* The Sun-Times editorial board thinks that the special session is a dumb idea…
Now Gov. Blagojevich has called the lawmakers into special session, which started the new tab for taxpayers. Maybe he hopes that will put pressure on legislators to bow to his budget demands. But we expect the voters [will] blame both him and lawmakers for this costly mess.
And why have all lawmakers in Springfield anyway? We know their only role is to approve whatever Blagojevich and the top legislative leaders agree on. Let them go home until a deal is struck.
* As you know, on Monday, Blagojevich’s people were saying that the House’s Committee of the Whole meeting was a fantastic idea and just what the governor wanted. By Wednesday, he was refusing to attend the hearing and claiming that Speaker Madigan was “more interested in playing games and taking solutions off the table than trying to find solutions to solve real problems.”
Curiously enough, none of the TV reporters who were granted interviews yesterday asked the governor about this abrupt switch in attitude…
‘’This is a three-ring circus. It’s not designed to solve any problems,'’ Blagojevich said in an interview with WICS-TV in Springfield.
* And he’s ramping up the vitriol against Madigan, despite the clear fact that he doesn’t have the votes to pass almost any of his legislation through the Senate, either…
Meantime he’s calling Speaker Madigan a “Right wing conservative”
“You can’t be a democrat if you pass a budget that takes healthcare away from 225 thousand kids. Even President Bush wouldn’t be for a budget like that. Mr. Madigan and the house democrats passed a budget like that.” Said Governor Rod Blagojevich, D-Illinois.
Please.
* This is worth noting…
Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, have proposed a budget that includes a mix of new casinos and higher business taxes to generate $5 billion for health care and education.
The problem is, the Senate has only passed the gaming component of the budget, and that bill was fatally flawed because it locked out south suburban communities that have been vying for a riverboat. The rest of the governor’s package is still stalled in the Senate, a fact that continues to be overlooked or brushed aside by the media.
* Thankfully, the Tribune took a look at opposition in the Senate to the governor’s Lottery proposal, but buried it underneath the much sexier Madigan vs. Blagojevich fight…
Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), who chairs the Education Committee, said the administration failed to explain how it would replace the more than $600 million the lottery provides education each year if it is leased. It provides nearly 10 percent of the state’s annual contribution to schools.
Lightford lashed out at suggestions that replacement funds could be raised by closing more corporate loopholes or by exploring other revenue options.
“I can’t support a concept that does not clearly demonstrate to me how we would make up the revenue,” she said, saying the plan is “totally unacceptable.” […]
Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said there is a “great deal of anxiety” in the Senate about a lottery lease, but he said he is prepared to call a vote Friday on the governor’s resolution.
* I told you about that resolution yesterday. At best, it’s an empty gesture - merely calling on the General Assembly to do something about the pension funding situation by the end of the session. John Patterson makes an excellent point today…
The resolution is co-sponsored by state Rep. Jay Hoffman, a Collinsville Democrat and a key Blagojevich ally.
And that leads us to May 10… Here’s what Rep. Hoffman had to say on that date when the Illinois House, by resolution, voted 107-0 to reject Blagojevich’s $8 billion business tax plan.
“We’ve never governed by resolution,” Hoffman told reporters after the vote.
“I have never in the 16 years that I’ve been here ever seen us govern by resolution. I mean the next resolution may be congratulating some football team for winning the state championship.”
Indeed, the resolution filed right after Hoffman’s congratulates a Chicago school principal on her retirement.
The bottom line here is that nothing that has been done so far this week is getting us any closer to fixing the problems. If anything, they’re further away from a resolution than they were a week ago.
* More special session stories, compiled by Paul…
* Lawmakers furious with governor over budget impasse
* Blagojevich skips Illinois House hearing on budget
* Blagojevich misses Illinois House budget hearing
* House fights lottery lease
* Lottery plan compounds animosity
* Pension costs growing sharply for IL government
* Bethany Carson: Many answers, few questions
* Lawmakers in special session without governor
* Plenty of doubt over lottery sale plan
* Lottery sale plan may get nixed
* Editorial: Simmering Mushrooms
* Cost of special session