37 Comments - VanillaMan - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:15 pm: I don’t agree with that. - Abe the Babe - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:16 pm: ==and all hell breaks loose== Isnt that an apt description for the past 18 months? - Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:17 pm: Cool. So things are going to get better. I don’t get why she fears that…? - Oswego Willy - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:18 pm: Like voting against funding Western? That’s fun. What are you afraid of? Continuing to vote against things you know you shouldn’t? Vote Accordingly, Representative… - wordslinger - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:18 pm: –“My fear is we get into the start of January – lame-duck session – and all hell breaks loose.”– I’m not clear on what she means. Is she suggesting that GOP members will walk on the governor and vote to override vetoes? If that’s the case then, by all means, let “all hell break lose.” - Give Me A Break - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:25 pm: “My fear is we get into the start of January – lame-duck session – and all hell breaks loose.” So we got that going for us. - Last Bull Moose - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:26 pm: All Hell should break loose! We have had two constitutional officers deliberately and openly refuse to do their duties as specifically described in the Illinois Constitution. - Bobby Catalpa - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:28 pm: Is Hammond aware that hell *has* broken loose? So there’s not much else to “break off”. Unless, of course, she means — in translation: “My fear is we get into the start of January – lame-duck session – and my colleagues on this side of the aisle start voting on behalf of their constituents instead of the governor’s wallet.” - Huh? - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:28 pm: As much as I hope that 1.4% has his vetoes are over ridden, it will do little to solve the impasse under which the States suffers. The GA can override a veto and provide funding for the social services, higher education, etc. But there isn’t a way to force 1.4% to spend the money. - 47th Ward - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:28 pm: ===A lot of bills have been vetoed=== A lot more bills have gone unpaid. Hell won’t break loose until the voters have had enough. I’m guessing for the good people of Macomb, that’ll be sooner rather than later. - AC - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:28 pm: Voting no and vetoing are a lot easier than taking tough votes and making the kind of imperfect conpromises necessary to have a fictional state. There is no worse status quo than what we’ve seen with the impasse. Let’s hope “all hell breaks loose” as it’s far preferable to the continued standoff. Maybe we’ll get an actual budget. - AC - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:33 pm: Meant to say functional state, a fictional state is what we’ve had, not what we need. - very old soil - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:37 pm: AC I am sure that it was the fault of autocorrect. But “a fictional state” is what we are. At least a fictional state government. - Earnest - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:42 pm: >“My fear is we get into the start of January – lame-duck session – and all hell breaks loose.” No need to worry about hell breaking loose…it’s already scattered all over the state among higher education, social services, and the state balance sheet. Unless, by hell breaking loose, she means people might actually get something done? - @MisterJayEm - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:50 pm: “My fear is we get into the start of January – lame-duck session – and all hell breaks loose.” Hell would be a welcome change. – MrJM - pool boy - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:52 pm: Not to worry Norine, you don’t need to read all those bills, just vote the way Bruce tells you to. - Illinoised - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:57 pm: And the good ole boys in Macomb continue to support her? With friends like her, WIU doesn’t need enemies. - Anonymous - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:57 pm: A January lame duck can do a lot with an agreeable governor, but if he vetoes bills, even ones that pass overwhelmingly, don’t they die with the next swearing in? - Oswego Willy - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 3:59 pm: ===“My fear is we get into the start of January – lame-duck session – and all hell breaks loose.”=== I guess… maybe Macomb and Western should see this quote and think… “Why take a chance?” When Rep. Hammond continues to hurt Macomb and WIU, why should that district “take a chance”? We see Hammond hasn’t broken loose to help Western… we’ve seen that… - Anon - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 4:04 pm: I look forward to looking at the tens of millions of dollars spent by the GOP and evaluating it on the basis of how many seats their minority was expanded by. I plan on expressing it as X millions per seat. If it’s zero, I will chortle about this every time I think about it for the rest of my life. - Illinoised - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 4:05 pm: So have we, OW. - Who Else - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 4:05 pm: Well, she’s right and wrong. There’s no money — zip, zero, nada– for human services and higher ed once January rolls around. She’s right to be afraid, but wrong to wait until January to let the fear set in. - Deft Wing - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 4:09 pm: With a hat tip to the host, bet on nothing changing. - Commonsense in Illinois - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 4:15 pm: Really Representative? That’s your biggest fear…that somebody might get off the dime and DO SOMETHING in January? If that’s the greatest fear of a Republican legislator, perhaps it would be beneficial to propose a solution and begin negotiating in good faith rather than live in fear. Just saying’… - frisbee - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 4:23 pm: She is thinking cats and dogs living together, not Rape crisis centers closing, social services being cut or a backlog of unpaid bills piling up further than they already have. Her fear should be that the lame duck session in January will be her last as an elected official unless Rauner starts bankrolling her reelection campaign. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 4:32 pm: - Illinoised - My hope is that where districts were overrun by Raunerite ideals and had the Republican ideals cast aside along with the district needs… My hope… is that it’s noticed. I trust in your response. OW - Old and In the Way - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 5:05 pm: frisbe Despite her assertion that she “didn’t cash the check” she has taken quite a bit from the guv already through the IGOP. The IGOP is 90% plus funded by Rauner so there really is no other source. She never raises squat locally anyway. Check the Board of Elections. BTW Norrine is so proud of her record she has refused to even debate her opponent! Still I would hesitate to bet against her. - Mama Retired - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 5:05 pm: I look for holy hell to break lose right after the election. - James Knell - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 5:18 pm: That’s a race to watch. - Macombie Homie - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 5:29 pm: See her yard signs everywhere but when you talk to folks in town nobody is voting for her. Farmers love her though. That may carry her. - illinoised - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 5:38 pm: Macomb has seen two stores recently announce closings-Ponderosa and Kmart. Citizens have lost university jobs, real estate market is terrible, and a large tavern is for sale. Local rental properties have been auctioned. WIU: Enrollment drops, MAP grants not funded, teachers leave for lower paying jobs out of state, staff laid off. Macomb officials including Mayor Inman and Sheriff Van Brooker react to this by holding a press conference to endorse Norrine Hammond and laud her for her great job! I know a WIU grad and local businessman who loves what Rauner is doing to his alma mater, because “everyone out there is overpaid and get big pensions.” This from a man who inherited money from his Dad to get his start in business. Maybe he is jealous. Hmm, he knew where the university is located, and could have got a job there if it was such a cushy deal. The local good ole boys who don’t like WIU (maybe it is too diverse an environment) don’t appear to understand economics. In a few years I believe they will fully understand it. - Skeptical - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 5:43 pm: The mayor of Macomb and his cronies support Hammond. They have no interest in seeing WIU survive. More houses for sale than I’ve seen in my 40 years here. If Hammond wins, WIU will continue to shrink and may not survive. - Illinoised - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 6:59 pm: Skeptical nailed it. Some of Hammonds cronies are salivating like Pavlov’s dog as they watch WIU suffer. Hammond does not have the guts to debate her opponent. I’m sure she feels she has the vote of the rich townie and farmers, so why bother? I would just as soon see Rock Island become the main WIU campus because most Macomb citizens are too backward to understand not only the multi-million dollar annual positive impact on the community, but also the culture and diversity that are not otherwise possible for such a tiny town. - Thoughts Matter - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 7:23 pm: I certainly hope something breaks out/loose after the election… Because the status quo isn’t helping. I suggest that the GOP legislators start voting what their voters tell them too rather than what the Governor tells them to. Any of them not willing to do that might as well resign - their replacements won’t be worse. - Whatever - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 7:35 pm: ==. . .and all hell breaks loose== “If I owned Illinois and Hell, I would rent out Illinois and live in Hell.” With apologies to Gen. Sheridan - illinois manufacturer - Monday, Sep 26, 16 @ 11:54 pm: Her as on Quincy TV claims she is a big supporter of higher ed. Funding very Trumpian.There is a big hunk of Galsburg that is all Curtis signs. All the farms in Illinois add up to just two Galesburgs. - union thug gramma - Tuesday, Sep 27, 16 @ 12:02 am: I sure hope so. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.