* SJ-R…

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan said Sunday he will begin polling his members to determine their support for parts of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “turnaround agenda.” However, the Chicago Democrat made it clear he will not support measures he feels will hurt the middle class. […]

Still, Madigan said he will hold a caucus “to survey our members” about what the working groups on Rauner’s agenda have accomplished.

“Here again, I would say my designees to the working groups are very desirous of a compromise, but they are not going to sacrifice the interests of the middle class,” he said.

* Well, he isn’t holding a caucus, where members might actually press him about his furtive march toward all-out war. But he is offering them some “informational meetings”…

To: House Democratic Caucus Members
From: Michael J. Madigan
Date: May 29, 2016
Re: Working Groups

In the last few days, a great deal of misinformation has circulated about the status of the working groups proposed by Governor Rauner, particularly the involvement of House Democrats. Members of the House Democratic caucus, and House Democratic staff, have attended each of the working groups and have been working in good faith to find compromise, and will continue to do so.

Democratic members of these working groups have consistently sought areas of compromise with legislative Republicans and the governor’s office on the working group topics whenever possible, without sacrificing the security of middle-class families and the vulnerable.

To give you the latest information and status of the working groups, I invite you attend any of or all the following meetings. These informational meetings will be held in the Conference Room of the Speaker’s 300 Suite.

Meeting topics and times are:

Budget: Monday, May 30, 2 p.m.
Collective Bargaining & School Mandates: Monday, May 30, 3 p.m.
Workers’ Compensation: Monday, May 30, 4 p.m.

Please RSVP your attendance to [redacted] at [redacted] to ensure adequate space.

*** UPDATE ***  Some Republicans attempted to tell HDems their own version about what’s going on, but they couldn’t get in, of course…