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Can a new Senate chief end Springfield gridlock?

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* My Sun-Times column this week is about the battle for Senate President. Everybody takes a little hit in this column, mainly because I didn’t think the race has been covered all that well in the rest of the MSM…

The multi-car pileup that passes for Illinois state government may finally change a bit next year.

Senate President Emil Jones’ pending retirement has sparked an aggressive succession battle that will alter the Statehouse’s political dynamic.

Jones was Gov. Blagojevich’s staunchest political ally, and his Senate Democratic members have had quite enough of following the extremely unpopular governor off every cliff in sight. So even Sen. James Clayborne (D-East St. Louis), whom Jones privately supports, will not be able to lead the chamber like Jones did, even if he wanted to, which he doesn’t.

Sen. John Cullerton is Clayborne’s chief rival. Cullerton (D-Chicago) is Blagojevich’s own state senator, but the two aren’t allies, to say the least. Cullerton wants the Senate to be far more independent of the governor’s office. He has a strong political relationship with House Speaker Michael Madigan, going back to his days as a Madigan lieutenant, but Cullerton insists he can be an honest broker.

That Madigan relationship is Cullerton’s greatest handicap in a chamber that views the speaker with great suspicion. His fund-raising and legislative skills are his greatest assets.

Clayborne is a widely respected, strong leader and has quite a lot of support in his caucus from fellow downstaters and African Americans. He has his problems, including Jones’ tacit endorsement, which is the kiss of death for some senators. Clayborne also lives far away from Chicago, and Mayor Daley has passed the word to Chicago-area senators that he prefers someone from Cook County. Daley denied this week that he ever said it, but there’s no question that he did.

Some of the Senate’s freshmen are starting to line up behind Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). Harmon is widely touted as a progressive reformer and he’s promising a more radical change in direction. He has his own downside, as everyone does. Insiders say Harmon was instrumental in stripping language out of an ethics bill that would have banned legislators from participating in government bond deals. Harmon is a bond lawyer.

Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston) touts his years of experience as a budget expert and reformer as his chief qualifications. Schoenberg is apparently hoping for success on a second ballot because he has little verifiable support within his caucus right now. Schoenberg borrowed $100,000 from a business client to finance his Senate president bid this year — which raised more than a few eyebrows in Springfield.

Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) is another candidate hoping for a victory on the second, or third, or fourth or umpteenth ballot.

Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), one of Barack Obama’s poker buddies back in the day, was an early favorite and he’s still in the hunt. He’s a popular, skillful member, but Mayor Daley’s preference for a Cook County person won’t help the Lake County Democratic Party chairman.

Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) is always the most entertaining legislator in the room, and this time is no exception. Hendon is doing everything he can to derail Sen. Clayborne’s candidacy. Hendon thought he should be the choice of the Senate’s Black Caucus, but most went with Clayborne, so he’s retaliating and trying to cut his best deal.

Hendon attacked Clayborne this week for being pro-gun, but the Sun-Times reported in 1994 that Hendon owned an unregistered handgun. Hendon’s new book, Black Enough, White Enough, the Obama Dilemma, isn’t going over well with his colleagues, either.

So, there you have it. Somebody will eventually win, and whoever does will move the Senate in a new direction.

Whether that will be enough to break the Statehouse’s disastrous two-year gridlock remains to be seen, but it’s all the hope we have right now.

By the way, the Sun-Times has increased my column’s frequency to twice a month. It was cut back under previous management for “diversity” reasons.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 9:29 am

Comments

Aren’t the forgery allegations against the guys who circulated petitions for Terry Link another dagger in his quest to be Senate President?

Comment by Ravenswood Right Winger Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 9:33 am
Wouldn’t the more appropriate conversation be who doesn’t want to be Senate President? There is quit a list going for who wants the job. What is the status of Republican Leader? I wish a certain someone from Central Illinois would make a move at that.

And finally, isn’t it bad enough we subject ourselves to you daily, but now all the MSM readers have to get more of you each month? HELP US ALL!

Comment by Downstate GOP Faithless Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 9:56 am
Obviously Link, Hendon, Schoenberg and Clayborne will not get it. Link because of the comment above, Rickey because well he’s Rickey, Jeff wants on the next State-wide ticket and Clayborne because he is a pro-gun downstater. So that leaves Cullerton, Harmon and Silverstein. Cullerton may have too many connections (Madigan, DeLeo et al) and he is not the Mayor’s favorite guy. Harmon and Silverstein would work well with the Mayor and Madigan and would not be a pawn to the Gov. So, after the first ballot, which one of them can gain the Mayor’s confidence and get a deal with Clayborne and the downstaters?? That is the question. Good luck!

Comment by Bi-Partisan Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 10:03 am
Does the entire Senate really need to do Mayor Daley’s bidding? I don’t know anything about who should be the Senate President but I don’t like the idea he can rule out others based on their ZIP code. Some of us down here might appreciate someone outside Cook County.

Comment by ValleyGal Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 10:06 am
My thing is they shouldn’t try to keep it in Chicago because we already seen one possible result of that. They need a downstater in there and it’s another plus that this downstater just so happens to be black.

Comment by Levois Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 10:07 am
The view of the Chicago Democratic Party is that the State is in business to do their bidding.

It is folly to have the Executive office, the House and Senate in the hands of the Chicago machine.

That said, they have the power to do whatever they please. How’s that working out so far?

Comment by Plutocrat03 Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 10:14 am
If I were a state senator, here’s what I’d be asking:

1. Who’s going to help me get re-elected?
2. Who’s going to keep us in the majority?
3. Who’s going to help me achieve my legislative goals?

I heard a lot of people asking the question early on “Who can raise the most money?” That question’s moot, as far as I’m concerned. When your Senate President, people line up to write checks. Unless of course you announce you’re stepping down soon

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 10:18 am
Rickey “don’t call me Ricky” Hendon is laughable. He’s everything that’s wrong with IL state politics.

I’m a Chicagoan that likes the idea of Clayborne as the new prez. While John Cullerton is my state senator and he’s certainly a capable legislator, he strikes me as too ingrained in the cesspool of Chicago politics. Just sayin’. Plus anything that puts a check on Daley’s oligarchy is a good thing.

Comment by The Doc Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 10:18 am
Whoever gets the job will likely have a big say over the expenditure in Illinois of what could be massive amounts of federal bailout funds for all the states. Obama mentioned such funds in his first press conference and the Dem leadership in the US Congress is talking about massive funding to help the states as well…although such largesse is unlikely to appear before next year.

That’s why it’s so unfortunate that when you say state Senate president, most people yawn. This money could be used to lower property taxes, lower income and sales taxes, shore up an expanded Family Care program until universal health care kicks in, as it surely will in a few years. In Illinois, as in many other states, the middle class increasingly needs these kinds of help previously granted only to the so-called poor. Cheap housing loans. Food stamps. Cheap educational loans. Substantive tax relief. These federal monies can provide that, as well as improving the state’s business climate.

Or, it could be used to plump up all those Blago/Jones contributors and expand a porky civil service bureaucracy with more “friends and relatives.”

Harmon hasn’t done much for Oak Park, but I have to say he looks like the best of the bunch. He seems less likely to see the coming federal monies as a massive piggy bank for the Dems than any of his named competitors. So we taxpayers might actually get some of our money back.

Comment by Cassandra Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 10:54 am
Harmon is touted as a “progressive reformer” who want’s “radical change” but strips an ethics bill so he can keep muni bond business? Thats neither progressive nor radical. That’s business as usual.

Bond deals are the ultimate insiders’ political trough. The work’s easy and the pay is great. Most bond deals in Illinois are negotiated, rather than competitively bid, for no good reason at all. You get the business because of clout.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 10:57 am
What about Schoenberg’s ties to Tony Rezko? Doesn’t that cause a problem?

For more, see this:

http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illin
oisreview/2008/10/schoenberg-accu.html

Comment by JDS Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 10:58 am
congrats on the expanded dead-tree column space! did the S/T decide to get less diverse or have you gotten more diverse?

that forthcoming book with Hendon’s name on the cover - who wrote it?

Comment by BannedForLife Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 11:10 am
Are we talking ideological diversity (because I’ve been reading you for a long time, and I’m not really sure what your consistent angle is) or ethnic diversity? I mean, German-American in central IL isn’t all that common in the ST is it?

Comment by cermak_rd Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 11:36 am
Gender/ethnic

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 11:38 am
That was yet another BS Illinois Review article designed to facilitate an attack piece for Jeff’s opponent in the last election. Jeff has about as much relationship with Tony as about 50 other legislators.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 11:46 am
Does anyone think Mayor Daley is going to let this go without a fight?

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 11:49 am
Rich,

Did you see how presidential politics invaded the Senate E&E committee yesterday. Clayborne was trying to get a bill through and it turned into a circus when Hendon threw a few monkey wrenches into the works and James couldn’t control his committee. In the end he had to withdraw to next week.

All fun and games…

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 11:51 am
Re Diversity:

I feel for you, Rich. I used to have a beard, and the discrimination I experienced was heartbreaking.

Sure, people rationalized their bigotry with comments like, “Oh my God, it’s Charles Manson, run,” or “I know what you had for lunch — and breakfast,” or “you must be hiding a real ugly face to walk around with that disgusting beard.” But deep down, I knew the real basis of their hatred — envy.

Envy that I didn’t put a blade to my neck every morning. Envy at my ability to recall the taste of my soup or retrieve bits of cookie with a just a flick of the tongue. Envy at my transformation of primal slovenliness into a fashion statement.

But I wasn’t strong. I caved. Today, I’m once again a slave to the blade. And yes, when I’m cut, I bleed, espcially on hangover mornings.

Fight the Power, Brother Rich. Like Samson’s locks, your beard is your strength.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 12:19 pm
i think rich miller is diverse, don’t you? in a virtual kind of a way.

Comment by been there Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 1:52 pm
Clayborne being both a Downstate Dem and pro-gun is bad why? Hendon needs to get a clue.

Comment by Ken in Aurora Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 3:11 pm
The democratic downstaters are hopeless if they agreed to a no bi-partisan solution. The post is there for the downsaters all they have to do is to press for downstate bi-partisanship..something every downstate newspaper in Illinois would opine in favor of.

Comment by observation Friday, Nov 14, 08 @ 5:16 pm
We have given power to the madigan/daley club for long enough downstaters and collar counties unite and tell the stroger, daley’s and madigan’s that there is a big state outside of cook county and their corruption. Elect a Senator President not beholden to cook counties politics!

Comment by anti-chicago Sunday, Nov 16, 08 @ 12:01 pm