Still Waiting

By Kevin Robinson in News on Jul 30, 2007 12:30PM

No surprises this weekend, as a special session in the legislature called by the governor to work out a one-month budget yielded only about a quarter of the Senate and half the House, falling short of a quorum. With legislators working privately on a budget, the only question is what Blagojevich is going to do when they don't show up at the sessions he is calling, and what he will do when they all gang up on him and pass a budget.

“I think it indicates that there’s a majority of the House that simply is not responsive to the governor’s desires,” said House Speaker Mike Madigan. Of course, Blagojevich issued a statement indicating that he was "disappointed" in the poor attendance. But many lawmakers seem not to be worried about it, confident that the legislative leadership can work something out without the governor.

According to Madigan, a 12-month budget is being worked out. He expressed confidence that when they come back to Springfield next week they would continue to negotiate the remaining issues of the budget, which revolve largely around funding levels for education. Even Blagojevich's ally in the Senate, Emil Jones sees the writing on the wall. If he doesn't cut a deal with Madigan soon, the Senate Democratic Caucus will revolt. Madigan, for his part, is predicting that a budget will be reached soon. And therein lies the strategy all along: keep Blago out of it, let him threaten a veto, then pass something that is veto-proof. Leaving us asking, who will be the next Attorney General?