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House Republicans explain their changed votes

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Illinois

* As we’ve already discussed, four House Republicans voted “Yes” on the tax hike bill and then voted “No” today on the override motion. Why did they do it? As I write this, three of the four have posted explanations on their campaign websites.

Rep. Charlie Meiercaught holy heck for it back home. So he switched to “No” on the override, even bringing up Speaker Madigan’s name in his press release to quiet the rebellion back home…

State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Highland) released the following statement after voting against Mike Madigan’s 32 percent permanent income tax hike:

“I listened to my constituents and voted against the permanent income tax hike. The people I spoke with want to see more reforms and cuts before any talk of increasing taxes. I voted against the tax hike since zero reforms came back from the Senate. I supported the Governor’s veto and the taxpayers’ wishes.”

* Rep. John Cavaletto (R-Salem)…

“My vote on Sunday for the proposal in front of us was based on the ‘junk bond’ rating threat to the State of Illinois and that huge negative impact on borrowing and the cost to Illinois taxpayers,” said Rep. Cavaletto. “But I found out this morning directly from Moody’s that this budget plan doesn’t seem to help and they are still considering a downgrade from Baa3 rating level because Illinois’ debt obligations does not have stable funding to meet our obligations, even with this tax increase,” Cavaletto continued.

“The more than one thousand calls, emails and Facebook messages I have received have been about 10 to 1 opposed to any more taxes. The message from my constituents has been loud and clear that they do not want a tax increase so I had to oppose this plan with a permanent tax increase,” Cavaletto said.

As part of this plan there is a 5% across the board cut of state agencies and a 10% cut in the funding to Illinois colleges and universities. But there are not enough reforms to change the way government spending is handled in Illinois.

“We’re pushing people out of this state with high taxes and property taxes and we need reforms and tax relief to keep people here and attract more with job growth,” Cavaletto concluded.

* Somebody threatened to hang Rep. CD Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) from a tree and I heard he was really getting beat up back home even though his district contains a bunch of state facilities and state workers. Davidsmeier also switched…

“I voted for the budget packages earlier this week because I felt it was important to end the budget stalemate. Since that time, I have had many conversations with constituents and laid out the facts as well as the possible ramifications of not having a budget.

I have heard their voice and agree that there is a need for spending reform in order to truly fix the State of Illinois. They understand that there are no easy answers, but at the end of the day, a budget deal has to do something meaningful, not just keep doors open.

So today, I chose to do exactly what my constituents wanted me to do and voted ‘no’ on the motion to override.

I hope that my ‘no’ votes jump start discussions on how we can grow our economy and put people back to work.

For too long Illinois’ economy has lagged behind other Midwestern states. Citizens are leaving because there has been no action by the majority in the General Assembly to adjust their spending behavior.

Debt from unpaid bills, interest and pensions are crushing us. To those waiting on payments, I will continue to work to get real reform that doesn’t put us in this situation ever again.

We must do something that brings significant change to our state. We need regulatory relief, spending changes, and more opportunities for our people to thrive.

I want to thank the many constituents who took the time to contact me, discuss the facts, and get involved in this often difficult process.”

Nothing yet from Rep. David Reis (R-Ste. Marie). The fifth Republican, Rep. Bob Pritchard (R-Hinckley), was out of the country and didn’t vote today.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 5:45 pm

Comments

As Vinnie Barbarino used to say, “Well, you see, what had happened was…”

Comment by Lamont Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 5:52 pm
The Meier statement is the most #sad. Dude, you can’t be both a profile in courage and then flip because you got some heat from poorly informed IPI commenters.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 5:56 pm
So essentially, someone threatens to hang Davidsmeyer from a tree and as a result he changed his vote? BTW has Rauner condemned violent rhetoric yet?

Comment by wndycty Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 5:56 pm
And they would call this no man’s land. If they would have never voted in the first place there wouldn’t have been an override and now all there businesses and state jobs that rely on a budget are left wondering about these towers of jello.

Comment by anon Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 5:57 pm
Sad. Have the courage or don’t. This just empowers bullies - apparently death threats actually work.

Comment by PJ Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:03 pm
These guys are either lying or don’t know what’s going on. The Democrat’s spending plan actually cut about $400 million more in spending than the GOP plan did it not?

Comment by The Dude Abides Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:05 pm
Does not matter. all voted for the pre override tax hike. They will all face primaries and lose.

Comment by Chris W Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:08 pm
===Does not matter. all voted for the pre override tax hike. They will all face primaries and lose.==

You gotta find 10 challengers, find them, get 3-4 Crews to have people fracture the Party for a budget and fund 10 primaries too.

Tough lift.

Start recruiting 10 challengers.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:10 pm
These explanations don’t work. Moody’s problem is that the tax increase and spending cuts are inadequate. What passed was necessary but not sufficient.

That does not mean we can do less.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:12 pm
I’m sure everyone will simply forget the first vote to raise taxes. Yep, the second vote will surely cancel that one out, won’t it?

The worst of both worlds: I voted for the taxes but also voted to block the spending. Ouch. Good luck spinning that.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:12 pm
The same people who bought the $18 watch and beater van story will probably swallow their excuses.

Comment by illinoised Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:17 pm
FWIW I live in David Harris’ district. Neighbors are irate about more taxes, but are not really blaming him. They all blame Madigan

Comment by Chris W Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:17 pm
===did it not? ===

It did not. It reduced spending by more than the governor’s introduced budget.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:21 pm
Chris, the majority of private sector illinoisans are irate.

Comment by Ron Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:23 pm
===Chris, the majority of private sector illinoisans are irate.===

Rauner… 58% disapproval.

You’re right.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:24 pm
“I was for the tax hike before I was against it.”

The critics who say the budget doesn’t do enough to fix the financial problems would not support a budget that had even more revenue. What budget would they support?

Comment by anon2 Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:29 pm
Meh, structured roll call.

It seems to me that there were plenty of votes in reserve.

The question now is, what, if anything, does Rauner think he can achieve, with a true super-majority bucking him?

I suspect it might just be running for re-election as a do-nothing, no-accomplishment babblin’ dilettante, surrounded by payroller sycophants.

I’m thinkin’ some Superstars are going to get the heave-ho in the coming weeks. I doubt if they can spin the boss on this humiliation.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:32 pm
This private sector Illinoisan is certainly irate…irate that it took two years to pass a budget, during which time we darn near ran the state into the ground.

Comment by CEA Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:33 pm
I don’t really understand the reason you would flip. The damage is done. People won’t forget the first vote, to believe Rauner won’t use his machine against you like chasing a unicorn. It doesn’t exist in reality. And in a year when dems are going to be more mobilized than any year since 2008, why not make the arguement something had to be done, gridlock has caused more problems in this state and nation than anything else in the last decade.

Comment by SE Mayor Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:34 pm
Imagine if the House Democrats hadn’t added votes to cover these guys? Tomorrow would have been financial armageddon and these guys would have been singled out for some (definitely not all) blame, on top of the heat they got for voting for the tax increase in the first place. They still have a politically tough road ahead but they also just won a gamble where it could have been so much worse.

Comment by The Captain Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:36 pm
–People won’t forget the first vote, to believe Rauner won’t use his machine against you like chasing a unicorn.–

1. Don’t underestimate the short attention span of the public.

2. If Rauner wants to get anything through the House, he needs the GOP 10 plus Dems.

I say that in full knowledge that Rauner might not want to get anything through the House.

From his point of view, Rauner had a good run with the destruction of squeeze the beast.

I’m certain that he’s happy with what he was able to achieve there.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:41 pm
Rauner hasn’t been this happy in 20 years

Comment by Captain Ed Smith Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:46 pm
Thanks to all of the republicans that voted No to the republicans and democrats that voted yes, wait until election time and “We the People” will tell you what we think.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 7:01 pm
Rauner will run as a last line of defense against Madigan, arguing that with a Pritzker type in office the tax increases would have been even more extreme.

People who don’t like the governor but also accept the state’s fiscal reality will buy that as everyone knows that the state is tapped out but that wouldn’t stop a Madigan/Pritzker combo from continuing the same reckless head in the sand approach that got us to junk status in the first place.

This budget was not sufficient as it was, but does anyone think if Madigan had a rubber stamp in Springfield that there would have been even this extremely modest level of restraint? Fat chance.

That is essentially going to be the governor’s re-election argument, and it will be far more effective than many would like to admit.

There are plenty of folks who don’t like him, but are terrified at the idea of giving Madigan un-checked power again with the state already in junk status essentially.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 7:24 pm
@ChicagoCynic - Totally Agree.

It would not have surprised me in the least if my representative had voted No the first time. He always follows his leader and the money.

Yet, given his statement after the Sunday vote I was starting to change my opinion. His turning only confirmed my long held opinion of him.

Comment by illini Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 7:25 pm
republicans that talk about controlling spending obviously do not understand the budget. It is a blueprint, but is not carved in stone. The Governor has much discretion. Manage it.

Comment by Captain Ed Smith Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 7:56 pm
Moral cowardice by any other name…

Comment by Courser Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 8:33 pm
- Ron - Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 6:23 pm:

Chris, the majority of private sector illinoisans are irate.

RON, that is not true. I am in a huge web of private sector people. We all, with some debate yes, support this series of steps. In part, because this guy who said “I have biz expertise”
and “superstars” has utterly flailed, flopped, and failed. Happy to go with the D’s on this.

Comment by Mongo Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 9:21 pm
The problem is they wasted 2 years over this jump to 5%, when in reality all the money from that increase has already been spent and the state will likely need to increase it again to 6-7% within the next 2-3 years or face an either bigger budget crisis.

Increase pension costs and interest on borrowing hoovered up most of the revenue from this new hike, and does almost nothing to address the backlog of bills as we are just borrowing more money through bond sales (that has to be paid back later) to pay those.

Anyone who voted for this spent a ton of political capital for a bill that wasn’t nearly sufficient to deal with the problem, and now when they come back in 2-3 years asking for another 1-2% because it wasn’t enough I am not sure how that will ever pass.

The inability of the government to see beyond a year or 2 at a time is crippling this state.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 9:37 pm
Charlie you will have my vote and those I can convince from this point forward. You are a good man and you did the right thing. You were elected for your wisdom to do the right thing in difficult situations. You lived up to your responsibility in voting to bring the state through this inexplicable lack of leadership. Kudos to you. You have my full support.

Comment by Moderate man Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 10:02 pm
“I say that in full knowledge that Rauner might not want to get anything through the House.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

Comment by PENSIONS ARE OFF LIMITS Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 11:34 pm
“I suspect it might just be running for re-election as a do-nothing, no-accomplishment babblin’ dilettante, surrounded by payroller sycophants.”

-this is the best thing I’ve read on this blog….ever. Keep it up wordslinger I think you’re on fire.

Comment by PENSIONS ARE OFF LIMITS Thursday, Jul 6, 17 @ 11:40 pm
Well, at least now that the budget is over we can now focus on the Reform Agenda like Madigan has been suggesting for months now.

Comment by Just Me Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 12:01 am
===“But I found out this morning directly from Moody’s that this budget plan doesn’t seem to help and they are still considering a downgrade from Baa3 rating ===

Rep. Cavaletto: Which is worse when it comes to a credit downgrade? A sure thing or a possibility? With all respect, it seems better for the State to prevent a bad thing from happening immediately, and give elected officials time to take other required measures before going to junk status.

Comment by anon2 Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 7:36 am
I’m sure Davidsmeyer understands he has a Prison in his district. Good Government jobs and benefits. I’m supportive of a minimum 25% cut in that facility.

Its expensive for Middle Class taxpayers to babysit people.

And the workers can get jobs at the fast food places along the interstate.

Comment by Mike Cirrincione Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 7:47 am
So Mike, I guess blue lives don’t matter?

Comment by Rogue Roni Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 8:49 am
To change your vote because your constituents are mad is something less than a profile in courage. Presumably each such person knew full well their vote would upset many, but they made it anyway at the time thinking they were doing what’s best for their state. By changing their vote, they demonstrated they were doing what they thought was best for themselves.

Comment by Tommydanger Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 9:17 am
For a legislator to change his mind to my position is always wise and courageous.

For a legislator to change his mind from my position is always despicably craven.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 9:30 am
This is a “post-facts” society. What will matter come election season is who can tell the biggest lies through the best TV commercials that run most frequently.

Comment by d.p.gumby Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 9:42 am
I have been talking to a lot of people since the vote yesterday about the reps switching their vote. Some people are angry, yes, but the vast majority think it took courage to admit you were wrong, and then right that wrong. Don’t count any of these people out. Most of the people I have talked to are blaming Madigan for putting these reps in this difficult situation. Thank you Reps. Meier, Cavaletto, and Davidsmeier. Also, aren’t reps supposed to do what their constituents want?

Comment by southern illinoisan Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 12:49 pm