At the end of August, after the Illinois Senate had been unable to find a consensus on the massive climate/energy bill and punted the issue to the House, I asked Senate President Don Harmon during a press conference why he hadn’t addressed Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s list of problems, legal and otherwise, with the Senate’s proposal.
“I don’t know if the governor’s team understood how fundamental some of those provisions were to getting the agreement among all stakeholders,” Harmon replied.
That seemed to me to be quite an extraordinary statement about the governor and his team.
So, when I did a one-on-one interview with Harmon the other day, I asked whether that misunderstanding had been a continuing problem during negotiations, because some folks in the governor’s office were saying at the time that Harmon and his team didn’t quite grasp the implications of what they were proposing.
Harmon pointed out that, since the Senate was convening the talks, “our team was familiar with all the details and all of the trade-offs” in the proposal. Some of the suggested changes coming from the governor’s office, Harmon said, “would have so up-ended the negotiations and the accommodations that had been reached, people would have walked away from the table.”
I am far from being the only person who has picked up on the ongoing tension between Harmon and Pritzker and their respective staffs. Harmon backed his then-Senate colleague Daniel Biss in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary. Pritzker not-so-covertly backed Kimberly Lightford in the Senate President’s race that Harmon won. But the tension between the two offices seemed to boil over at times during the climate/energy talks.
“I’m a J.B. Pritzker fan,” Harmon insisted. “He and I have known each other for 30 years. We have always been friends.”
“Let me just talk about my relationship with him,” Harmon continued, then repeated something he’s said often in the past when asked about this topic. “He and I probably agree on 99% of policy issues. I think we might have a harder time figuring out what 1% we disagree on.”
But then Harmon talked about some things that I don’t think he’s discussed publicly before.
“My job as senate president is to try to encourage the Senate to be as productive and as responsible as the chamber can be. My job vis-à-vis the governor is to advise him as to what legislation can pass and in what form it can pass, and sometimes to tell him something can’t pass.
“Now, there have been legislative leaders who did anything a governor asked however, however inane or harmful it was. There have been legislative leaders who obstructed the governor’s agenda, whether for sport or to settle scores. Neither is a responsible way to govern.
“So I will continue to give the governor the best advice I can as to how to get his legislative agenda through the Senate and the General Assembly. Sometimes he will listen to me, sometimes he won’t. That’s fine.
“And while we always seem to agree on policy, we might disagree sometime on tactics. That’s okay, too. I think it’s a sign of a healthy and productive relationship.”
So, I asked Harmon, that’s how you define your relationship with the governor? Healthy and productive?
“Absolutely,” he said.
Um, OK, then how about your staff’s relationship with his staff, I asked Harmon. And, more importantly, his staff’s relationship with yours?
“I think our staffs are both extraordinarily and understandably protective of us,” Harmon replied.
That was quite an understatement, to say the least. The two staffs have often been openly hostile. But he is right that they are very protective of their respective bosses.
Speaking of governors, I asked Harmon if he thought that the House and Senate Republicans grew too financially dependent on wealthy Republican Bruce Rauner during Rauner’s term in office and two statewide campaigns. Rauner put millions into electing other Republicans, particularly early on.
“I do,” Harmon said. “It’s hard to raise money,” he continued. “I know this even better now that I’ve raised money as senate president for the caucus. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of trust and relationship. And anytime you’re too dependent on one person or one interest, it leaves you vulnerable.” I’m assuming that goes for the current governor, too.
Harmon also said that he was “confident that we’re going to have the resources we need to run through the primary election cycle and the general election cycle and to defend all 41 seats.”
- Nearly Normal - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 9:35 am:
Today’s Pantagraph titled your column as “Howard downplays battle with Pritzker” never did find Howard.
- Leslie K - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 9:42 am:
Sounds like Harmon is taking a balanced, practical approach (which is not a surprise). As for staffs, there’s always been some of that. But it does seem more heatedly public at times these days.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 9:48 am:
JB Pritzker is the Governor of Illinois.
Don Harmon is a State Senator of the State of Illinois and the Senate President.
A staffer of either only draws their relevance by their association to their boss. Taking offense on behalf of their boss is a means for them to assert their own relevance. How staff behave won’t necessarily make it back to the Governor or the Senate President, because who is going to tell them?
The Senate President’s real problem with the energy bill negotiations is it created the appearance that is is owned and operated by the coal lobbyists that used to employee his staff, not that they might get a little feisty with the Governor’s staff or perceive offense when there is non-intended.
What’s the message here? Selling out to coal to own the Gov? Watering down a bill to address climate change to own the Gov’s staff?
Don Harmon’s leadership in this process negatively impacted our state’s effort to address climate change. Trying to pass it off as palace intrigue might be a better narrative than what my opinion of what occurred is.
People showed up to talk to Senator Harmon that reminded him they have the receipts from when they bought him after the writing on the wall made it pretty clear that they were losing the legislative fight. They had no problem getting through to him because they also had receipts for some of his staff.
We can pass this off as a win for everybody because the bill is better than the status quo, but we have a worse version of the bill when it comes to taking meaningful effort to address climate change and the reason we have the worse version of that bill is Senate President Don Harmon.
I like to live in a world where the motive for making sure we got a worse version of the bill was something other than a petty power play between staffers or someone feeling a little grumpy over their opponent being endorsed.
- Lincoln Lad - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 10:37 am:
JB doesn’t need anyone else’s money. Don Harmon does. He even says it in so many words in the interview. Harmon has always catered to special interests, and he always will. It’s all about the money.
- GatewayGopher - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 10:46 am:
Parroting Nearly Normal
Most papers carrying the syndicated column have it mis-titled…
- New Day - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 11:24 am:
“We can pass this off as a win for everybody because the bill is better than the status quo, but we have a worse version of the bill when it comes to taking meaningful effort to address climate change and the reason we have the worse version of that bill is Senate President Don Harmon.”
Nonsense. Sheer nonsense. Getting to yes was a problem because Labor and enviros disagreed. Labor is by far the most powerful interest in the General Assembly because they are the biggest funder of Democratic candidates and because their troops are critical in the field. Without labor, Democrats lose. Period. So nobody was going to be able to just roll over labor. Any expectation to the contrary was wildly unrealistic.
Through the legislative process, they eventually found a way to get to yes and produce a great bill. The outcome is positive for all. Time to look forward.
- Back to the Future - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 12:25 pm:
Congrats to the Times for be willing to help it’s readers get a better understanding of how things are happening in our Capitol.
Lot’s of schools get this paper and these kinds of articles might be the only place students can get a deeper understanding of their government.
I get the “if it bleeds it leads” philosophy of most of our TV stations, but newspapers can answer to a higher calling. Newspaper should seek to have an impact on education and it is good to see the Times step up.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 12:27 pm:
===Without labor, Democrats lose. Period. ===
The labor movement is not monolithic. The long term interest for labor sat on the opposite side of the table from the short term interests who are allied with the irresponsible climate science denying folks responsible for building a massive CO2 polluting power source when the writing was already on the wall for the future of our species.
I recognize you think this is a defense of Senate President Don Harmon, but now you’re just shifting the message to the bill being a terrible bill because Senator Harmon isn’t willing to have a tough talk with a small segment of the labor movement that depends on climate changing and extinction driving industries for their jobs.
You might as well be saying Senate President Don Harmon only stands up for the interests of people waving a check book, regardless of the harm it poses in the long run.
You can call this smart politics if you want, but it’s legacy defining and you seem to agree with me by portraying the Senate President as a pawn and not a leader.
===The outcome is positive for all. Time to look forward. ===
I am looking forward. Catering to fossil fuel interests for the sake of fossil fuel interests isn’t exactly a great look for the future.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 12:52 pm:
As something that probably doesn’t need to be said, working families also need a planet with a climate that can support their continued existence too.
The Labor movement also has to be accountable to itself and the next generation of worker activists, organic leaders, and eventually elected leadership.
- New Day - Tuesday, Oct 5, 21 @ 2:46 pm:
“ You might as well be saying Senate President Don Harmon only stands up for the interests of people waving a check book, regardless of the harm it poses in the long run.”
Not at all what I’m saying. The only reason this got done is because of Democratic supermajorities in both chambers and a Democratic Governor. If we want to keep progressing on these areas, we need to keep electing Democrats. Elections have consequences.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 6, 21 @ 8:54 am:
To the post,
Rich, these interviews have been super informative and thoughtful, very deep in the weeds, something so many interviews aren’t going, so thanks.
To Harmon, it’s quite clear. He is needing and thoughtful to special interests, including labor, which is fine to the politics, but when it comes to legislation and to process, being so, and it’s harsh, maybe too harsh, but beholden to labor, it’s reminiscent of Madigan-style running of a caucus where “the most important thing is keeping the majority”, and in this case… don’t anger the piggy bank.
It was Welch and Pritzker that did the heavy lift(s) after Harmon stalled, postured, pretended, then punted.
What was super great by Rich, and I even thank Harmon for his frankness was this answer to a rightfully pointed question with insight;
=== But then Harmon talked about some things that I don’t think he’s discussed publicly before.
“My job as senate president is to try to encourage the Senate to be as productive and as responsible as the chamber can be. My job vis-à-vis the governor is to advise him as to what legislation can pass and in what form it can pass, and sometimes to tell him something can’t pass.
“Now, there have been legislative leaders who did anything a governor asked however, however inane or harmful it was. There have been legislative leaders who obstructed the governor’s agenda, whether for sport or to settle scores. Neither is a responsible way to govern.
“So I will continue to give the governor the best advice I can as to how to get his legislative agenda through the Senate and the General Assembly. Sometimes he will listen to me, sometimes he won’t. That’s fine.
“And while we always seem to agree on policy, we might disagree sometime on tactics. That’s okay, too. I think it’s a sign of a healthy and productive relationship.”===
Agree or not as to Harmon’s “help or hurt” to things, you can’t deny that where Harmon is coming from is old school chamber stuff… with member management as a guide. Gotta respect that candor, gotta respect the understanding of institutional knowledge to his own role.
For me, going forward, I’ll watch Harmon and his Madigan stylings with the new twists of what the landscape is giving.
Herding cats is still herding cats. Forgetting the simplicity of that lil thought is where some might be misreading Harmon, but no one is misunderstanding how Harmon wants things to run on his side of the Dome, and the actors Harmon sees he needs to continue to keep his caucus together.
Good stuff, Rich. Great read… even better candor and insight.