128 Comments - 47th Ward - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:32 am: Some. And I’d estimate it’s close to 20%. He controls one party in one chamber. There are three other “tops” plus the Governor. Each of them owns a pieces of this mess. ===You mess with my home, Speaker Madigan, you have picked a fight with the wrong guy!=== Which of his eight homes was he referring to? - slow down - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:34 am: To the extent you can tie Illinois’ “economic and fiscal woes” to the failure to properly fund pensions over the last few decades, he along with the other legislative leaders and former governors are deserving of some blame. - Democratic Response - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:34 am: People forget, that Speaker Madigan was all that stood in the way of Rod Blagojevich and his crazy brand of economic policy. The speaker should get more credit for that. - walker - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:35 am: “some” He has to take the heat, with some key others, for allowing the pension funding holidays in previous periods. And that’s the biggest problem we now have fiscally. Not most or all. He is not all powerful, and often has the best interests of the state at heart. He fails when he lets the concerns of the party override his own best judgments. But that is not constant. - Casual Observer - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:37 am: I said some because while Governors own budgets they have to negotiate with the Speaker (and Senate President) to get what he wants passed. I think the biggest contributor to our fiscal and economic woes is the flat tax. - ugh - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:38 am: One person cannot hold all the blame for decades and decades of issues. - lake county democrat - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:39 am: Most, at least of those left in government. Madigan controlled Quinn. Madigan chose not to address the deficit in a meaningful way. Madigan chose not to extend the income tax increase permanently. You can talk the inside baseball about how “governor’s own” and not willing to take political hits and such until your blue in the face: the question is who is responsible and with power comes responsibility. - @MisterJayEm - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:39 am: “I love Illinois. This is home [to three of my nine million-dollar homes] and boy, I’m a feisty guy. You mess with [one-third of my million-dollar homes], Speaker Madigan, you have picked a fight with the wrong guy! You have picked a fight with the wrong guy!” – MrJM - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:40 am: Voted “Some” “Why?” Crain’s - McKinney ===But perhaps the most enduring culprit is the “Edgar ramp,” conceived in 1994 by Republican Gov. Jim Edgar as a 50-year program to stabilize the retirement systems.=== And… ===… Madigan, the House speaker who has been involved with every major pension bill of the past 30 years. He helped pass the Edgar ramp and was a chief House sponsor of the 2002 early-retirement incentive. The speaker also voted for the 2005 legislation that authorized skipping full pension payments for two years.=== Read that article, and it’s clear the Speaker owns what he owns, but even the former governors find themselves pointing at each other even more, at times. - GaelicDream - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:40 am: There is one common denominator since the down turn of the great State of Illinois over the last 30 years…..Michael Madigan. Time to go sir, Term limits need to be enforced in this great State. - Bogey Golfer - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:41 am: =One person cannot hold all the blame for decades and decades of issues.= But if that person has been in the GA for decades and decades, he is accountable for some of the blame. - St. Ambrose - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:42 am: Madigan and all of the co-conspirators are to blame….spend, spend to support the takers on the backs of the working and retired class. The word “STOP” spending is NOT a word used by liberals. - Shoedoctor - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:42 am: As the leader with the most influence in Springfield for the past 40 years he is certainly the one person most responsible for the dysfunction of our State. Who else has had more influence? The results are not pretty and he is still unwilling to allow reform. - Anon - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:42 am: I said most because of his role as Speaker and the Chair of the DPI. He doesn’t just control 1 vote - he controls his caucus. And, things don’t move in the House unless he wants them to. And to the commenter who called Rod’s brand of economic policy “crazy”, there’s more than 1 kind of crazy. We got crazy - just got a different variety. - @MisterJayEm - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:42 am: And some. – MrJM - Spidad60 - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:43 am: Madigan deserves “some” blame because of his position and longevity in office. He has proven that he’s been very capable of working with other Governor’s in the past, and I believe he is willing to work with this one to move Illinois forward and solve pressing issues - The Jimmy - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:45 am: “Most” Presided over all the pension mess. The guy can’t do math or just doesn’t care. As a prop tax attorney he doesn’t hate the property tax system that’s driving people out. He’s not exactly enemy of the trial lawyers either, and the tort and worker comp systems that chase businesses out. The only long-term planning this guy is capable of us keeping himself in power, everything else be damned. And now we have the results of that. - AC - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:48 am: Voted “some”. It’s hard to separate Madigan, Edgar or anyone involved with the pension ramp. You can’t merely associate Madigan’s longevity with blame, or if you did you may as well blame the Cubs too. Anyone who thinks our issues can be attributed to a single individual needs to study Illinois politics a bit more. - Yossarian - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:48 am: Voted “Some”. But the same can be said for Edgar, Ryan, Cullerton, etc. - Hamlet's Ghost - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:48 am: Most, because he has kept Illinois tax rates unsustainably low. Unfortunately, the Rauner “cure” is worse than the disease. - St. Ambrose - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:49 am: Illinois must certainly be at the top of list for the total number of jailed politicians. And, who elected them? Cook County where a vote can be bought for $20.00. Enuff said!!!!!!! - Huh? - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:49 am: Some - By virtue of his position and tenure. The same applies to anybody past or present in elected state government regardless of political party. - illini - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:53 am: Voted “some” He is an easy target and plays well into Rauners game plan. Many good comments here so far and points worth considering. - The Equalizer - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:54 am: Sure Madigan is partly responsible, just like almost every other state politician and most of their major political donors like Bruce Rauner. He made good money off the state, so he’s hardly blameless. - St. Ambrose - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:54 am: Property taxes on my 882sq. ft. house are…..$2,600.00… and that’s LOW..what planet are some of these folks from????? - Skirmisher - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:00 pm: I had to think a bit before I said “most”. Actually, he was at any given moment over the years merely one self-serving political leader who put his own political interests ahead of the public good. He was, however, by far the most successful at this game and so now he is the only one of consequence hanging onto power. So looking at the field today, I say he is the most blameworthy of those surviving. Madigan could have long ago put his considerable influence and talents to the task of putting Illinois on a permanently sound economic footing. Instead, he chose not to confront his caucus with the tough votes that would put public good ahead of political expediency. By this means he kept himself in power but did considerable harm to the state of Illinois. - burbanite - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:01 pm: St. Ambrose - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:49 am: Illinois must certainly be at the top of list for the total number of jailed politicians. And, who elected them? Cook County where a vote can be bought for $20.00. Enuff said!!!!!!! Then Rauner isn’t a good business man at all, he overpaid for his votes! Some, there are plenty of others around now and before who bear some blame here. - Rasselas - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:04 pm: Only some. I think most of the folks voting ‘most’ or even ’some’ just don’t get Madigan’s role. He is the leader/manager/custodian of the broad group of interests known as the Democratic party. Whether he existed or not, those interests would exist and someone would lead them. Madigan just happens to lead/manage them very, very well, so those interests that are in opposition to the interests of the Democratic party have personalized this as being all about Madigan. But it’s not. To call for ‘term limit’-ing Madigan is really a call to decapitate the very capable leader of those Democratic interests. I.e., it’s an attack on the interests, hiding as a personal attack. In his role as leader, he has largely sublimated his own personal views. He is much more conservative, fiscally, than most Democrats and also on many social issues. But he knows the interest groups that comprise the Democratic party, so he does what needs to be done to hold them together. I only hold him (and the Democrats) accountable for ’some’ because the Republican legislators and governors have also been responsible. Truth be told, most of them are also more moderate than the base of their party - they’re not ideologically anti-union, they’re not ideologically against spending (they just have very different spending priorities). Like most of the Democratic legislators, they mostly just like being legislators. BMOC in their communities. - Formerly Known As... - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:05 pm: Some. One of the most influential and longest serving Speakers in American history. Maybe I should have voted ==Most==. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:05 pm: Mike is responsibility is one third unless you count the courts then it’s a quarter - Wensicia - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:06 pm: Some, though I wonder had he not been one of the tops all these years, would Illinois’ financial situation be in any better shape? - nobody - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:07 pm: Some. Certainly no more than Edgar and Thompson among other and the recent Dem Gov. - ash - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:08 pm: I voted some and think some of his policies have been misdirected. That does not mean I support the turnaround agenda of Rauner. Look at the gains of California and Minnestoa and the dire straights of Kansas, Louisianna, even some of the backwards movement in Wisconsin. Madigan may be to blame, but Rauner’s answers are worse… - Wordslinger - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:14 pm: “Some” but I distinguish greatly between fiscal and economic. They are not the same thing, at all. He shares significant responsibility with other leg leaders and governors over the years on fiscal issues. Kick the can, raid the pensions has been a bipartisan Illinois tradition for a very long time. Economic, not so much. State government is a marginal factor in the economy. There are many, much more powerful dynamics in play when it comes to the economy. In Texas in the last year, nearly 100,000 oil-related workers have been laid off, dozens of companies have gone bust, and tens of billions in anticipated investment has been cancelled. The reasons for that have much more to do with decisions in Riyadh than in Austin. - JS Mill - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:17 pm: voted “some”. I think it used to be more, but every day a little more responsibility is shared with others. The Governor cares little to not at all about central Illinois. In that regard he is following the status quo of the Speaker and others. His proposal for schools funding pushes more and more money to CPS and less downstate. For me, his actions (or proposed actions) speak louder than words. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:18 pm: Between some and most. The Speaker is responsible (according to Quinn) for making the tax increase temporary, instead of permanent. Along with the other things folks have mentioned, that gives the Speaker a large share of the responsibility for our current mess. (Though between the Speaker and the Governor, I’m sure glad the Speaker is there.) - Mokenavince - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:20 pm: Most. Madigan has run the state like his fiefdom and just cares about him self 1st,his party, lawyers and unions. As far as the rest of us of the state we are just an end to his means. He has wrecked this once great state. - sal-says - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:21 pm: == You have picked a fight with the wrong guy! == You have picked the wrong guy for IL governor! There. Fixed it for ya, Brucie. - Cheswick - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:23 pm: When I hear people like Rauner hacking on Madigan, I see a person who wishes he had a Madigan (or thee Madigan) on his team, or even that he could be Madigan his own self. I voted some. - sal-says - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:24 pm: 5% for all (31 votes as of now.) Guessing the Governot & his high priced true deciples, er, staff? - Eugene - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:24 pm: He certainly has to take a portion of the blame, but not for the reasons cited by Rauner. Bottom line is the Speaker resisted raising the revenue necessary to pay the state’s obligations. (Although Blago should take by far the biggest share of the blame here.) Putting off the inevitable in favor of short term fixes led to bigger costs in the long run, and here we are. It is not true that Illinois is a high spending state, and the Speaker is no proponent of big government. Human services and education in Illinois are poorly funded. Also, even before the SMART Act Medicaid spending per capita was already very low. The Speaker has supported charter schools, resisted raising revenue, took a very hard line on the last state employee contract, and led the charge against public pensions. Rauner should be applauding the Speaker, not attacking him. Ironically, Rauner’s truly extreme views and political bungling has had the effect of moving the Speaker to the Left, at least on a tactical basis. - Cheswick - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:24 pm: Rauner should be thanking Madigan for keeping his state income taxes so low all those years. - markg8 - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:25 pm: As things stand the state is on course to spend about $39 billion this year, up from $36 billion last year based on Rauner’s caving on education, Medicaid and various other parts of the budget and court orders. Both Madigan and Cullerton have offered to cut spending in several areas like Medicaid reimbursement but Rauner refuses to negotiate unless they take his poison pills. Not gonna happen. He’s going to have to raise the income tax whether he likes it or not and he’s not going to get those guys to kill unions, lawyers or the Illinois Democratic party in return for balancing a budget. - Belle - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:26 pm: I said some but I feel like it’s more than that but don’t have evidence. Minimally, he was there the whole time. He is way too smart to not have known the day would come when the scheme would blow up. - BigBob - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:28 pm: Some. It’s been a shared screw-up by both parties and many players. Nobody has clean hands in this issue…..repubs or dems. Governor Rauner keeps beating his chest and telling us how tough he is. Sounds a little like Trump, only how feisty he is, rather than how smart he is. From where I sit, Governor Rauner seems to be doing more than his share of the picking of fights. I guess, if you can’t govern, you can at least be feisty. - sal-says - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:30 pm: == Cook County where a vote can be bought for $20.00. Enuff said!!!!!!! == Raunner’s ‘gift cards’ were a nice touch too. - Tom K. - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:31 pm: ==Property taxes on my 882sq. ft. house are…..$2,600.00… and that’s LOW..what planet are some of these folks from?????== You mean, “Low vs. other Il venues”, right? Mine were approximately $5200 for a 1300 sq. ft., 50 y.o. home in Cook County in 2013/2014. I recently had a market valuation done, and was told it would bring $150K provided I do about $5K worth of work before listing it. So - $5.2K/$150K equals 3.5%. I simply cannot afford to stay here in retirement, no way. - the Other Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:36 pm: I’m with Wordslinger: none (or pretty much none) for the economy because that’s driven by forces beyond the control of the state. Some for the fiscal mess because of his pension holiday in the 00s and fear of raising taxes to the level needed to avoid crisis. I think it’s hard to pin much of the blame for the stalemate on him, given Rauner’s, err, unique management style. I know, who’s to blame wasn’t part of the question, but I think it’s important to separate it out. - Badge - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:37 pm: “Some”, but leaps and bounds more than anyone else currently in the game. - Capitol View - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:41 pm: Da Speaker is into public policy and politics. Not a numbers woc. Revenues need to be restructured, and pensions need stability - broader issues than Madigan alone can implement as his legacy… - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:42 pm: He helped to pass legislation but it also had to get through the senate and be signed by a givernor. As I said long ago to his aide it took all parties to make this mess. - Jack Stephens - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:44 pm: I suppose some. But bustin’ Unions ain’t a solution! Taxes need to,go up. If you voted for Pension Ramp Edgar….that’s the price you pay. Sorry! - Last Bull Moose - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:51 pm: I too echo Wordslinger in thinking State government does not drive the economy of the State. I do not think we have done what we could and should have done to make us more competitive, but world factors are more important. On fiscal issues, he has had the most say in creating the situation we see today. Others contributed, but he has been the key player for decades. - Flynn's mom - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:01 pm: Some….There were many others who helped and they were from both sides of the aisle. This is not a kingdom (despite BVR’s wish to be king) it’s a democracy. - thunderspirit - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:03 pm: Certainly some. He has plenty of company; though those names have changed while his has not — which makes him an easy lightning rod for criticism and anger. - Wordslinger - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:04 pm: St. Ambrose, either take, or dial down, your meds, okay?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? - Ahoy! - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:06 pm: Voted most but only because there wasn’t an option between some and most which is where I really think the answer is. He is much more responsible than “some” of the mess. He’s been the leader of the House and his party which has controlled the State for a very, very long time. When you are in leadership positions for that long, you are responsible despite what Brown wants to portray for this boss. Every budget and bill that is passed is done so with his blessing and he ignores our economic and fiscal health at the expense of his absolute brilliance as a political leader. While I think his government abilities border on pathetic, I do believe he is a brilliant political tactician and he uses governing for political gain. All that being said, he deserves a lot of credit for stopping some of the insanity of Blago and Emil Jones. However, of everyone in Illinois politics right now, he is the most to blame, he’s been at the helm the longest and through all of our biggest problems playing his political strings while the state burns. - Moby - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:09 pm: I voted “some”. He shares the blame with Philip Rock (D), Pate Philip (R), Emil Jones (D), Jim Thompson (R), Jim Edgar (R), George Ryan (R), Rod Blagojevich (D), Pat Quinn (D) and Bruce Rauner (R). - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:18 pm: Madigan has been front and center during several governor administrations, both Republican (Edgar) and Democratic. Pension funds under both D & R Governor administrations have been deflected to long term care, faith based roof/gym floor/building repair, Build Illinois, just to name some of the diversion. - Strangerthings - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:20 pm: Most but only for two reasons, 1. Leadership means it’s your job to guide and provide direction. Being a leader and this goes for the other 3 tops as well,who knowingly led the state through so many years of irresponsible management and spending. And yes governors too. They all failed. Madigan has 45 years in the House. Tell me a man who has that much awareness to maintain his position for that long didn’t or couldn’t see this storm financial storm coming years ago. - Left Leaner - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:21 pm: He the country’s best cat herder. And no one, not even the Speaker, is all powerful in Springfield. Decades worth of blame and responsibility to spread around to many people, Democrat and Republican, Governors and Speakers, Reps and Senators alike. But he understood the compromises made years ago on pension spending and the problems they would cause now and has done very little to address it even since its gotten to this crisis stage. Wishing he’d used some of that legendary ‘power’ years ago to corral the cats and begin fixing problems then. - Timmeh - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:23 pm: Who could be powerful enough to deserve “most” of the blame for our fiscal and economic woes? Perhaps only the people of Illinois, who haven’t been engaged or informed enough to exert their power on the legislative process. - olddog - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:26 pm: Voted “none” because I think Illinois’ budget and fiscal woes are systemic, brought on by a regressive tax structure and compounded by pension holidays, etc., over 20 years. After reading the comments, I’d change it to “some” because Madigan obviously helped create the systemic problems. But Rauner’s personal attacks make him sound like an amateur Sarah Palin wannabe. - Enviro - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:31 pm: The governor has picked a fight with the speaker, not the other way around. Rauner could have tried to work with Madigan to improve Illinois. Too late now. - VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:33 pm: Well - he is the Speaker and us citizens shouldn’t cut any Speaker any slack. But his portion of the blame ends with state issues which go beyond the powers given to a speaker of the house. We haven’t had a governor since Edgar. Blaming Madigan for everything since 1998 is juvenile. - Cook County Commoner - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:33 pm: Most. If an algorithm were available which assigned blame to a pol by analyzing time in office, time as speaker, time as party chairman and time controlling party purse springs, I think Speaker Madigan clearly would get the blame jacket. - zatoichi - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:34 pm: There is a lot to share with many past and current characters. The past 5-6 governors and all the GA leadership of the past 30 years have a piece of the outcome pie. They were there as part of the process that create this problem. Just because Madigan is the longest serving does not automatically mean he is the most responsible. - dupage dan - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:41 pm: === - Democratic Response - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:34 am: People forget, that Speaker Madigan was all that stood in the way of Rod Blagojevich and his crazy brand of economic policy. The speaker should get more credit for that === You are aware who was Blagojevich’s campaign manager for both his gubernatorial campaigns, right? To the post - I said some. word is right in that fiscal and economic are different animals. Madigan has been the head of his party and, except for a brief time, speaker of the house. He wields enormous power in the GA and has heavy influence over what laws even make it to the floor. In that area he has had some effect on the economy as the burdensome regulatory climate reference by Rep Mark Batinick in another stream is a direct result of the gov’t’s restrictions on business. I thought some to most but voted some. - Strangerthings - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:44 pm: Name one place anywhere that benefits from allowing debts especially pension debts to build up unchecked. He owns some of this. If for no other reas on than because he voted for that unrealistic plan to stabilize pensions then allowed possibly voted to skip payments to the pensions - Steve - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:47 pm: For the last several decades, the budget couldn’t get to the Governor’s desk without Madigan’s approval. That’s a fact. Mike Madigan got into politics to become a wealthy man and he achieved his goal. It sure beats being a no name lawyer filing wills and trusts. No man has more to do with Illinois budgets the last several decades than Mike Madigan. - Percival - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:47 pm: I said “most” which will shock no one. But I find the apologists on this thread quite unconvincing. Madigan has been the single most powerful man in Illinois government, and arguably the whole state, over the last 35 years, and supremely powerful over the last 15. As to him being swayed by his caucus and a mere functionary, as Rich Miller has said “the pile of political corpses outside Madigan’s Statehouse door of those who tried to beat him one way or another is a mile high and a mile wide.” The message to all on crossing him is plain, and that man has a long, patient memory. He has controlled the budget, tax policy, and pension payments nearly, but not quite, as he directs. Just as importantly, he has held the unquestionable power to change things for the better, to take this state away from its ruinous fiscal course, to put the people’s long term interest ahead of his own personal power, and exercised none of it. The latter will be his legacy. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:49 pm: ===You are aware who was Blagojevich’s campaign manager for both his gubernatorial campaigns, right?=== Are ya sayin’ it was Madigan? Madigan was the Chair. Big difference. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:52 pm: ===For the last several decades, the budget couldn’t get to the Governor’s desk without Madigan’s approval. That’s a fact.=== Ugh. All budgets sent for signature go through both chambers, and… Governors can choose to sign, veto, AV, Item Veto… Governors are never, ever victims. - Strangerthings - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:54 pm: In fairness to Madigan…he makes way more as an attorney than he ever will as a legislator. I think the vast majority of his wealth can be said to come from his practice not his speakership - Wordslinger - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:57 pm: Percival, Madigan has you bamboozled, that’s for sure. Tell me, when was it the omnipotent decreed that voucher program for all the Catholics in his district shelling out for parochial schools every year? - Strangerthings - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:58 pm: People seem to think that because he can fix it he should and because he used the line item veto it’s then his to own…but let me ask this who wrote a budget bill that needed the veto in the first place who passed it? A line item veto is a fix but it’s not a signed statement of exclusive ownership of the results. Let’s stop acting like it should be. - Percival - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:59 pm: ==Tell me, when was it the omnipotent decreed that voucher program for all the Catholics in his district shelling out for parochial schools every year?== I think you can do a bit better than anecdotal evidence. If you can’t, so be it. - Precinct Captain - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:08 pm: I selected “none.” The question is “How much is House Speaker Michael Madigan to blame for Illinois’ economic and fiscal woes?” Economic and fiscal. If we consider Madigan’s speakership going back to its beginnings, I am sure that Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama would be surprised to learn that the leader of one party in one house of a legislature in one state had such an economic effect! Throw out the history books because they are due for a re-write! I also feel that the BRICs would have something to say, as well as the CEOs of major corporations in Illinois. Surely if Madigan so to blame for our woes now, he had to have some positive effect when things were rolling. - Phenomynous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:10 pm: Can tomorrow’s question be, “How much is Governor Rauner to blame for Illinois’ economic and fiscal woes?” - RetiredStateEmployee - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:10 pm: The voters deserve much of the blame. They don’t want to pay for the services they get and vote for politicians that lie to them. - Wordslinger - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:11 pm: LOL, Percival, I don’t thnk you understand what “anecdotal” means. What term is Gov. Lisa Madigan in now? The deep thinkers assured us for a dozen years every move the all-powerful made was in service of that scheme. - downstate commissioner - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:23 pm: Voted “Some”, but maybe should have had a 50% level. Became a fan of his when Blago was in office; still am, but he has been around when all of this was going on. - G'Kar - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:26 pm: “[St]Ambrose considered the poor not a distinct group of outsiders, but a part of the united, solidary people. Giving to the poor was not to be considered an act of generosity towards the fringes of society but as a repayment of resources that God had originally bestowed on everyone equally and that the rich had usurped.” - WAK - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:27 pm: Interesting that Rauner says Madigan doesn’t care about central IL or agriculture… it sure seems like he doesn’t either… Soil and Water Conservation Districts in IL and the Bureau of Land and Water Resources at Dept of Ag are on their way to being eviscerated by this administration continuing down the same path as his predecessors. - A Jack - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:32 pm: I voted none. There is plenty of blame to go around. Pensions have never been fully funded and that early retirement under Ryan didn’t help. But certainly wealthy people like our current governor have quite a bit of the blame by not paying their fair share and by shipping industrial jobs overseas. - MLK - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:41 pm: Since the survey indicates that Speaker Madigan is resp. for some of the problems facing Illinois, both he and the governor should share in finding some of the solutions-Two works that start with “S”-Share and Solution. That’s what people expect, a shared responsibility for good government. - Very Fed Up - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:42 pm: No one person is primarily responsible for the disastrous finances of this state. However its not possible that a fair and reasonable adult to make an argument that any 1 person has had more to do with it than Madigan. - reasonable - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:46 pm: he has to accept some responsibility because he has chosen to be a leader for all these years, but it has been shared leadership. Lots of others have been involved in this and what Rauner is offering is worse than anything all of those ever considered. - Percival - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:58 pm: ==What term is Gov. Lisa Madigan in now?== Lisa Madigan??? Oh, please. Is that really the best you have on the “limited power” - that people finally balked at having the Governor and Speaker in the same family? I think it more than shows his power that such a ridiculous arrangement was seriously considered. If that nonsense is the best, please do us all a favor and just stop floundering. - Mama - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:01 pm: Voted ‘Some’ because he supported skipping the pension payments. - alas - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:04 pm: some - there are many. - dupage dan - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:04 pm: Yes, sorry - my mistake. Not manager, chair. Nonetheless, MJM is forever linked to RB as a result of that. If he thought RB was a maniac not fit to serve as gov why would he sit as chairman? The answer - because MJM was NEVER going to “allow” a GOP candidate to win the mansion EVER again. Desire to retain power is natural. That doesn’t mean he is blameless for what followed. The result was years of insanity that could arguably also be a cause for the current calamity state we are in. Actions have consequences. - dupage dan - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:06 pm: === - RetiredStateEmployee - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:10 pm: The voters deserve much of the blame. They don’t want to pay for the services they get and vote for politicians that lie to them === Bingo. Look in the mirror, folks. 50% blame will look backatcha. - Anonymous Redux - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:12 pm: ” We are all guilty of the good we did not do” - ? We can assign blame until the end of The Game…but the game will simply be over. Does our Governor care? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:13 pm: ===If he thought RB was a maniac not fit to serve as gov why would he sit as chairman?=== Because you wait for “cause” to act. When there was “cause” Madigan, along with the entire General Assembly went about trying, convicting and impeaching Rod Blagojevich. I don’t recall Madigan stepping in to stop the process once it became apparent the need for impeachment was necessary. Also, it’s not like the Speaker, and most Members of the General Assembly, magically in 2 weeks just turned on Rod. Institutional knowledge would indicate even after Rod took the oath a second time, communication with the Governor’s Office and… many… was non-existent. Use the “search” key… - IL17Progressive - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:21 pm: Assigning blame (at any level) to Spkr Madigan ignores basic construct of IL Government! Every member of GA is equally responsible for results along with the Governor!! Every legislator has some rational for a vote — just indifferent, i’m unwilling to understand, or ‘just get it done do I can get on with other things’. Legislators must MAKE the choice, ACCEPT to majority, during which gaining knowledge so they can effectively SELL to all constituents. The 2% tax change saw legislators doing the same - absolutely necessary but many legislators had ‘other things to do’ or just excused themselves saying ‘Madigan said so’. The ‘borrow from pension’ or ‘delay payments to pensions’ was originally a GOP idea. Other than being a ‘easy way out’. I have never understood why this was first done. - Wordslinger - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:24 pm: – because MJM was NEVER going to “allow” a GOP candidate to win the mansion EVER again.– Wow, creative use of caps! How did you come up with that dramatic conclusion? Some special insight? Tell us, how did it end? Did he EVER “allow” a Republican to become governor again? Such power. If I recall from a seminar Madigan did for Lee Daniels out at Elmhurst College a few years back he ranked Ryan best governor to work with, with Thompson up there. He had some nice things to say about Edgar, nothing good about Blago, and very muted about Quinn. But you obviously have the inside dope. Like the smoking gun of the Democratic Party Chair being the honorary chair of the Democratic party nominee’s campaign. Those two got along swell when Blago,was in office, didn’t they? - Demoralized - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:25 pm: Nice. 100 people said none and 100 said all. Not exactly MENSA material those people. I think it’s a solid “some.” Contrary to the hyper-partisan rabid Madigan haters the guy isn’t a king. He controls one house of one branch of government. He’s powerful to be sure but he can’t do anything on his own and it’s ridiculous to suggest otherwise. But he’s definitely shares a lot of the blame. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:40 pm: What do EIU, Walgreens, East St. Louis, Motorola, Nabisco have in common? Job cuts in IL the past week: http://www.dailyjobcuts.com/ - the Patriot - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:41 pm: Most, he is the one constant and responsible for racking up severe debt to just keep dems in power. He abandoned the working class wing of the democrat party to keep the non working class happy. He had one chance to save his legacy and the state, but he chose Blagojevich over Vallas. Since that time his legacy went from power broker, to failed socialist. It is all well and good to blame Madigan. It is a popular theme and frankly one of my favorites. But we knew he was the problem and it is probably why Rauner was elected. He is supposed to have the answers in dealing with him. Any moron can identify the problem. Step 2 is solving it. At some juncture you are part of the solution or part of the problem. Rauner’s blow it up and start over tactics work in corporate America, but yet fixed anything. I am very disappointed I don’t have two billion dollars. I knew Madigan was the problem years ago. Our governor is 8 months in and still stuck on it. - Runaground Agenda - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:47 pm: He’s been one of many votes in many appropriation bills over the years in one of three branches of government. - Blackhawks fan - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:48 pm: I’d like a choice that says, it is a plurality the speakers fault. Of all people, he has has been here making policy decisions the longest. I don’t think he is 51% responsible - probably about 40%, but no one is more than 40% responsible. Which makes him the most responsible of all people. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:53 pm: What does the stock market crash, layoffs at non-profit agencies in Illinois due to a governor vetoing 95% the budget of the budget holding up state funds, and threatened financial extortion if you disagree with this person? Rauner - Amalia - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:56 pm: he’s the Speaker. he controls things. so by definition he plays a part in some of it. how much is the question. - Anyone Remember - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 4:03 pm: Oswego Willy - “The speaker also voted for the 2005 legislation that authorized skipping full pension payments for two years.” With all due respect, have to disagree, and I’ll cite Judy Baar Topinka. Page IX (15 of 410) of the FY 2009 CAFR: “Required State contributions to the pension system were reduced to $938 million in fiscal year 2006 and to $1.375 billion in fiscal year 2007. However, this reduction in required contributions is required to be added to the contributions required for fiscal years 2008 through 2010.” http://ledger.illinoiscomptroller.com/ledger/assets/File/CAFR/CAFR%202009.pdf - Demoralized - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 4:09 pm: ==democrat party== Ugh. I hate that. Can we all be adults and say DEMOCRATIC Party. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 4:25 pm: - Anyone Remember - Noted. Also note I was referencing McKinney, in my overview of his own story, and writing in that where Madigan has his fingerprints. - Strangerthings - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 4:41 pm: 50% is fair. If we all chose to elect all new reps and senators. Could we be any worse off starting fresh than if we stuck with the status quo. - Anyone Remember - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 4:44 pm: Oswego Willy - Hence the use of “disagree” rather than “wrong” or “error” - it’s a very common mistake. Can’t go wrong citing JBT. - Anyone Remember - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 4:45 pm: Demoralized You’re in agreement with William F. Buckley, Jr., who was correct on this point. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/08/07/the-ic-factor - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 4:51 pm: ===Can’t go wrong citing JBT.=== Agreed. - dupage dan - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 4:57 pm: The search key - got it. The book on RB when he ran for the second term was that he was in deep crud and was a loose cannon. He had showed his quality already, yet Madigan signed on as chairman again. Why? Yeah, word, again you find that to attack how something is said rather than what is said is the easy out. What happened happened. We all know what happened. Pushing the meme that MJM got along with GOP governors is irrelevant. MJM had his corner of power and he wielded it, irrespective of who the governor was. HE was SPEAKER. - walker - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:18 pm: DuPage Dan: Here you go again with one of your old favorites — Madigan will “forever be linked” with Blago because he was his campaign chair. Thought we had dispensed with that nonsense years ago. You already know it was a nominal title with no campaign role, that Madigan never got along with the guy and actively worked against him, that Madigan seriously tried to recruit a primary opponent to run against Blago. The way I came to associate the two figures was watching Madigan prepare carefully to bring an impeachment against Blago, for months before his major scandals broke publicly. The link of Madigan to Blago is impeachment. If you’re arguing that Madigan should have supported the Topinka against him, that’s quite a stretch for the head of his party. - Wordslinger - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:19 pm: DD, I really don’t know what you’re going on about. Pushing a meme? What are you talking about? For some reason, you attach a great deal of significance to an empty honorary campaign chair title. I don’t attach any. Blago and Madigan was the biggest brawl in Springfield that I’ve ever seen. Only one was going to be left standing, and only one was. - Formerly Known As... - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:19 pm: ==What term is Gov. Lisa Madigan in now?== iirc, some commenters predicted a few years ago that IL would have a Republican Governor to blame for some of the difficult reforms coming, followed by a Lisa Madigan campaign for gov. I doubt that, but with the way he refused to step down as Dem party chairman or as Speaker so that Mrs Madigan could freely run for gov in the 2014 Dem primary, it now seems possible. Madigan stays, does whatever he can as Speaker to blame Rauner for reforms and drive down Rauner’s popularity, does whatever he can as Chairman to organize the party for Lisa’s run, then retires in 2018 and helps guide Mrs Madigan’s campaign to the Governor’s office. Anything is possible until he retires. - walker - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:21 pm: DuPage Dan: To be clear: I greatly value your comments and look forward to reading them. This one just didn’t make the cut as serious. - St. Ambrose - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:25 pm: Wordslinger has a hard case of priapism and needs to slow down - Wordslinger - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:30 pm: St. Ambrose, that’s the image that comes to your mind? That explains a lot. - Strangerthings - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:31 pm: The fact of the matter is that madigan has done Consistently the one thing he needed to, to stick around all this time. That is he does just enough to get a majority of the votes in his district. Maybe we don’t need to get rid of madigan but it is surely time for a new ship captain in the house. - Anon - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:32 pm: He’s more responsible than anyone else, though he had plenty of help, notably Thompson and Edgar. - Relocated - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:43 pm: Some. He’s never been more than 1/3 of the equation. Even if you place him first among equals he still is only part of the process. - G'Kar - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 5:52 pm: [St]”Ambrose considered the poor not a distinct group of outsiders, but a part of the united, solidary people. Giving to the poor was not to be considered an act of generosity towards the fringes of society but as a repayment of resources that God had originally bestowed on everyone equally and that the rich had usurped.” - Reasonable? - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 6:19 pm: I said “none” for this year’s mess. Facing a governor who has yet to fulfill his constitutional responsibility of producing a balanced budget. The governor knows taxes will need to go up, but he won’t even discuss it unless the legislature “passes” his anti-working class agenda.Pass it, not votes on it, that has already happened and even GOP lawmakers wouldn’t vote for it. I am proud of my GOP senator who voted the way I wanted him to vote on the override instead of the way GOP boss Rauner told him (no threatened him) to vote. My GOP representative did the same when “right to work” came up for a vote, and I expect him to represent me in the next couple weeks when SB1229 comes up in the house. Rauner is on the path to being the worst governor (bar none) if he doesn’t learn to do his job (maybe read the state’s constitution) because the only thing he needs to turn around is his pathetic job performance. Too bad Rauner’s job doesn’t have a probationary period like all of mine have. - yeoman - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 8:59 pm: I guess that is why IMA and IRMA support him because he is bad for the economy. - RNUG - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 9:45 pm: MJM has been a legislator, so he obviously deserves some blame. But he had to have, at minimum, the cooperation of the other three leaders and the sitting Governor to enact any legislation. Nobody has clean hands; not even Rauner because he was buying influence behind the scenes during a number of those years. - RNUG - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 10:00 pm: == We haven’t had a governor since Edgar. Blaming Madigan for everything since 1998 is juvenile. == - vman -, you forget George Ryan? He was a pretty decent administrator; I’d be happy to have him running things instead of the clowns we’ve had since 2002. - Soccertease - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 10:00 pm: I say ‘most’ because he’s been the one constant for the past 35 years and not just 1/4th of the equation. His influence generally trumped the other 3. - MurMan - Friday, Aug 21, 15 @ 12:54 am: ===I am very disappointed I don’t have two billion dollars=== lol. finally something here that everyone can agree on… Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.