QUINN'S CHALLENGE, AGAIN You can't accuse Gov. Pat Quinn of sugar-coating his message in yesterday's budget address. Quinn was blunt about the damage the pension crisis is inflicting on Illinois and how much worse things will get until the General Assembly makes necessary reforms. "So, members of the General Assembly, what are you waiting for?" Quinn demanded of his audience in the House chamber.
And that question from Quinn brings us to the problem here. As the Chicago Tribune noted in an editorial immediately after the speech, "The governor should have turned and put that to the guy standing behind him in a navy blue suit." That would be House Speaker Michael Madigan, without whose backing no bill makes it through the General Assembly. It was Madigan who, at the start of the last General Assembly in January 2011, warned members of the hard choices to come regarding pensions. He knows what's needed as well as Quinn. But as governor, it's Quinn's job to make it happen. So far, Quinn has a slim record of success in walking delicate and difficult legislation through the legislature's political minefield. Most of the big bills during his tenure have been initiated and driven by the Legislature.
Our editorial today focuses on Quinn's need to turn his rhetoric into action by working with lawmakers (especially Madigan) rather than scolding them -- though a good scolding also was in order. He may have introduced a significant bargaining chip yesterday when he spoke of expanding gambling and putting the proceeds toward education, including teacher pensions. Many lawmakers across the state and across party lines have long hungered for casinos in their districts and/or for helping the horse racing industry by turning horse tracks into "racinos."
Can Quinn make this happen? We'd say his political future depends on it. Read our opinion here.
A LITTLE RELIEF, PLEASE Yesterday freshman State Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, became the unlikely focus of the Chicago Tribune's post-budget address editorial. Asked outside the House chamber after Quinn's speech how he was doing, Cabello responded: "Horrible. We're not doing anything. Have we done anything? No. We should be locked in the House chamber, no food, no water, no bathroom breaks, until the pension problem is solved and we get to the backlog of unpaid bills." You have to appreciate that kind of honesty.
But Cabello isn't just spouting off to reporters about pension reform. He's introduced a pair of bills designed to bring property tax relief to property owners. He's candid about one bill's chances (not good) but explains his efforts in an op-ed piece for Reboot Illinois today. Read it here.
DAILY TIP-OFF We have a ton of reaction to Quinn's budget speech in our Daily Tip-Off section today. The Tribune editorial referenced above is among them, and voices a refrain common among Statehouse observers: Until House Speaker Michael Madigan gets what he wants, we will see no action on the pension crisis. The trouble is, Madigan never states what he wants (at least publicly) until he gets it.
For a hint of the trouble pension reform faces in Springfield, check out The State Journal-Register's interviews with several Springfield-area lawmakers. Rep. Raymond Poe, a Springfield Republican, doesn't want the state to touch the 3 percent compounded annual raises for life now guaranteed to retirees. It's been widely accepted as the biggest driver of the $100 billion problem, but Poe, whose district is loaded with state workers, doesn't see it that way. "I simply ask how he expects our state employees to be able to afford the basics like electricity and food when our economy once again returns to an inflationary period,” he says. Again, Poe is a Republican. And we might ask how all other Americans who don't get guaranteed 3 percent raises every year that compounded annually manage to get by. Like we said, this is not going to be easy.
The Daily Herald focuses on Quinn's surprise voicing of his apparent support for more gambling in his budget speech. As we mentioned earlier, this could be a major point of leverage for Quinn, who just this week vetoed an earlier gambling expansion bill that had been languishing on his desk.
Things are about to heat up for Chicago Public Schools: It can close up to 80 schools, says the commission that has been studying and planning the closure process. CPS is closing underutilized schools in an effort to relieve a $1 billion budget gap next year and has 129 possible candidates for closure. A Chicago Sun-Times study today shows that nine of 10 students who will be affected by the closures will be black, a situation one activist describes as "a lawsuit waiting to happen."
Go to our Daily Tip-Off section to find links to these articles and other Illinois reform news.
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