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The future ain’t bright

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Illinois

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column takes a look at the future of the capital bill…

Everybody at the Illinois Statehouse always says they’re for a major, multibillion-dollar public works construction plan.

The problem has been that they could never agree on how to spend the money and how to pay for the massive beast.

House Speaker Michael Madigan has taken the blame for the failure of the “capital plan” during the past couple of years, and rightly so. He used every trick in the book to block it.

Then again, if Madigan hadn’t killed Rod Blagojevich’s extremely loosely written capital bills, Blagojevich would’ve probably tried to steal every last dime. To say that there were billions of dollars in almost completely undefined spending would not be an exaggeration.

With Blagojevich gone, everybody now wants to know where Madigan is on capital. And, as usual, nobody really knows what he’s thinking. But lots of folks believe the tea leaves look ominous. Things just aren’t going well.

The governor hasn’t yet started really working legislators on behalf of his tax hike proposals. Madigan has said that passing a budget and closing the $11 billion to $12 billion deficit is his first priority, and Quinn won’t back away from his income tax increase. Most legislators have never taken a truly tough vote, and hiking the income tax rate by 50 percent certainly qualifies as truly tough. The longer the tax hike is up in the air, the longer the capital plan could be delayed.

House Republican Leader Tom Cross has refused to support any tax or fee hikes to fund the capital bill. Instead he’s pushing a plan derided by Madigan to vastly expand gaming during the worst gaming recession since time began.

Leader Cross and Speaker Madigan have been feuding all year, and Cross has upped the ante lately by publicly embarrassing Madigan almost every day on the House floor with one loudly debated motion after another to move hot-button but obviously dead bills out of committees. The Republicans always lose the procedural votes and then they immediately blast negative robocalls into targeted Democratic districts deriding politically vulnerable Democratic incumbents for voting against Mom and apple pie.

Things are getting awful testy in that chamber.

Using the recent past as a guide, Madigan might be expected to just jam through a no-tax doomsday budget, forget a capital plan altogether and adjourn. That’s essentially what he did last year.

If Madigan did that again this year the result would likely be catastrophic. But perhaps a catastrophe might have to occur to wake everybody up to how serious this situation really is. Voters might be more open to a tax hike if they saw their state and local governments collapse.

There is another historical model, however: The “old” Mike Madigan. Back in 1983, the state’s economic situation seemed hopeless, the state deficit was out of control and Republican Gov. Jim Thompson was begging for tax hikes. Madigan eventually relented and passed a temporary income tax hike and a one cent sales tax increase.

Nobody can really take the chance that “Old Madigan” will return, even if his daughter Lisa Madigan is leading Pat Quinn in all the polls. A recent Public Policy Polling survey of likely Democratic primary voters had Attorney General Madigan leading Gov. Quinn 45-29. A March poll of just Chicago Democrats had Madigan ahead of Quinn by a similar margin.

So, in a desperate bid to stop the unthinkable, a large group of unions and construction industry groups have plunked down a million dollars to run a TV ad during the month of May. The ad, which will air all over the state, lays out the case for a capital plan and urges people to call their legislators.

They wouldn’t bother spending that kind of money if they thought the capital plan was a sure thing and had complete confidence in Madigan. And, yes, it is more than a little ironic that unions have to help ante up a million dollars in advertising to pressure a Democratic legislative leader to enact a major public works bill during the worst economic contraction since the 1930s. To say that Madigan has too much power would be the greatest understatement of the century.

The ad itself isn’t exactly stunning, but that’s probably not the point. Showing Madigan, Cross and everyone else that they’re willing to spend serious cash to back up their words is what will get the attention. Money always talks.

* Related…

* Outlook Bleak on IL Mass Transit but Don’t Tell Sen Sandoval

* Will we have a wrap by the end of May?

* The winner is . . .: Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly for not appropriating any state funds to help run the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

* Cullerton’s break from the past

* Give Metra credit - they’re adapting : “It’s amazing how the system seems to operate like it’s the 1930s,” Bond told the Chicago Sun-Times at the time. The agency doesn’t accept credit cards even for monthly passes, which can cost more than $200.

* Flushing government stimulus cash down the toilet

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, May 4, 09 @ 8:49 am

Comments

If the union groups running those ads do not fully trust Madigan, then why do they routinely continue to support him?

Reminds me of the love/hate relationship unions have with Richard Daley in Chicago.

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Monday, May 4, 09 @ 9:24 am
Cross is actually setting the stage for a doomday budget. he is so insitent on making talking points about taxes he is practically daring madigan to say, ok here is the budget the republicans demanded with no new taxes.

Comment by Ghost Monday, May 4, 09 @ 9:31 am
First off, nice column Rich. My comments are not based on it, but arise from it. I don’t expect you to cover everything in the space allowed, but I have just a couple of things that in my opinion need to be clarified.

House Republican Leader Tom Cross has refused to support any tax or fee hikes to fund the capital bill. The GOP’s stands on most issues in this state is currently irrelevent. With huge majorities in both houses, the Democrats have made it clear that they don’t want the GOP input - except when a tough decision needs some bipartisan cover of blame.

Then there is the situation we are currently in. If you sat in the GA over the past ten years and watched this manic circus rip Illinois apart, and watch those who ripped it up, now look to you for political cover - would you really want to jump right in?

If Jim Ryan was elected in 2002, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are currently in. If Topinka was elected in 2006, ditto. The GOP is not only powerless in Illinois today, it didn’t like where Illinois was going over the past eight years either.

The Democrats have wrecked Illinois. They made bad decisions. They elected the worse governor in Illinois history. They made stupid budgetary mistakes. We are reaping what they sewed.

Stepping in to clean up this mess may be a great Boy Scout move for the GOP, but until it looks like they will be rewarded by gaining access to this one-party state, they should continue reminding voters who is in charge. And it ain’t them.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, May 4, 09 @ 9:42 am
== it is more than a little ironic that unions have to help ante up a million dollars in advertising to pressure a Democratic legislative leader to enact a major public works bill during the worst economic contraction since the 1930s ==

Ahhh…the glory of living in a one party state.

Alms still must be paid

Comment by Leroy Monday, May 4, 09 @ 9:43 am
I think wrecking the state of Illinois has been a bipartisan project for the last several decades. If George Ryan had not been personally corrupt, Blago would never have been elected. Institutional corruption has been running rampant in Illinois since time immmemorial.

Comment by Captain America Monday, May 4, 09 @ 9:56 am
Personally, I think the fiscal crisis is more important than the capital bill, although I’d be happy to see a capital bill too.
Maidgan and Quinn should be able to strike some compromise before the end of May deadline. I can’t belive the present Democratic leadership is stupid enough to go into overtime, now that Blago and Jones are gone.

Comment by Captain America Monday, May 4, 09 @ 10:00 am
Is Madigan’s poker face on a capital bill due to the flack the unions gave him last year for not allowing Blago to have control of billion in public works dollars?

He was right about that, and politics is politics. But Blago’s gone and so is Jones. We have double-digit unemployment in many areas of the state and plenty of projects. Long-term investment in public works is the proper role for government in a recession.

It’s May 4, times-a-wasting. Time to govern.

VMan, if it was just the Dems fault, it would be an easy fix. We’ve all reaped what we’ve SOWED.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, May 4, 09 @ 10:13 am
Here is a schizophrenic post,

I am not sure that a capital bill is needed immediately and I believe Speaker Madigan has earned the right to regulate the timeline of this legislation. If it wasn’t for him standing up to tremendous pressure from all sides, the crooks would have gotten their hands on billions. There are legitimate reasons to hold off on this bill-foremost being the need to balance the present budget and solve the states fiscal crisis before embarking on a giant spending spree. I hope his delay is not caused by his desire to undercut Quinn and benefit his daughter. I think he deserves the benefit of doubt it is not.

Having said that, The fact that MJM is already so powerful and quite possibly could soon be in control over 2 of the 3 branches of Illinois government is alarming. Coupling that with his position as Illinois party chairman and we might as well start naming university’s and expressways after him immediately.

I hope people realize how much power they are about to give one individual, even if he is a decent man, before they go about dismantling our present Governor.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Monday, May 4, 09 @ 10:13 am
I aint buying it Whooppe, but very nice try…this is all politics by MJM at this point in time…his doing right by us last year has nothing to do with not doing right by us this year…his not cooperating with Quinn right now has everthing to do with not helping Quinn look effective so the Madigan dynasty can control IL government completely after 2010…this is not acceptable, downright stupid, and dangerous…

Comment by Anonymous45 Monday, May 4, 09 @ 11:13 am
There are always legitimate infrastructure needs in the state of Illinois. The problem is that after a plan is put in place the political class turns the new river of money to a course that will increase the benefits to themselves rather than the general pubic.

The multi billion Illinois First boondoggle was just one program that was sold to do one thing, but did another. It is discouraging to look at what was done with large chunks of the money those bonds generated. A lot more of the real needs of the state would have been achieved if the political payback projects would have been omitted.

As far as today’s needs are concerned, I have little confidence that whatever money is generated will actually address the needs of the state.

The current fiscal crisis is the result of decade of legislative irresponsibility. Remember when Peter Ftizgerald as a member of the Illinois State Senate was telling us what a charade the state budget was? Did anyone want to listen to him? Why does anyone believe that layering on new taxation without a complete restructuring of the way the tax money is spent will do anything but bump along until the budget gets worse again?

Comment by Plutocrat03 Monday, May 4, 09 @ 12:58 pm
Haven’t been on for a while y’all, but, popped in today to see what’s going on. Boy, I agree with Captain America - the financial crisis is more important than a capital bill. Pork needs to be cut out of the budget, especially the $100 million for more land purchases for the 20+ year proposed, studied Peotone airport (a.k.a Will County Regional Airport, South Suburban Airport, ALNAC airport, whatever you want to call it). This land banking takes land OFF the tax rolls causing local municipalities, schools, fire districts, library districts, etc., to be shorted of tax revenues. Recently Larry Walsh, CEO of Will County, said this airport would be market driven, well if that were true it wouldn’t still be talked about today. This proposed airport that Quinn wants $100 million more dollars spent on it has been nothing but POLITICALLY driven since its inception. Hope others feel the same - with the state of the airline industry and its future unknown why put more money into this PORK / pet project?

Comment by Judy, Judy, Judy Monday, May 4, 09 @ 3:12 pm
Perhaps it’s ironic that the people who are the most dishonest and untrustworthy are bringing attention to THEIR interests in this capital bill to the public.

If we are serious about repairing “crumbling infrastructure” then we use the funds intended for that purpose; motor fuels taxes, license and gas fuel sales taxes, instead of stealing about $650 million per year from those revenues to bloat medicaid roles to 400% of the poverty level, give IEA and IFT staff raises multiples the cost of living and inflate construction costs from 25 to 50% for all road, school and municipal construction through “Prevailing Wage” laws.

Paying substantially higher labor costs for public construction, maintenance, and repair work is clearly contrary to the public interest, but it sure does increase union dues and the pay-to play campaign contributions that are kicked back from them.

Now the people who invented pay-to-play and have been plundering the tax troughs for years are asking us to support giving them more money, even though we can’t afford anything more than “life safety” work because of bipartisan corruption and mismanagement!

What were the unions and contractors thinking when they started this advertising campaign? I guess they think they CAN fool all the people all of the time!

Comment by PalosParkBob Monday, May 4, 09 @ 11:54 pm
As I sit here under the umbrellas of my city, township, county, and state government–all at the same time–I wonder why Illinois has 6900 units of government, compared to California, a slightly larger state, which has only 4400.

Comment by JWR Tuesday, May 5, 09 @ 4:03 pm