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At the time of this writing, a budget had not cleared the Senate. This morning major news outlets are reporting that the Senate voted 52-5 to pass an operating budget late last night similar to what the House approved 99-9 earlier in the day. The Senate legislation will have to be voted on by the House before it can go to the governor's desk. The potential budget includes increases in spending for education, but not much else.
The man who is in the worst position to complain, Rod Blagojevich, had some issues with it, citing the lack of help for the beleaguered CTA and contending that it is $1 billion out of balance. The bill went to the Senate yesterday, and House Speaker Michael Madigan said that the Senate was making changes that the House could review tomorrow. Along the way, Sen. John Cullerton (D-6) managed to raise the cigarette tax by 90 cents a pack, which allows counties to raise their tax by a dollar. The Senate is also working on a separate plan that will fund capital projects around the state, and would include putting a casino in Chicago.
This whole debacle has been too depressing for us to want to put too much time into following (it's important, we know, we just don't want to write about it). While we aren't generally big fans of the GOP around these parts, we're kind of pissed off that there isn't much of an opposition party to rally around in this state. Not one single Republican leader has stood up to point out the inadequacies and failures of the Blagojevich administration, Senate leader Emil Jones, or House Speaker Mike Madigan's cynical maneuvering. Instead, we're left with the choice of bad or worse, all while our state crumbles around us, and our leaders in the state bring us a casino, while handing out expedited appropriations for votes.
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"Not one single Republican leader has stood up to point out the inadequacies and failures of the Blagojevich administration"
"We don’t have any trust in the governor for good reason,” said Sen. Dale Risinger (R-Peoria).
By two votes, the Senate rejected a bid to authorize $9 billion in borrowing for state construction after Republicans complained that Blagojevich’s administration could not be counted upon to make good on its promises to fund projects."
There is at least some, and not "one single" if you look for them.
Look at http://www.thecapitolfaxblog.com/
-a blog with a little more balanced approach and good analysis.
Just lobby ComEd if you want stuff done. Emil Jones does anything they say!
Who cares if most people in his district are poor, they need higher electrical bills!!!
"Not one single Republican leader has stood up to point out the inadequacies and failures of the Blagojevich administration, Senate leader Emil Jones, or House Speaker Mike Madigan's cynical maneuvering. "
Uh, OK, what the hell, I'll bite.
Assuming this is true, and I don't think it is, tell me, please, Kevin, how the mushrooms in the House and Senate should go about this, giving the rules that govern our legislative body. Certainly you know about mushrooms from your vast political experience, right?
Cynical? Yeah, and I have no love for any of those leaders. Yet 'tis how the game is played under the current rules. Do we need another Con-Con?
Yeah, it's no big secret that Frank Clark (#1 at Com Ed) and Emil Jones are old friends. Jones doesn't seem to care how obvious it is that he is motivated more by his best buddy's interests than by the well-being of his constituents.