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Illinois Issues
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State of the State: Push-and-pull politics could carry over into the new General Assembly

Bethany Jaeger
WUIS/Illinois Issues
The tug-of-war could resume next month when the 95th General Assembly considers Gov. Rod Blagojevich's budget proposal.

Illinois voters elected 15 new lawmakers who will be sworn in when the 95th General Assembly convenes this month. They will be part of a Democrat-controlled House, Senate and executive branch, something that hasn't happened since 1941, according to the Legislative Research Unit.

The freshman class includes the typical mix of lawyers, former teachers, local government officials and business owners, as well as one advocate for a nonprofit group.

Eight of them, four Democrats and four Republicans, join the House as first-time state legislators. Six others served by appointment before being elected November 7. In all, House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago enjoys a 66-52 majority.

In the Senate, six new Democrats and one new Republican, as well as one former House Republican, give Sen. President Emil Jones Jr. a so-called super majority of 37 to 22. This means Democrats control three-fifths of that chamber and have enough votes to overturn the governor's vetoes or approve state borrowing without Republican support. 

New Republican and Democratic legislators say they'll pursue bipartisan support for their agendas, but sending legislation to the governor's desk may not be as easy as it sounds. Furthermore, the state's fiscal condition may trump some of the social programs the freshmen say their districts need.

New lawmakers met in Springfield in November and listened to experts spell out the financial situation. A few blocks away, the Democratic legislative leaders supported different — sometimes competing — versions of legislation during the 94th General Assembly's fall veto session.

Madigan and Jones, for instance, each had his own idea on ways to address the electricity rate increase scheduled to kick in this month. Madigan supported a three-year extension of current rates that already have been frozen for nine years, while Jones said utility companies should be able to phase in rate increases over three years. By mid-December, neither proposal had enough support to advance to the governor's desk.

Both leaders told reporters they have different approaches to doing business in their chambers, prompting Jones to quip, "We act responsibly over here."

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown says the leaders may have different points of view on legislation, but they came to some compromises. "And with anything, you always have some pride of authorship over what's going on, sometimes a little push and pull."

He adds that more Democrats might not make that party merrier in the 95th General Assembly. "It always seems the larger the caucus, the harder it is to get things accomplished." 

The tug-of-war could resume next month when the 95th General Assembly considers Gov. Rod Blagojevich's budget proposal. He's expected to repeat his campaign promise not to raise income or sales taxes during his second four-year term.

At the same time, he has said he plans to expand his first-term programs that provide health insurance to children regardless of family income and veterans who don't qualify for federal benefits. He also has said in the next fiscal year he wants to extend pilot programs that subsidized preschool and limited class sizes.

The combination of proposed programs and the no-tax pledge likely will cause lawmakers to shift attention to other sources of revenue, particularly expanding casinos and privatizing tollways. Freshmen lawmakers are likely to be interested in those proposals because nearly all of them represent Chicago or suburban districts near casinos and tollways.

The orientation gave new lawmakers a warning that outstanding Medicaid bills, debt service and pension obligations could swallow all of the state's new revenue. According to the legislative Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, the five public employee pension systems alone could cost the state $2.5 billion in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

One of the new House Democrats, Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates, says the presentation about the state's structural deficit drove home the point that legislators can no longer say, "Yeah, we know."

"You know, but now you're in Springfield and you have the experts telling you. And you see firsthand. It's like, 'Oh, I guess it's true,'" Crespo says. "To me, it sends a sense of urgency."

But so do his constituents' concerns about education, property taxes and immigration, says Crespo, a Hispanic village trustee who unseated 22-year Republican incumbent Rep. Terry Parke.

"Being a freshman legislator, I have no doubt that people are going to be watching me very closely," Crespo says. "I see this as a two-year contract. You hope you do a very good job and people give you another contract for another two years."

He says he'll push for a special session on reforming the way Illinois pays for education, but he joins a long list of others who have made the same request to no avail.

This year, however, legislators have formed a bipartisan Education Caucus to study ways to improve school funding and education quality. While the group is likely to explore the much-debated shift from a system of funding education that relies primarily on local property taxes to one that depends more on state income taxes, the inevitable increase in state taxes already has been ruled out by the governor.

A debate over new school construction also looms. The list of school districts waiting to receive promised state dollars has grown since Blagojevich took office, but the capital budget has stalled along partisan lines.

Over the past two years, Democrats needed a handful of Republicans to sign on to plans to borrow money to build new schools and new roads. The GOP denied that support, and, consequently, prevented Democrats from attending coveted ribbon-cutting ceremonies in their districts during the election season.

For the next two years, five Republican votes will be needed in the House to approve the borrowing.

The GOP still has the ability to distance members from a budget crafted solely by Democrats, but Republicans will have to avoid being cast aside as extras in a Democrat-controlled agenda.

The to-do list likely will include utility deregulation, health care and a slew of other social issues important to members of both parties.

The first contentious issue could be the role of the Illinois Commerce Commission, not only in setting electric rates but also in regulating local phone lines. The state's telecommunications law is set to expire this year and will need to be extended or rewritten to allow for competition in the industry, which has grown to include cell phones, Internet services and cable.

Similarly, lawmakers could take up the state's role in health care, particularly how to deal with the uninsured. 

The Illinois Adequate Health Care Task Force, created by state law, recommended mandating health insurance for all Illinoisans and requiring employers to provide health benefits. Attorney General Lisa Madigan also is expected to push a revised proposal requiring hospitals to use a certain percentage of their operating budget to care for the uninsured.

And, of course, there will be demands from legislators, each wanting to secure state funding for projects and services important to their districts.

First-time Rep. La Shawn Ford is a Chicago Democrat who defeated incumbent Democrat Rep. Calvin Giles in last year's primary. Ford says HIV and AIDS, affordable housing for seniors, high-school dropouts and mental health top his agenda, but he also plans to pursue a controversial proposal to help former inmates get jobs. 

He says more ex-offenders could get a foot in the door if employers removed the question on whether applicants have been convicted of a nonviolent offense.

"The moment that [employers] see that question checked, 'Yes, I've been convicted,' nine times out of 10 that application may be pushed in the back and maybe never brought up," Ford says.

New Rep. Dan Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat who defeated Republican Sen. Cheryl Axley of Mount Prospect, brings the perspective of a lobbyist for the nonprofit Uhlich Children's Advantage Network. He also is the former executive director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence.

His work with nonprofits, he says, taught him to be creative in raising money and support based on an issue, not on partisanship. His organization lobbied for a state law that raised the age limit for staying in school from 16 to 17 and directed state money to identify and help students who are at risk of dropping out.

Some issues may not be popular, Kotowski says, but "sometimes it takes a little bit of time for the right thing to get done."

Over in the Senate, one of the two new Republicans, Matt Murphy of Palatine, plans to pursue election reform, particularly requiring full disclosure of who pays for negative political advertisements.

"If voters are going to have to endure really nasty attacks, they should have a very clear idea who exactly is sending them out," says Murphy, a civil law attorney who replaces retired Republican Sen. Wendell Jones of Palatine.

But being in the minority party, Murphy says, he'll need all the help he can get to move legislation. "The climate is such where — if I'm going to make a difference — I'm going to have to do it with both Republicans and Democrats."

But the fall veto session set the tone for the 95th General Assembly. Bipartisan support and fiscal responsibility could be easier said than done.

 


Bethany Carson can be reached at capitolbureau@aol.com.

Illinois Issues, January 2007

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