No surprise
Everyone, including Aaron Chambers of the Rockford Register-Star, seems surprised that House Speaker Michael Madigan would support this pension holiday plan.
The truly captivating twist was by Madigan. In early May, he proclaimed an alliance with Republicans and devotion to fiscal restraint. He said specifically that he wouldn't borrow to finance state operations. Of course, that's arguably what the pension raid amounts to.
The problem with that analysis is Madigan has been pushing a pension holiday plan since 2003. This is his idea.
I'm not trying to pick on Chambers here. Aaron is one of my favorite people at the Statehouse, he's a smart journalist and his column is always a great read (not to mention that he's a fantastic gourmet cook). He's far from being alone in his suprise, however, and that just doesn't match up with reality.
There is also no real mystery why Madigan's alliance with the House and Senate Republicans broke down this month. As I explained a couple of weeks ago in the Capitol Fax, the GOP refused to go along with the governor's proposed pension reforms which Madigan supported. That disagreement splintered the coalition.
posted by Rich Miller @ 5/28/2005 06:55:00 AM
20 comments
20 Comments...
WARNING: Personally insulting and otherwise inappropriate comments (including all profanity) will be immediately deleted! Threads will be closed after 3 deletions. Try to behave like reasonable adults.Click here to notify the "Comment Posse" about objectionable posts.
Rich, is this really a done deal?
From the Sun Times today:
"All they want us to do is follow like blind sheep while our districts are lacking in school resources, health care, public safety and transit," said Rep. William Delgado (D-Chicago), who said he intended to vote against the plan.
From the Tribune:
"I don't think that's good government and I don't think it's the direction we should be heading," said Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston). "We have to think ahead sometimes well beyond the next election and that's what I think this is about."
If you want to bet against Mike Madigan, Emil Jones and the governor, all pulling in the same direction, be my guest.
So the coalition finally splintered. Maybe Madigan finally figured out he was played last year by the Repubs by forcing an overtime session. The team broke up last year when the Repubs wouldn't follow Madigans lead in the overtime session. When the State Party Chair allows, and encourages an overtime session, then has to cave in to the Repubs to not embarass the Party and himself at the Dem convention, that shows an uncontrollabe coalition partner. By the way, is there any government in the World, or any state that a coalition government is formed by a majority elected party with a minority elected party? I don't think so. No one gives up power that easily. This time Madigan pulled the plug on the only strategy the minority members could adopt-delay until June 1st. Otherwise, the Repubs had to settle for the crumbs off the table Madigan let them have. I hope he has learned from last years fiasco.
Rich,
I rarely doubt Michael Madigan getting what he wants, but with Blagojevich on his team I'm not 100% sure of anything.
To the deleted commenter: Every Statehouse journalist was granted extensive Q&A interviews with Madigan last year. They could have asked about his pension ideas. As far as I can remember, nobody did. That wouldn't be my fault.
As far as your insult is concerned, well, you know where you can stick it.
I would never bet agaisn Madigan, that is truly a sucker bet.
Emil Jones is another story.
Bottom line is Rod has found yet ANOTHER way to push the bill off another day. Sooner or later he's going to run out of ideas.
Madigan is getting the best deal for Democrats and taxpayers available.
Look, all four leaders are on record as saying they don't believe further cuts are possible. So the approp is what it is, basically.
Where is the revenue going to come from? Tax increases are dead. Gaming is blocked by the gov's impasse with the mayor over a Chicago casino. Some form of borrowing is the only way this budget is going to be closed, now or in August. The only difference is that in August, we'd be borrowing another $300 million for pork for the GOP.
By the way, where is the GOP's alternative plan to fill the budget hole? They ain't got one.
Chackmate Madigan once again.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Looks like the GOP budget "plan" begins with a whopping $150 million tax break for the very needy riverboats ownerrs.
Bob Biggins launched his personal self-nomination for Dope of the Year by claiming the tax break will mean more jobs.
Wake up Bob the tax break will mean Vega crew will be making another fat deposit of IL $
Can hardly wait for the next plank.
Is the whole "plan" on AdjournOn TIme Yet! Or are the empty suits still waking up
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To anonymous 8:09 a.m.:
There are plenty of Dems who are gonna have to have their arms twisted, but they'll get to 60 votes one way or the other...
Of course, it puts the Speaker in an embarassing situation of paying off/threatening/forcing members to vote for a scheme that violates his own fiscal principles.
If Mike Madigan stands for anything, it's for the legal rights of consumers and victims, and responsible financial behavior.
He's sold both of those ideals out in a matter of three days because he's decided a majority is more important than any actual ideals he might have once had. Is he any better than Blago these days?
Now I'm not politically naive. I know how badly the Dems were getting hit on Med-Mal, and how bad OT session would be for all of them... but, really, Mr. Speaker! Do you stand for ANYTHING beyond just winning elections?
The Illinois GOP had a plan to balance the budget.
It was a 67% income tax increase that they called a tax swap. They didn't plan on people paying attention and seeing it for what it really was. When you end up paying more taxes, that is a tax increase no matter what you call it.
You make one little observation about one reporter, couched in effusive praise without a hint of personal insults, and all of a sudden comments get snippy, hateful and very personal. Sheesh, you morons, go outside and have a little fun today.
Snippy, personal and deleted, I might add.
The Republicans have been celebrating the passage of the Med-Mal bill as a major victory for them. How can they now tell the same voters they have no say in government in S'field? The passage of the budget without their votes will get lost in their message that they flexed their muscles and forced the Dems "over the cliff" as Watson has said. Their message that "we have the power to force passage of Med-Mal, but not power to help schools or balance the budget because we don't have the power" is contradictory. Aren't they really saying they are only powerful when they help their biggest campaign donor? I think their budget complaints are overshadowed by this one victory. So enjoy that victory because no one believes that Watson and Cross couldn't have helped balance the budget without pension underfunding since they succeeded on the malpractice issue.
Rich,
Pension reform, including reduction of benefits for future employees, is necessary. Madigan has been on board with this for a couple of years.
However, delaying of required payments is a different issue, which does seem to go against Madigan's customary practice.
By delaying payments, perhaps that will put more pressure on highlighting the need for reform.
Do you have a bit more insight on Madigan's willingness to support the "holiday" and unwillingness to go all the way with Blago's proposed reforms?
So let's get this straight. Rich can criticize a reporter on the blog, but if someone criticizes Rich, it gets deleted? I don't get it.
If it's personal, yes, it gets deleted. My blog. My rules.
Anonymous 1:19: All I know is that Madigan has said many times that he wanted to do a pension holiday. Publicly, he supported the governor's pension reforms, and that's all I know about that.
It may be true that Madigan has sought a "pension holiday" for two years. It may also be true that his coalition with the GOP imploded a couple weeks ago.
But that would not diminish the fact that Madigan is acting at odds with the position he articulated a month ago. In early May, he stood before a crowd of business folks and proclaimed himself the king of fiscal restraint. He said he was bound to the GOP by certain principles of fiscal conservatism and that he was prepared to fight for those principles into the summer. He was consistent with that position -- in rhetoric and in action -- over the last year, a point that only reinforces the assessment that his support of the pension scheme represented a twist in his position.
Over the last two days, folks at the Statehouse were indeed captivated my Madigan's embrace of the pension scheme (at least folks other than Miller). They disagreed about why Madigan made the move, and they disagreed about whether Madigan had planned the move all along, but they were captivated -- if not stunned -- particularly because the move stood in contrast with the position he portrayed just weeks before.
This was my assessment, no more and no less. It was quite logical and totally substantiated.
Miller was correct: I am a fabulous cook.
Chambers
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