* 2:35 pm - I don’t believe there’s a leaders meeting today, but this is from a letter sent by the governor to Speaker Madigan and the two GOP leaders about the impasse over a new gaming bill…
We have an important task to complete in the coming days and weeks. The people of Illinois deserve a balanced budget that meets their needs. I understand your desire to pass a capital plan. But a budget that invests in infrastructure without providing resources for education and healthcare is not an option. We must find a way to meet all of our obligations.
Tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., I will convene a leaders meeting in my office to discuss viable options for funding education. Now that you have effectively taken gaming off the table, I am asking you to take time today to consult with your caucuses and identify potential revenue sources for education that you could support without raising taxes on people. I look forward to hearing your ideas and getting negotiations back on track tomorrow.
The entire letter can be downloaded here.
* 2:45 pm - Only 1,365 signatures? Judging from comments here and elsewhere on the Intertubes, I thought they’d get more. From a press release…
Citizens to Impeach Blagojevich delivered via email today the signatures of 1,365 Illinoisans on a petition calling for House Speaker Madigan to launch an impeachment investigation of Governor Blagojevich in accordance with Section 14, Article IV of the 1970 Illinois Constitution.
The ongoing budget crisis has clearly shown that Rod Blagojevich has become to Illinois what Gray Davis was to California. Unlike the Golden State, however, Illinois has no recall provision upon which the people can act. Therefore, a group Illinoisans launched a petition website (www.impeachblago.com) in an effort to give voice to their fellow citizens who have grown frustrated with the near criminal mismanagement of the state’s finances.
* 2:48 pm - I told subscribers in a password-protected post earlier today that House Speaker Madigan and Senate President Jones were meeting today to put final touches on the electric rate agreement. Here’s more…
The proposal would spread out the consumer breaks over four years, Clayborne said, adding that negotiators had “pretty much closed” a $50 million gap since last month, when lawmakers said the utilities had agreed to a $950 million package.
Among the issues still unresolved are whether credits should be given to consumers or checks should be mailed to them, said Clayborne, who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Energy.
Lawmakers need to work out what parts of the package need to be voted on in legislation and what parts should be in a memorandum of understanding worked out with utility interests, Clayborne said. He said he would like to vote on a deal this week.
* 3:31 pm - The folks at Chicago Tonight say they hope to post the video soon of House Speaker Madigan’s appearance last night. It may end up here. Check the main site as well. Here are some excerpts…
Madigan: What’s happened is that the governor is not getting what he wants. He wants a 7% increase in state spending [Madigan later corrected himself and noted it was a 30 percent increase that the governor wanted].
His proposals have failed before the legislature. He really doesn’t see anywhere to go to get what he wants and so he’s resorted to name calling. And i called upon him in the past and i will call upon him again, stop the name calling. Bring people together. Join together in good faith, and try to solve these problems. Adopt a budget for the state of illinois. Many people in Illinois are very dependent upon the government of the state of Illinois. Every school district in the state gets support from the government. Those that are developmentally disabled and residents of nursing homes all depend upon support from the government of the state of illinois. They deserve to have this budget impasse solved now. We should get to work and solve our problems, not with the divisive leadership but rather the leadership which was designed to bring people together, not divide them. […]
Carol Marin: …This would be, at this stage, a pretty much do nothing legislature being wouldn’t it?
Madigan: We are very hopeful that this week we will announce rate reductions on electric service that will amount to $1 billion statewide. This is an issue where the governor has been asked, but he’s declined to participate to bring down electric rates all across the state. As far back as last fall, during the veto session, i was calling for the advancement of legislation that would freeze the rates. I passed that bill on to the house. We passed it out of the house again at the beginning of the year. Never any support from the governor. It was the advancement of rate freeze legislation which brought the utilities to the table. We have negotiated with them over several weeks and we are now prepared to announce a rate reduction plan, which will cost in excess of $1 billion. That’s $1 billion in savings for the electric ratepayers all across state of illinois. […]
Carol Marin: Do you regret being Blagojevich’s [campaign] co-chair the last time?
Madigan: No, i’m not going to regret that. I supported the Democratic nominee for governor. I’m a Democrat. I wish the governor would understand that. 37 Years of service in the House of Representatives. Always elected as a Democrat. Over 20 years as the speaker. Always elected as a Democrat.
Carol Marin: Where is this going to go? I mean, by the time we get to july 24th this will be the longest special session in history and it will be under a complete super Democratic control. What does this say about the party?
Madigan: It says that the Democratic Party is a very different element. It’s not very easy to bring it together. We will work real hard to get the job done. We hope we will get it don’t before the end of the month but, again, people have to come together and recognize that there are differences differences within the democratic party. There are differences within the state of Illinois. We need to work real hard to reconcile those differences so that we can solve this budget problem and continue to provide support to local school districts and the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled and those in nursing homes. That’s why we are here. We should get to work and get the job done and let everybody in the state go about their business.