46 Comments - Curl of the Burl - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:46 am: Rich - you are spot-on. I think all of those Reps are going to be target. It still boggles my mind that the HRO never even found token opposition to JCII last year. - Leon Despres - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:47 am: Scott Drury… contrarian even in the ways in which he is contrarian. - Arsenal - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:48 am: And it’s hard for me to see any of them voting for an override if 2 Republicans fold to right-wing pressure. - Gooner - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:49 am: Drury gets a lot of comments for being a weird guy, but on both this and on the minimum wage he’s been impressive. - COPN - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:49 am: “Profiles in courage”…great headline - Simple Simon - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:56 am: In addition to these examples, there was a lot of praise (and a lot of self congratulation) yesterday about GOP reps in downstate districts containing higher ed. While I agree they should be praised for finally doing the right thing, why did it take them 2 years of extreme pain to finally vote with their districts? Maybe a little quicker next time, folks? - Chicago 20 - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:56 am: They just need to focus on their job tasks instead of being in constant campaign mode. But unlimited money buys unlimited campaigns. - Anonymous - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:58 am: Have been waiting two years for Harris to step up and provide independent leadership for like-minded House Republicans. They have been the key all along. Figured Harris was the one guy Rauner couldn’t push around. Can’t imagine a Frat Boy trying to do it, lol. Is it safe to say that Rep. Andersson will no longer be referred to as “Rauner’s floor leader?” Good on him. - Honeybear - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:59 am: I must confess. I was disappointed with the decision of my Rep. It’s not like Republicans aren’t going to claim she was for the “permenant tax increase” anyway. She is still going to be portrayed as Madigans puppet. So why vote no on revenue? I get that it is way above my pay grade but still. I’m still behind her 100% but I don’t understand the call she made. - NobodysAccountable - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:00 am: So if you vote for a spending bill but not on the bill to fund said spending, from where does the money come? - Anon221 - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:08 am: All legislators should place this on their desks: Rep. Jamie Andrade, D-Chicago, “This is not my seat,” belongs to residents.” When you forget that and are only focused on the next election or how witty your tweets are, then you are truly failing as a public servant. Those that made up the “Brave 15″ may divide if they let Rauner’s pressure get to them. I could see some of the “Tentative Dems” going Green instead of Red. I would love to see more of the measured and bipartisanship from last Friday. As Comptroller Mendoza stated, Rauner is a Party of One. Let him have his table in the dark. Let the rest of us come together to Save Our State. - Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:08 am: ===So if you vote for a spending bill but not on the bill to fund said spending, from where does the money come?=== From a hole where there already is a 15 billion dollar IOU. - OurMagician - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:09 am: The ad “I will take the tough vote unlike Rep. blank who spends money they don’t have” writes itself. - UISer - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:09 am: Scherer is a waste of space. - Last Bull Moose - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:10 am: I prefer spend and tax to spend and stiff politicians. For two years we have been led by spend and stiff people. Has not worked out well. - Honeybear - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:11 am: Ahhhhh….just dawned on me. veto The bet is that Rauner will veto then override will fail leaving all those DEMS with yes votes to get clobbered. That’s it. Rauner doesn’t want a budget. He wants the destruction. That makes sense. - Leadership - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:12 am: Sometimes leaders must do the unpopular thing. It doesn’t matter if a democrat votes against the tax increase because they are going to be attacked because the governor has labeled it the democrat tax increase. And now you voted for an unbalanced budget. More debt on our kids just another attack on your votes Own it, it was the right and only thing could be done. Cuts almost as equal as tax increases that’s good government stand up and say that. What’s t - J IL - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:13 am: 8 House Repubs are absent today. How many of them voted for the tax increase? If the override occurs tonight (BIG if) there won’t be enough Yea’s to hit 71…or was that the plan all along. In other words, were those who believed that the House passage of the tax increase duped again by political gamesmanship? - COPN - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:16 am: ===8 House Repubs are absent today. How many of them voted for the tax increase?=== From what I heard on the absent list, Rep. D.Harris - DuPage - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:18 am: @- Honeybear - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:59 am: ===I must confess. I was disappointed with the decision of my Rep. It’s not like Republicans aren’t going to claim she was for the “permenant tax increase” anyway. She is still going to be portrayed as Madigans puppet. So why vote no on revenue? I get that it is way above my pay grade but still. I’m still behind her 100% but I don’t understand the call she made.=== Her vote might be in reserve if needed for a counter-attack override of Rauner’s veto. - J IL - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:19 am: It’s making more sense to me for Madigan to not even try to override the Guv’s veto. He’ll make him own the damage from no budget. I should have realized the vote yesterday in the house was all part of the sham. - lake county democrat - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:27 am: JIL is right - I’ve thought both Rauner and Madigan “owned” this, or would own it in the eyes of the voters, but if Rauner vetoes he owns what comes 100%. I don’t know what he gained by immediately and forcefully saying he’d veto. As for Drury, he doesn’t deserve the contempt thrown at him (some mocking for that no-show/present vote (I forget which) Rich brought up a while ago, and his ego, sure, but the state needs more independent reps, not fewer). - NobodysAccountable - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:32 am: Ducky - It was a rhetorical question. - Evanstonian - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:42 am: Primary em - Formerly of the 96th - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:43 am: - UISer - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:09 am: Scherer is a waste of space. Any chance that Tony DelGiorno might consider moving to the 96th and challenging Scherer in the primary? His Sangamon County Board Dist. #22 includes one precinct that happens to have been mapped into Scherer’s House district: Capitol 50 (roughly the Vinegar Hill neighborhood S-SW of the capitol complex, including where Bernie and Betty’s Pizza and the old Hay-Edwards School is located). DelGiorno might have a chance at the primary upset in March, and with how the district is mapped and a likely rough GOP midterm in 2018, possibly the 96th might be his best route to the House. - Mark Glennon - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:43 am: Everybody who voted for the spending bill is neglecting to fun it since the real deficit is at least 2X the official one, thanks mostly to underfunding the pensions. Wake up. Get off it. - RNUG - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 10:58 am: == I don’t know what he gained by immediately and forcefully saying he’d veto. == Trying to stop Senate passage and/or a straight out uprising. All.about trying to keep control f the votes Rauner thought he bought. - Curl of the Burl - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 11:09 am: Honeybear - but keep in mind that Rep. Stuart represents Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. Those are two of the highest paying property tax areas outside of the suburbs. Edwardsville CUSD 7 has excellent schools but it also has a very high property tax valuation. That point is not lost on people in that area. Try explaining a tax increase with no property tax relief. - Honeybear - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 11:19 am: Curl- I totally get it. I have super high property taxes and two kids in CUSD 7. Although we did just vote by a good margin to raise those property taxes to save our schools. So there’s that. I think my Rep has smartly surmised that Rauner will veto and will not be overridden. Thus she puts herself as vulnerable against an opponant. Regardless this is blood sport we are watching. I just know from working in East St Louis what government breakdown and failed community looks like. The whole state is moving towards ESL fast. - Chicago Cynic - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 11:20 am: “- Gooner - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:49 am: Drury gets a lot of comments for being a weird guy, but on both this and on the minimum wage he’s been impressive.” How is it impressive for Drury to vote for raising taxes on your constituents but not the spending bill? Just seems dumb. - Curl of the Burl - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 11:35 am: Honeybear - and if the HRO has anything to say about it they will keep Mr. Kay far, far away from the ballot. I do wonder if voters in districts like Edwardsville’s would have voted for a property tax bump IF they knew for sure that an income tax increase was on the horizon. Who knows. I know that an additional 1.2% seems like small potatoes to some but in the nicer areas of the Metro East that coupled with property tax increases could be a body blow. - And...... - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 11:36 am: Formerly of the 96th You must reside in district 2 years prior to so Pizza man cannot run in 96th - Anonymous - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 11:36 am: Tony, errrrr….Fornerly 96th. You didn’t lose because of who your opponent was, you lost because of you. IAnd all those fantastic things you’ve said about Madigan will only bolster Sue. Seriously. - Miss Marie - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 11:40 am: I really enjoyed listening to some of the speeches last night. They were thoughtful and full of conviction. Oftentimes when I watch the House, I’m embarrassed by their juvenile behavior, but last night I was proud of them. Now if only Rauner would take a break from talking points and show some integrity. He risking the destruction of our State. - walker - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 11:50 am: Which is it? Courage to vote for your constituents’ desires (no new taxes) versus the demands of leaders, or courage to vote for the state’s fiscal salvation versus the desires of your constituents. - Grandson of Man - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 12:20 pm: I am getting ahead of events and the Senate vote, but I still wonder if a few Republicans who voted for the tax hike vote no for an override, can Madigan fill that gap with a few Democrats who voted no–as long as he and Democrats think they can keep their majority? Would Republicans vote yes for the tax hike and then no for an override? If so, why would they lead people on in this way? Why would they have even bothered to vote yes in the first place? - Curl of the Burl - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 12:20 pm: 96th - in my mind Speaker Madigan made a real faux pas when he passed over backing Winston Taylor instead of Sue Scherer. - I'm Done - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 12:39 pm: Pizza man wouldn’t run for the 96th if he could. What fantastic things did he say about Madigan that wasn’t spliced together by IL GOP ads? He was a good candidate who was outspent by Rauner money in a GOP district. - Anonymous - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 12:58 pm: I’m Done, you must not have been paying attention. And Tony continues to bash the Speaker. If you need the Speakers $$ and resources to combat the Rauner billions, it’s not the best plan. Just saying… - Honeybear - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 12:59 pm: Curl- sure it’s gonna hurt. But the alternative was very publically and transparently made by the school board to the community in so many open meetings and discussion sessions. The school would have had to cut all extra curricular, most sports, all performing arts, early and late bussing. Awful. If there is any thing Edwardsville:Glen Carbon values it is quality education. We are a college town. We put our money where our mouth is. Heck yeah, it’s gonna hurt bad but as the Marines say, “is this the hill you want to die on?” Is say education is for us. - Whatsupjoe - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 1:54 pm: Rich - you are spot-on. I think all of those Reps are going to be target. It still boggles my mind that the HRO never even found token opposition to JCII last year Little Jerry would have a opponent next year but GOP wouldn’t back a candidate - I'm Done@ - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 1:58 pm: @anonymous. Many Dems are sick and tired of Madifans games. madigan used to be smart enough to know that his candidates needed to distance themselves but he was too vain this time. He’s missed a lot of smart political moves against Rauner that a younger MJM would have picked up on in a heart beat. Instead sycophantic Madigan world thinks what pills well in the suburbs will play well in downstate. Hence, even with all of Madagins money Mathis got crushed by almost as much of a margin as DelGiorno. There’s a reason he’s an albatross around the necks of downstate Dems. - Curl of the Burl - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 2:04 pm: Joe - what was stopping said candidate from running? HRO support or not the only way to even be in the running is to file petitions. Using the “no support from X group” is a lame excuse. - NorthsideNoMore - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 2:16 pm: I voted for It …then voted against It, when I found out what It meant. At least some had the stones to say why they were up or down. we will see who stays at their gun when the heavy artillery flies. - Whatsoujoe - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 2:47 pm: Maybe a candidate might just start to collect signatures come September to challenge Little Jerry - Formerly of the 96th - Monday, Jul 3, 17 @ 9:08 pm: Scherer didn’t come off too well in this afternoon’s SJ-R story about Springfield-area reps’ explanations for their budget/tax votes. Per this SJ-R story: “When approached at the Capitol by a SJ-R reporter on Monday, Scherer said she has reasons for her votes but said it was “not yet” time for her to discuss them since other legislative action was pending.” Disappointing. http://www.sj-r.com/news/20170703/local-house-members-explain-votes-on-budget-bills Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.