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Hynes: Time to put egos aside at the Statehouse

Posted October 18, 2007 11:00 pm

Doug Finke

Calling the ongoing session of the Illinois General Assembly "absurd," Comptroller Dan Hynes said Thursday state government's political leaders should put their egos aside and finish work on the budget.

During a speech at the Sangamo Speakers Forum at the Sangamo Club in Springfield, Hynes said the leaders have demonized each other, grabbed headlines and spent their time seeking short-term advantages over each other rather than solving problems.

"If you peeled away each day's events and all of the activities that went on week after week, you find one common element - ego," Hynes said. "In this business, we all have it. But in politics, it can be a very dangerous thing. It can cloud judgment and lead us to make decisions that aren't in the best interest of the people we serve."

Hynes, a Chicago Democrat, called on the Democratic leadership - Gov. Rod Blagojevich, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones - to stop feuding long enough to finalize the state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.

Although an overall spending plan has been approved, several companion bills also must pass before all of the money can be spent. Without them, schools can't get all of the extra money promised them in the budget, and the Illinois State Police could face severe financial shortfalls that could lead to layoffs.

"If nothing else, it would be a show of good faith to say we've got to put the personalities aside, we've got to put away the personal rancor and really start getting down to business," Hynes said. "There is a growing sentiment out there among everyday people who normally don't follow state government that this is ridiculous."

A leading House Democrat said last week the companion bill for education - which enables schools to collect the extra $600 million contained in the budget for them - was delayed because the budget itself was still in flux. Rep. Gary Hannig, D-Litchfield, said he felt confident the House would deal with the bill by the end of the month.

Hynes also criticized the atmosphere in the Capitol where various leaders hold bills hostage to others. Several lawmakers have said the companion budget bills, a Chicago mass-transit bailout and a capital construction program are all linked and that there must be agreement on all of them before any of them are called for a vote.

"To have this public posturing of 'We're not going to pass a (companion budget) bill until this happens,' or 'We're not going to pass a capital bill until that happens' - everybody gets hurt," Hynes said.

He added that he has a better chance of having an adult conversation at home with his three young children than he does in Springfield, "given the immaturity level that is happening."

To underscore the point for the audience, he recapped the spring session as a children's story called "The Illinois Legislative Session of 2007: A Not So Funny Fairy Tale."

Hynes said the problems began when Blagojevich proposed the gross-receipts tax without laying any groundwork.

"The best way to have proven that the people supported the GRT would have been to campaign on the GRT during his re-election campaign," Hynes said. "He chose not to do that. So people were caught off guard, and his plan seemed to come out of nowhere."

Hynes, who is in his third term as comptroller, criticized Blagojevich for suing Madigan over House meeting times, for stretching out hospital payments while championing health care and for proposing the GRT while saying he was for lower taxes.

"The word for this isn't principle. The word is hypocrisy, and it does not wear well," Hynes said.

Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch shrugged off the comments, saying the governor was able to win a substantial increase in education funding and expanded health-care coverage without an income or sales tax increase.

"I think we accomplished our goals," she said.

Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527 or doug.finke@sj-r.com.

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