photo with wax figures of the world’s most famous faces.”
A special note for our Illinois customers: the figure of the governor that usually stands to the right in this photo has been withdrawn temporarily for renovation. Check back soon!
Reference: www.madametussauds.com
I’m outta here.
- Bogey Golfer - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 10:58 am:
Wonder what Pat is going to do with his purple tie?
- Rusty618 - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:00 am:
I thought you going to give Bruce the wrong address?
- Give Me A Break - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:08 am:
JC: He thinks he won something.
MJM: Well let him think that till the budget address.
- Elijah Snow - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:08 am:
Let’s talk over here. Not over there. That’s no good. Over here is good though. Way over here.
- Jeff Trigg - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:10 am:
Cullerton - 82 out of the 137 legislative races this November were unopposed. 60% of them had only one candidate on the ballot, what are we going to do about that?
MJM - Well, 8 of those were slated, so let’s get rid of slating altogether so voters have even less choice. 73% of our GA elections unopposed is better than 60%.
Cullerton - We really should change the name of our party if we’re not going to be the least bit democratic anymore.
MJM - Give it time. The Madigan Party will stick soon enough.
http://gapersblock.com/mechanics/2014/12/03/madigan-moves-to-eliminate-slating/
- Century Club - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:14 am:
What’s $10 an hour and loved by 2 million voters?
If he says ‘your momma’ I’m going to kill him.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:18 am:
(MJM whistles)
Cullerton - “If I Had You.
(Cullerton whistles)
MJM - “Dear Old Girl”
Cullerton - yeah, “Dear Old Girl” I would have bet money you wouldn’t have got that.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:25 am:
Cullerton - Pat is moving some stuff out, you wanna watch? Kinda sad.
MJM - When you see Squeezy, I’ll look.
- OneMan - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:33 am:
So you calling Sneed again pretending to be Quinn?
- Streator Curmudgeon - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:34 am:
MJM: Evian?
JC: Tap water in a recycled bottle. Austerity.
MJM: Can we gerrymander around it?
JC: Not this time.
MJM: Bummer. Well, we’ll just sidetrack more pension payments.
JC: I didn’t hear you say that.
MJM: Perzactly. Because I didn’t.
- zatoichi - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:35 am:
M: I’ll be Bilbo. ‘What do I have in my pocket?’
- Streator Curmudgeon - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:36 am:
JC: You smell Feds?
MJM: Nah. Lisa would’ve told me if they were sniffing around.
JC: Feds.
MJM: Get their dough, then give ‘em the ozone.
- anon - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:39 am:
JC: So you adjourned the House for the last time in the 98th. Thanks for the heads up.
MM: No problem. I gave the new governor what he asked for on the minimum wage and the tax extension. Wonder if he’ll appreciate it?
- Streator Curmudgeon - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:41 am:
MJM: Got the whoopie cushion for his chair?
JC: We even put a microphone on it. It’ll carry through the whole chamber.
MJM: How about the dribble glass?
JC: Ready to go.
MJM: Rauner will never know what hit him.
JC: My staff has a line on those binoculars that make a black circle around your eyes.
- walker - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:44 am:
One Man: Niiice!
- Black Ivy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 11:55 am:
The Supreme Tactician (Cullerton) and the Omnipotent One (Madigan) talk shop and await the arrival of the Private Sector Outsider (Rauner)…
- Keyser Soze - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:04 pm:
So, who do we poke fun at now that Quinn is gone?
- Quizzical - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:07 pm:
Button your jacket and stand up straight. We’ll have to be at the top of our game to roll Rauner.
- Ghost - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:10 pm:
When a body meets a body coming through the rye…..
- Wordslinger - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:14 pm:
“You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in Paris?”
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:14 pm:
MJM - Rauner said you said that, John.
Cullerton - (swallows water) Never said it Mike, I talked to him twice, he never even asked. Did you say what Bruce told me about the other bill?
MJM - Nope. Someone asked Brown how I maybe felt about it, but Brown didn’t bite. Bruce likes to stir the pot, doesn’t he?
Cullerton - Let’s wait this out, Bruce’s true nature will shine through. Like Edgar…
MJM - (interrupts) like Rod.
Cullerton - We’ll see…
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:16 pm:
(H/T to - Wordslinger -)
MJM - Why am I “Mr. Pink”?
- Come on man! - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:33 pm:
Water? I prefer unicorn blood.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:33 pm:
MJM - Wow, nice suit.
Cullerton - Rauner’s tailor’s in town. Between drape measures got fitted for this. Very fine linen.
MJM - Very nice, man what do those suits cost?
Cullerton - Dunno, I had him bill Bruce.
(Pause)
Cullerton - Tailor’s here till Friday.
MJM - I better check how the drapes are going….
- That Guy - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:41 pm:
“I’m standing farther left of center than you are.”
- legal pad - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:53 pm:
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object: small talk in the lobby over bottled water.
- Newsclown - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:54 pm:
“Hey, what’s the most politically and socially tone-deaf way we can present a revised eavesdropping bill? The cops really don’t like to be recorded while “tuning up” suspects or “directing traffic”.
“Hm, yeah, in the wake of Ferguson, obviously, the thing to do is clamp down on transparency before we all get taken to court for something we said… and can we somehow muzzle all these “journalists” with their eye-phones?”
- Newsclown - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 12:55 pm:
I imagined something like “Hey, what’s the most politically and socially tone-deaf way we can present a revised eavesdropping bill? The cops really don’t like to be recorded while “tuning up” suspects or “directing traffic”.
“Hm, yeah, in the wake of Ferguson, obviously, the thing to do is clamp down on transparency before we all get taken to court for something we said… and can we somehow muzzle all these “journalists” with their eye-phones?”
- Gooner - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 1:04 pm:
One day, making tracks
In the prairie of Patch,
Came a North-Going Zax
And a South-going Zax
And it happened that both of them game to a place
Where they bumped. There they stood
Foot to foot. Face to face.
* * *
Well . . .
Of course the world didn’t stand still. The world grew.
In a couple of years the new capital came through.
And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax.
And left them there, standing un-budged in their tracks.
- Skeptical - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 1:05 pm:
MJM - Now that the pension “deal” is right where we planned it would be, it will be interesting to see how Bruce wants to solve the problem going forward.
JC - Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!
- Gooner - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 1:20 pm:
So Toia, Durkin and Sandack all were classy enough to send thank you notes.
- The Colossus of Roads - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 1:51 pm:
Yeah, I wish I was taller too, but what are you going to do?
- Boring Boring Arsenal - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 1:55 pm:
Where is Charles Barkley when we need him?
- Rusty Nail - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 2:18 pm:
Do you think we will ever make the Capitol Fax caption contest? I sure hope so!
- DuPage - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 2:34 pm:
Are the lifeboats ready?
- Roadbuilder - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 3:08 pm:
And if you stand right in this spot, the room acoustics let you hear Tom Cross crying under his desk all the way across the building…
- Living in Raunerville - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 3:27 pm:
MJM: “catch me, you catch me lucky charms.”
JC: “INCONCEIVABLE!”
- zatoichi - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 5:18 pm:
Seriously, hand in pocket, slight forward lean. The GQ power stance. Iacocca is a master at it. They won’t even know what happened when you walk away.
- Sartorialist - Thursday, Dec 4, 14 @ 5:46 pm:
“May I recommend my tailor to you, John?”
- Percival - Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 12:46 am:
“I hear there is a new Governor coming. Whatever. “
- Rowdy Yates - Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 7:41 am:
Madigan: Drinking bourbon until you can’t see straight won’t make Rauner go away. I am sure that I will be able to handle him once I determine where his Achilles Heel is at. A little sweet talk and a few pats on his head to stroke his ego and he will be mine.
Cullerton: Maybe not but it seems to temporarily ease the pain. Why did you allow Lisa to do this to us? Can’t you control your own kid like I do?
Madigan: We don’t want to go there Cullerton.
- LaFlare1017 - Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 8:46 am:
MJM-”Did you see when Kim Kardashian broke the internet?”
- Wiley Coyote - Friday, Dec 5, 14 @ 9:52 am:
I’ll Tell you what to do with that bottle!