Capitol Fax

Rich Miller's commentary on State Government

Last year, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan was able to use his alliance with the House and Senate Republicans to thwart Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones at almost every turn.

Whether it was the budget, or the governor's health insurance expansion, or a multitude of other issues, Madigan and the Republicans were a solid team throughout the long overtime session.

This year, the Republicans have flipped on Madigan, allying with Gov. Blagojevich and Jones on the $34 billion capital construction package, funded by expanded casino gambling and by leasing the Illinois Lottery to a private company.

A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between Madigan and Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson. Sen. Watson had come to the House floor to lobby Madigan, yet again, on the capital bill, which would dump tons of cash into roads, bridges, schools and mass transit.

Nothing doing, Madigan said. "I don't know how anyone could ever trust that guy," he said of Blagojevich.

Watson and House Republican Leader Tom Cross continued to stick with Blagojevich despite Madigan's argument that the governor will eventually double-cross them.

Right now, the only powerful political ally that Madigan has left is Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Daley has turned thumbs down on the capital package because: 1) The price the city would have to pay for a casino license was way higher than what Daley agreed to; and 2) The governor inserted language giving himself control of all Chicago school construction projects against Daley's wishes.

Madigan is under intense pressure from his allies in organized labor and from many of his fellow Democrats to approve the capital bill, but he has refused to budge. And as long as Mayor Daley is still not satisfied with the proposal then Madigan has more than enough political protection.

Meanwhile, some of my best inside sources confirm that Madigan's daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, is now leaning far more towards running for governor than she has in the past.

All of the above is why the semipublic mulling of a 2010 gubernatorial bid by Mayor Daley's brother Bill Daley is so interesting to me. Whether or not Bill Daley ever decides to run for governor (and that's a debatable point), he is right now currently testing the waters and gauging his support.

Speaker Madigan and Mayor Daley have argued and even split in the past, but the two men go way back, and it's practically impossible to break them apart for long. Madigan views Richard J. Daley, the mayor's father, as his second dad. Madigan and Daley are more than just political allies, they are almost like brothers. That means they occasionally fight each other hard, but they usually end up on the same side.

However, Bill Daley is a "real" mayoral brother. He's an official member of the ruling family, not an unofficial member like Madigan.

What I'm trying to say here is that Speaker Madigan is facing a quite touchy situation. The possibility that the brother of Madigan's only remaining ally in this fight to the political death with Gov. Blagojevich might end up on the opposite side of a primary race with his daughter, or even that he will continue openly mulling the decision for months, could very well complicate the speaker's near future.

Now, most believe that some sort of arrangement will be worked out. But things could easily become complicated with a family situation like this. A few kind words from Mayor Daley about the capital plan, for instance, would send ripples throughout the state's political establishment and seriously undercut Speaker Madigan's position, and possibly his daughter's.

It can't be said enough that Madigan cannot afford to lose Mayor Daley right now, just like Blagojevich can't afford to lose his most powerful ally Senate President Jones. Without Daley, Madigan is friendless in his war with Blagojevich. Without Jones, Blagojevich is in the same friendless position in his war with Madigan.

Lately, I've gotten word from on-high that Jones has repeatedly urged state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias to run for governor in the 2010 election. Giannoulias is a vocal critic of Blagojevich, so if Jones moves his direction the governor could face unending problems.

Stay tuned for much fun, campers.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and thecapitolfaxblog.com.

National Security Issue

In 1972, the U.S. paid $4 billion for its growing addiction to imported petroleum. This year we will pay $650 billion for 5 billion barrels of imported oil. We all need to challenge ourselves to take a hard look at this growing dependence on imported petroleum.

OPEC is now banking an astounding $1.5 trillion a year in overall earnings, enough to buy controlling interests in every Fortune 500 company within six years. The result of this oil tax is a giant sucking sound that is drawing us closer each day to a recession.

Virtually all the nation's economic woes from jobs lost in the auto industry to the housing meltdown can all be tied to an economy being eroded by petroleum dependence. We need answers, and ethanol is making a major contribution to addressing this dilemma. This year, Agriculture will provide 9 billion gallons of ethanol to power our cars, reduce the price of gasoline by 30-40 cents per gallon, and take a first step toward addressing this national security issue.

Sincerely,
Jeff Becker
District Director II
IL Corn Growers
Baileyville, IL

Super Skaters

I want to thank the Prairie Advocate (see "Video Reports" at www.prairie-advocate-news.com) for their support and coverage of the skate park project that this community is working on developing. I was amazed by the skaters that showed up - not just by their numbers, but more importantly, their attitudes and gratefulness.

I was delightfully surprised that nearly every skater that participated, a rather high number for the population, said thank you, and offered to help once the demo was over.

I have the privilege to work with many groups of young people all across the county, whether it is a skate park design meeting or the skate park demo, and I can honestly say that I have not met such a group of polite skaters that truly deserve your support and investment in their future.

Thank You,
John Hunter
Sales Representative, American Ramp Company
John@americanrampcompany.com

Opinion of McCain's Record

For a definitive opinion of Senator John McCain's Iraq War strategy go on-line to google.com and enter John McCain and Military Waste, Fraud and Abuse. Then move down to "John McCain's Iraq Policy is Good For Lobbyist & Defense Contractors," published by the Progressive Media USA on June 26, 2008.

As ranking member on the U. S. Armed Services Committee, you will see in detail, how and why Senator McCain continually blocked investigations into military waste, fraud and abuse accusations costing taxpayers trillions of dollars during his 26 years in the U.l S. Congress.

Also, this data points out how Senator McCain's friend and campaigner, lobbyist Charlie Black, "pulled the strings" initiating the 2003 Iraq War!

Donald G. Siedenburg
Shawnee, KS

Lanark's Raging Road Rally

Thank you, Tom and the Prairie Advocate, for offering me a video cameo for your web page at the Raging Road Rally (www.prairie-advocate-news.com). Even though I said "uhm" about twelve times, I still hope people will visit your website and watch it to learn more about Lanark's 5K event. I want all of your readers to know that there were 143 registrants this year and we were able to donate $2200 to the American Cancer Society.

I am most appreciative of the Lanark Community Club, Scott's Electric, Diehl & Lott Construction, Exchange State Bank, Country Insurance and Financial Services-Rhett Coatney, Lanark Food Center, Dave Busch Photography, Isenhart Realty, Carroll Service Company, and Freeport Health Network, whose donations helped pay the bills. Of course, my volunteers are THE BEST and the race couldn't exist without them. Thank you!

Next year is our 10 year anniversary celebration: 10 YEARS-10 GRAND-I'M IN! The Raging Road Rally hopes to collect $10,000 for the ACS. That's a bold goal, so I'm asking everyone I know to try to collect $100 over the next year. That's less than $2.00 per week or $10 per month. My personal goal is to save $3 a week; next June I will be able to support the 10 Grand Project AND my local Relay For Life team. It sure felt good to drop the money in my box these first two weeks. You can pick up your very own collection box at Exchange State Bank, Lanark Public Library, or On The Move Fitness and start this week!

You don't have to sign up for the race to join the effort. However, part of the 10 year celebration will also include 10 grand prizes for those who do sign up. (Need not actually run or be present to win a grand prize.) So, you've got it, right? You can sign up for the race, don't have to run it, get a race shirt, are eligible for one of ten grand prizes, and support the American Cancer Society. That's quite a deal. Are you in?

Lastly, I certainly recognize that we must all pick and choose the charities we support and how we support them. Don't let this grand effort take away from the projects you already have passion for. Thank you for picking a cause and committing to it, financially or otherwise. Because that is how we make a difference in this crazy world.

Sincerely,
LeAndra Hartman, Director
Raging Road Rally

Capitol Report

By Jim Sacia, State Representative, 89th District

99 of the 118 members of the Illinois House of Representatives answered the roll call on July 9 as Speaker Madigan called us to order. The call was in response to Governor Blagojevich ordering a 2-day Special Session to deal with a new state budget that is $2.5 billion out of balance.

As the House Clerk read the Governor's proclamation, it was apparent that the battle between the Governor and Speaker Madigan was intensifying"Whereas it was emphatically noted on the House floor that intentionally passing an unbalanced budget under the premise that it would be balanced by the Governor did not comport with the General Assembly's constitutional duty to pass a balanced budget; whereas on June 24, 2008 I called upon the House to pass the funding solutions already passed by the Illinois Senate by July 9, 2008 in order to bring the budget into balance; whereas the leadership of the House of Representatives has refused to call the House into session to deal with the grossly unbalanced budget passed"

And so we came to order as a Committee of the Whole to hear testimony dealing with revenue enhancements for the budget and of course the much debated "Capital" Jobs and Infrastructure bill. We are dealing with two significant issues here which are easy to lose in the fray. The first is our $59 billion unbalanced budget for Fiscal Year 2009 to keep the machinery of state government operating and to pay its 65,000 employees. The second issue on the table is a $34 billion jobs bill capable of putting 700,000 people to work repairing our crumbling roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure needs.

The entire day Wednesday was spent in the House chamber hearing testimony about the great need throughout the state for infrastructure improvements. But, before we were even finished with our first of two days of planned testimony, the Governor shocked us with a press release announcing that he had already made $1.4 billion in line item budget vetoes as follows:

· Social services-$210 million

· Seniors and Veterans-$100 million

· Economic development and transit-$230 million

· Environment-$11 million

· Education-$100 million

· Public safety-$10 million

· Health care-$600 million

· State government operations-$153 million

In his press release the Governor stated "I will not let the state succumb to an economic crisis or risk a government shutdown because of the House of Representatives and the dereliction of their constitutional duty."

I cannot even imagine the tightness of Speaker Madigan's jaw as he was delivered this release. The game of "gotcha" has reached new heights, and we have now been ordered back to Springfield by the Speaker on July 15, 16, and 17.

Can we solve this unbelievable debacle? I want you to know that at least 175 of the 177 legislators believe we can and will certainly try.

As always, you can reach me, Sally or Barb at 815/232-0774 or e-mail us at jimsacia@aeroinc.net. You can also visit my website at www.jimsacia.com. It's always a pleasure to hear from you.

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