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One very crazy day

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Illinois

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

After staring at my computer screen for over an hour, I realized that my goal of providing you a succinct and thoughtful analysis of what happened on a very weird day last week in Illinois government was impossible.

Instead, we’re going to have to take this in pieces.

• The Court Case: C.J. Baricevic was one of the lawyers representing a host of unions in their successful St. Clair County lawsuit to force the state to pay its employees without a budget. The July 9 victory came just two days after a Cook County judge ruled that paying employees without an official state budget was a clear and total violation of the Illinois Constitution.

Why was St. Clair County’s ruling so different?

Well, Baricevic happens to be the son of the county’s chief judge, John Baricevic, who was once the county board chairman and is regarded as one of the most powerful Democrats in the region. The younger Baricevic is the local Democratic choice for Congress against freshman Republican Rep. Mike Bost. According to Ballotpedia, the judge in the July 9 case also appears to be up for retention next year in the heavily unionized county.

Hey, I’m not saying nothing bad about no judges. I visit that fine county every now and then. I’m even told the judge in the case isn’t the type to be sensitive to such pressures. “He’s just a pro-labor guy at heart,” explained one area politico, who added that I was “reading too much” into the local political angle.

I’m just saying, is all.

Anyway, it appears that the legal issue of whether state workers get paid without a budget may have to go all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court—if, that is, Attorney General Lisa Madigan is willing to endure the political flagellation she’ll most certainly receive for her almost Ahabian pursuit of this great white whale. The Democrat easily could have stepped aside and let the paychecks be processed. But, she’s convinced this is a constitutional violation, so onward and upward.

• The Bill: House Republicans filed legislation last week to pay state employees for the rest of the fiscal year even if no budget is approved. That bill was bottled up because the majority House Democrats didn’t want to give them credit and wanted to use the worker pay issue to put Gov. Bruce Rauner in a trick bag.

In an email to state employees earlier last week, Rauner pledged that his administration was “doing everything in our power” to make sure workers got paid. So the Democrats decided to make him eat his words by tacking a one-month appropriation for state worker salaries onto a bill to fund some “essential” state services for a month—the same bill that Rauner already warned he would not sign. No Republicans voted to pay the employees, even though they had their own bill, but it passed anyway.

House Speaker Michael Madigan’s amendment even took the Senate Democrats by surprise. It was classic Madigan. He put literally everybody in the building except his own caucus on the spot—and further complicated an already extremely difficult overtime session.

• The Governor’s Response: Rauner’s spokesman started out typically enough with his response to the vote. “Today, Speaker Madigan and the legislators he controls irresponsibly voted for yet another unbalanced budget plan.”

That’s standard Rauner World language.

But then the response took an unusual twist.

“We also saw the speaker’s unwillingness to hold a vote on a tax increase that, absent reform, would suffer bipartisan defeat. The speaker’s failure to take up an accompanying revenue plan is a clear signal that rank-and-file members of the General Assembly understand that reform is necessary.”

In one breath he totally controls them, but in the very next they’re rebelling?

Um, OK.

What’s happening here is that Rauner and his people are trying to make it look as though everyone is against Madigan.

Earlier last week, Rauner suggested that Senate President John Cullerton, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were all working with him and against Madigan. (They weren’t.) And on July 9 the governor went to the absurd length of claiming that the speaker’s own members were on Rauner’s side when it comes to “reform.”

In reality, many of Madigan’s Democratic members would like to vote for some reforms to help the economy, just not the harsh anti-union measures the governor wants.

This overtime session has been very much like a political campaign, with constantly dueling versions of reality.

Hey, wait. That’s the succinct analysis I was originally looking for. Sorry it took so long.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 8:46 am

Comments

Succinct analysis: rauner is dishonest. Further analysis: everybody knows it.

Comment by William j Kelly Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 8:50 am
Madigan totally controls them but they’re all rebelling against him.

Geez, did anyone read that before they put it out? It’s schizo.

Comment by Wordslinger Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 8:54 am
The Democrates are playing politics with workers pay. That is very upsetting. They would have gotten credit even thou the Republicans brought the bill up.

It is disappointing in both sides.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 8:55 am
Rauner looks amateurish. He could probably get a portion of his agenda if he didn’t take the line in the sand approach. The guy has 4 years - why all at once?

Comment by Stones Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 8:57 am
Love the “Ahabian” reference, even this early in the day. Yes, Captain Ahab certainly fits in this scenario!

Comment by DuPage Don Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:04 am
Rich, great stuff, and laying it out as you did, it makes it very clear wher it all comes into play; the politics, the governing, choices, the here and now, and what may lay ahead. Thanks for the touchstone.

To the Post,

These are Rauner choices.

It’s dishonest to say Rauner is a passenger in his own words and actions, and his governmental choices, and spinning those choices to justify decisions, political decisions, that dictate governmental confusion(s).

Campaigns are hard, governing is difficult. We are seeing that during Rauner’s young administration. It doesn’t help that the political is trying to trump the rule of law.

These are choices. They are.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:13 am
Governor Rauner and the politicians he controls are angry at Speaker Madigan and the politicians he controls, but the politicians Speaker Madigan controls are out of control. Got it.

Comment by AC Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:17 am
. . . Yes, Captain Ahab certainly fits in this scenario! . . .

Several Captain Ahab types are playing this game simultaneously. Bruce Rauner may be the most Ahab-ian of the bunch.

Comment by Hamlet's Ghost Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:18 am
If Lisa Madigan is Captain Ahab, and Bruce Rauner is Don Quixote, who is Michael Madigan?

Comment by AC Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:26 am
If Madagan takes the anti-employee fight to the supremes, then she deserves the “political flagellation” she will get come the next election from State workers, their families & friends.

Comment by An interested observer of events Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:33 am
-AC- that would make Madigan Sacho Panza and his weekly press briefings are chock full of “sanchismos.”

Comment by DuPage Don Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:33 am
*Sancho

Comment by DuPage Don Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:34 am
==
If Lisa Madigan is Captain Ahab, and Bruce Rauner is Don Quixote, who is Michael Madigan?==

Captain Hook?

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:36 am
So a question. Assuming the temp budget passes senate and lands on Rauners desk if he line item vetoes all but employee payroll what does that do to the ag’s case? I assume a budget or continuing approp would render the issue moot. Granted it’s a one month budget but?

Comment by Mason born Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:47 am
The stunt in St. Clair county won’t work. It will only temporarily delay the inevitable outcome of most state workers not getting paid in July. Remember most state workers will not see their checks for the beginning of July till the end of July paycheck. This is definately not over. Rauner miscalculated. The stateworker heat came too early.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:00 am
A/C, that would make the speaker “moby dick”.

Comment by Broken window Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:12 am
This started an argument and civics discussion in the sleep household. Circuit courts are like fiefdoms, and venue shopping is real. There is a reason AFSCME filed suit in St. Clair County and not, say, Jefferson County. AFSCME also knows that the Fifth District Appellate Court will likely uphold the Twentieth Judicial Circuit’s ruling. And then the fun will begin.

Comment by Team Sleep Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:21 am
Actually I think it makes the speaker a windmill.

Comment by burbanite Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:25 am
Sleep

Isn’t venue shopping why lisa went to cook county.

Comment by Mason born Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:26 am
Mason - yes. I am just more familiar with that court system and its politics.

Comment by Team Sleep Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:39 am
Rich — great analysis and reporting as always.

I think there are 2 points worth highlighting re: the post.

First, Munger asked AG Madigan to represent Munger in Munger’s case seeking to pay state workers. AG Madigan refused. By law she is required to represent state officials when asked. Her refusal to do so is very odd indeed.

Second, AG Madigan DID NOT HAVE TO BRING THIS CASE AT ALL. She did so at her discretion, naming as her client “the People of Illinois.” In other words, AG Madigan picked this fight. AG Madigan might claim that she had “no choice” in the matter, that it was her “duty” to sue Munger. If that’s the case, isn’t it her “duty” to challenge the constitutionality of the GA’s radically out-of-balance state budget? She sued Munger not because she was required to, but because she had the authority to. And there’s a very big difference between the two.

Comment by Chicago Publius Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 11:44 am
=== By law she is required to represent state officials when asked===

She’s required to represent the office. Indeed, she has sole authority to represent the office. The office and the officeholder are two different things.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 11:45 am
Madigan is the windmill.

Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 11:59 am
Madigan is the Death Star

Comment by D.P.Gumby Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 12:11 pm
Honeybear: You’ve been counseled to quit blogging. You’re at it again…take a mental health break!

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 12:25 pm
Silly!
Madigan is Miguel de Cervantes!

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 1:13 pm
Anonymous, I’m hopeful that you will respond. How is my above post like my admittedly agitated previous posts? It’s an opinion which I believe is important to share in this blog. And yes, I admit, I did post previously to this and it was deleted. I modified it and posted the one above. Sincerely, why is my belief that our not getting paid is another “engineered” crisis so threatening that I am being shamed into silence? Sincerely, I’d like to know.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 1:30 pm
“- Honeybear - Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 1:30 pm:”

It looks like I will need to come up with a name for myself.

Don’t pay attention to the other anonymous.

I agree and like your post and am worried about my wife’s sanity since she works for the State.

I do not believe that I could go through what she does every day.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 3:13 pm
There are obviously two completely different commenters calling themselves Anonymous. Very confusing.

Sometimes I wonder whether the usually sensible and knowledgeable one of many years, has suddenly lost his mind.

Comment by walker Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 3:49 pm