Today’s quotable
Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
* More from the Fran Spielman interview with House Speaker Chris Welch. This part focused on the Chicago Public Schools and state school funding…
Q: Will the messy divorce with Pedro Martinez help or hurt the case for school funding?
Welch: Well, you know, school funding is always a debate in Springfield every year, regardless of what’s going on with the Chicago Board of Education. You know, since I’ve been speaker, we have increased education funding every single year. We’re well over a billion dollars in increased funding to the evidence based funding formula. And as we go through this year’s budget, that’s going to be a big topic of conversation. Again, coming from a school board, I spent 12 years on the school board. I know what school districts need, and they need more funding. They don’t need less. And so while I’m trying to be as helpful as we possibly can, but there’s a lot of pressures on us right now, Fran.
Q: But the Pedro Martinez fight, shouldn’t [Mayor Johnson] have waited until the elected board was seated? Isn’t that a distraction and show that there’s turmoil there, and there’s this feeling that he’s giving away the story to the CTU, his former union? Does that hurt his case?
Welch: Fran, I gotta stay focused on what’s going on in Springfield and state government, I gotta leave it to the mayor to decide what fights he wants to have in the city of Chicago.
Oof.
Also, Chicago is a hugely important city. But it’s only about 20 percent of the Illinois population. Everything can’t and shouldn’t be about that place.
- You win more bees with honey - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 10:53 am:
I’m getting a little tired of Welch’s public passiveness and eagerness to appease everyone. He’s a leader and needs to be comfortable upsetting or disagreeing with people. Match what you say externally with what you say behind closed doors. I’m not saying be crass, but being a leader and doing it with integrity matters.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 10:55 am:
===I’m getting a little tired of Welch’s public passiveness and eagerness to appease===
The people who are arguing for a full scale state war against the mayor are ignoring the very real damage such wars can cause. See, for instance, 2015-2017.
- Huh? - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 11:17 am:
“Everything can’t and shouldn’t be about that place.”
[In a whiny tone] But we’re are Chicago. We’re special. /s
- Moe Berg - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 11:18 am:
@more bees: I haven’t perceived the governor or senate president treat the mayor much differently. They’ve handled it with kid gloves and to the degree there has been criticism it has been of a mild, restrained variety - even though the mayor and his allies are misguidedly trying to bait state leaders and make them the villains.
The state leaders, all pros, realize they are dealing with a rank amateur in the mayor who, along with his staff (at least those that remain) is not up to the job and doesn’t have the right temperament for it. Confrontational won’t help. It’s what the mayor wants, despite claims to the contrary.
So, best to steer clear of such individuals, as much as possible, and let them destroy themselves. And, hope the damage is limited.
- Socially DIstant Watcher - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 11:23 am:
@You win more bees with honey:
Isn’t that exactly what the speaker is trying to do? To win more bees with honey, than he’d win by going nuclear?
- Flyin'Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 11:33 am:
Not defending Mayor Johnson, and living in the southern end of this state I have no dog in the fight, but out of genuine curiosity-
In the last half century has that city had a mayor that could appease a fifth of its residents w/o p.o. ing the rest of the state?
- TheInvisibleMan - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 11:49 am:
“I gotta leave it to the mayor to decide”
Good idea.
- Just Another Anon - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 11:58 am:
If you allow hostage taking, all it encourages is more hostage taking. Admittedly, the voters of Chicago put themselves into the position to be held hostage, but to permit or “go-along” with poor governance does a disservice to everyone.
The mayor is doing what he learned how to do from the CTU. Seems like just a few months ago the blog covered the CTU doing basically just what the mayor is doing. It seems they share a legislative playbook limited to poking, bomb throwing, and generally blaming all his administration’s shortcomings on others. His track record with his city council also doesn’t exactly exude Dale Carnegie vibes either.
- TNR - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 12:02 pm:
Good answers by Welch. He gets nothing out of fighting with the mayor other than making a few reporters happy by providing them juicy content. Likewise, he gains little from helping Brandon. So why do either?
- Just Me 2 - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 12:41 pm:
=== Everything can’t and shouldn’t be about that place. ===
Don’t tell that to CTU. They’ll eat you alive.
Related - this is a matter that will come up for transit funding. Last time transit funding came up it included money for downstate too. I’m not aware of any similar efforts this time around, which means one-third of the GA is already a no before they even reveal their plan.
- Chicagonk - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 12:49 pm:
The state gets involved in Chicago all the time when it wants to. After all, there wouldn’t be an elected schoolboard without Springfield.
- Garfield Ridge Guy - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 1:09 pm:
The Governor is not the Governor of “all of Illinois except Chicago.” I think the Governor recognizes, correctly, that he has the upper hand here and that saying little and letting the mayor spin his wheels is the correct political strategy. It’s disappointing that the Governor seems unconcerned about his moral obligation to fight for the people of Chicago, but if his view is “hey, you all did this to yourselves, so you deserve what’s to come,” I suppose it’s hard to disagree.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 1:24 pm:
===It’s disappointing that the Governor seems unconcerned about his moral obligation to fight for the people of Chicago===
Have you any idea how many lousy mayors there are in this state?
- Steve - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 1:42 pm:
Mayor Johnson is the Mayor of Chicago. It’s not the Illinois state government’s responsibility to run Chicago and negotiate contracts. If Chicago voters want different leadership , they’ll vote for it. Blaming JB or Welch for how Chicago’s run is misplaced criticism.
- TheInvisibleMan - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 2:01 pm:
To expand on my previous comment of ‘Good idea’
It seems Welch might have finally figured out that almost the only reason BJ engages with anyone, is to be able to attempt to later put the blame on them for all his own missteps.
The only legislative and executive branch interaction with the state, should be when enough legislators put up a bill relating to Chicago and get it passed with the needed majority votes. Then the governor signs it. The city is perfectly capable(in theory) of advocating for itself.
- Pundent - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 2:09 pm:
Something tells me that Speaker Welch’s political career will have a bit more longevity than Mayor Johnson’s.
- Excitable Boy - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 2:21 pm:
- It’s disappointing that the Governor seems unconcerned about his moral obligation to fight for the people of Chicago -
Nonsense. JB has done an excellent job trying to balance the needs of the entire state.
Johnson’s problem is he seems to think he has the moral obligation to fight, and that’s the extent of it. He needs to bring something to the table besides heated rhetoric.
- TNR - Friday, Jan 17, 25 @ 2:39 pm:
== the Governor seems unconcerned about his moral obligation to fight for the people of Chicago ==
No. Not the case. The phrase “help me help you” is operative here.
JB is from Chicago. Big portions of Welch and Harmon’s caucuses come from Chicago. They’d all like to help the mayor, but Brandon makes it really hard.
Big and loud public demands from the mayor for what Chicago is “owed” by the state will always be self-defeating. Non-Chicagoans in the legislature are weary of supporting something labeled a “Chicago bail-out” — even if they personally want to support the city.
Chicago mayor’s succeed in Springfield when they operate quietly behind the scenes and tie what’s good for them to what’s good for other municipalities and school districts. Brandon is a bomb-thrower. He doesn’t get that.