Capitol Notebook: Comments on Blagojevich continue
Play of the Week
The state's largest newspaper said Gov. Rod Blagojevich's performance is so awful that Illinois should amend its Constitution so voters can toss him out of office before the end of his term.
The Chicago Tribune editorial page pushed last Sunday for a recall provision like the one that California used in 2003 to oust Gov. Gray Davis and replace him with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Illinois voters re-elected Blagojevich last year, so this term runs through January 2011.
"Having endured the Blagojevich era, we believe voters never should have to endure another one like it," the Tribune said. "They instead should have the power to recall an inept governor."
The paper said the Chicago Democrat's "multiple ineptitudes" included "his reckless financial stewardship, his dictatorial antics, his penchant for creating political enemies." It called him "an intentionally divisive governor and a profoundly unhelpful influence" and said he "is unwilling or unable to see the chaos all around him."
"His is a legacy of federal and state investigations of alleged cronyism and corruption in the steering of pension fund investments to political donors, in the subversion of state hiring laws, in the awarding of state contracts, in matters as personal as that mysterious $1,500 check made out to the governor's then-7-year-old daughter by a friend whose wife had been awarded a state job," the paper said.
When the House in May voted 107-0 against the governor's plan for a gross receipts tax, Blagojevich had this to say: "There's ups and downs, but I feel good about it.
Things went pretty well today."
Following the Tribune editorial, the governor must feel outstanding.
Head Scratcher
The ever-inscrutable Mike Madigan this week decried that any expansion of gambling in the state would have to include a revamped Gaming Board, with more oversight power, tighter ethical restrictions and a broader base of members. The Senate has already passed a gambling package that would finance a construction program, but it hasn't gone anywhere in the House, which Madigan controls. The speaker's latest move -- with his reasoning, of course, unexplained -- leaves some to wonder whether he actually is opening the door to more tightly controlled gambling or just tacking on a condition that won't fly in the Senate or governor's office, in effect, killing the prospect.
Quote of Note
"It could be better." -- Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, when asked about his working relationship with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Chicago Democrat who is his political nemesis.
Number to Know
$5,734. That would be the new per-pupil "foundation level" for Illinois public schools, if lawmakers agree on a technical piece of legislation called the budget implementation bill. It represents a $400 increase from the present level.
Coming Up
Blagojevich and lawmakers are close to a deal on a capital construction plan. Or maybe not. We'll be watching closely in the week to come as they continue to negotiate -- or just butt heads.