News

Doug Finke's weekly Statehouse Insider column

Posted August 10, 2007 11:00 pm

Doug Finke

And so the dance continues.

Lawmakers sent a new state budget to Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH Friday and are waiting to see what he does with it. House Speaker MICHAEL MADIGAN, apparently fed up with the governor's shenanigans, promptly told House members to go home and stay there until he - not Blagojevich - tells them to come back. It was a direct shot at Blagojevich, who had already ordered legislators to work over the weekend in those silly special sessions he keeps calling.

At this point, anyone who is paying attention - and that does not include the governor - knows that the weekend sessions are almost completely ignored by lawmakers and entirely ignored by the public. They serve no purpose whatsoever, either from the practical standpoint of actually accomplishing anything or from the public relations standpoint of shaming someone into action. But when you are a one-trick pony, you keep doing your trick, apparently.

Madigan, D-Chicago, said he'll call the House back when there is some more work to do. In the short term, that means if Blagojevich vetoes all or part of the budget, the House will be called back to override it. In the long term, it could mean calling the House back to consider a bill to bail out mass transit in the Chicago area, or pass a capital spending plan, or who knows what else.

The point is, the budget may be finished for the time being, but this session could keep dragging on and on and on.

*That was some impressive-looking entourage with Blagojevich last week. There was Deputy Gov. SHEILA NIX, two press aides and three, count 'em, three security guards. Was this the governor's trip to the Illinois State Fair parade, where it was feared he would get endless abuse from the Springfield residents he likes to ignore? Nah, he never went to the parade.

This was a trip to see his good buddy, Senate President EMIL JONES, D-Chicago. The trip involved Blagojevich getting into an elevator next to his Statehouse office, riding up one floor, getting out, walking a few feet past a bunch of reporters and going into Jones' office. The security guards were there to make sure a dangerous situation didn't develop, such as the governor being asked questions. And a dangerous situation it must have been because, within minutes, a fourth guard showed up.

By the way, the new budget just handed the governor contains money to hire additional state police officers. What with all the security guards running around, the department must need to replenish its ranks.

* "It will slide through here faster than a Chinese dinner through a sick goose." Rep. BILL BLACK, R-Danville, debating the prospects in the House for a bill he disliked. The bill failed. Black plans to retire at the end of next year.

* There is an awesome amount of sheer nonsense that comes out of Blagojevich's press office, but they outdid themselves last week.

It started with Comptroller DAN HYNES issuing a statement saying Blagojevich is "playing politics with people's lives" because he still hasn't acted on a supplemental budget bill approved by lawmakers in May. It contains money for families of soldiers killed in Iraq, cost-of-living raises for family-service providers and a whole lot of money for hospitals that treat the poor. It also includes funding to give lawmakers and other officials, including Hynes, a pay raise.

Hynes told the governor to veto any parts of the supplemental he didn't like and let the rest go through, an indirect reference to the pay raises.

The response from the governor's press office? "Frankly, the comptroller's energies would be better used making sure state employees get paid on time rather than lobbying for his own pay raise." Right, Hynes' entire political career has been marked by venal self-interest, and the pay raise is the only part of the bill he cares about. (Attention Blagojevich press staff: That's called sarcasm, in case you don't get it).

Fellow taxpayers, we spend a lot in salaries for the press staff and other top aides to the governor who come up with this goofy stuff. Isn't it about time we demand our money's worth and expect them to come up with a more sophisticated level of bull.

Doug Finke can be reached at 788-1527 or doug.finke@sj-r.com.

Article Categories
News