Gone For Now, But Maybe Not for Long

July 17th, 2008 at 12:24pm Aaron Chambers

State lawmakers are back home today and are not scheduled to return to Springfield until after the Nov. 4 general election.

Dog in Pajamas, complements of spoilurpets.com

It’s just me, a couple dozen other reporters, some legislative staff, secretaries and a bunch of security guards remaining at the Capitol. Once again, I can show up to work in my pajamas.

But my bliss in puffy slippers may not last long. With Gov. Rod “Madman” Blagojevich, House Speaker Michael “King of the Mountain” Madigan and Senate President Emil “I’m Powerful Too” Jones running the state government, it’s a safe bet we won’t have to wait long for the next drama in Springfield.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all with these characters, it gets even goofier. Yesterday, Blagojevich declared that he might send state troopers or even the National Guard into the neighborhoods of Chicago to help stem “out of control” violence. Only, Blagojevich hadn’t bothered to mention this to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley before mentioning it to rolling television cameras. As CapFax Blog noted, Blagojevich apparently just “blurted” it out.

By the time the House completed work Wednesday, its members had restored to the state budget more than $400 million in spending Blagojevich had cut. Only, Blagojevich said he cut that spending because there was inadequate revenue in the budget to support it, and the House didn’t bother voting for any additional revenue-raising plan to back up the additional spending.

Blagojevich’s people were quick to say the House had acted irresponsibly. Then again, Blagojevich cut just $1.4 billion from the budget after insisting it had a $2.1 billion hole. How did the governor plan to manage that other $700 million in spending for which he claimed there was no revenue? Who knows.

And in any case, Blagojevich has long lacked any credibility regarding budget numbers. It’s prudent to take everything the man says about the budget with a huge — I mean huge — grain of salt. Even as the state faced the worst general-fund deficit in the nation near the end of his first term, Blagojevich insisted it wasn’t possible for the state to have a deficit.

Oh, and remember how the governor tried to cut state funding for 4-H and other agricultural programs from the budget that ended June 30 because he claimed it had a $750 million hole? The governor agreed to restore funding for those programs when fellow Democrats in the Senate agreed to defeat a plan that would have allowed voters to recall Blagojevich from office. And though Blagojevich’s people had threatened to withhold nearly $400 million in payments for schools during the month of June to help close that budget gap, they released that money too.

How did the governor patch that $750 million hole? Who knows. Did such a hole even exist? Who knows.

If there’s another thing Blagojevich does not do well, it’s sit still with his mouth shut. Though Madigan engineered the defeat of the governor’s $34 billion capital plan by out-foxing him on the last day of spring session, Blagojevich is working feverishly to build public pressure to topple Madigan and push the plan through.

Blagojevich seldom misses an opportunity to promote his plan. Yesterday, when he offered to send troopers or troops into Chicago yesterday, he clumsily painted his capital plan as a means to quell violence in Chicago.

“The mayor can be a great help in this in getting the House Democratic leadership to pass that big capital program,” [Blagojevich] said.

That capital program would funnel millions into communities he says need money to fight crime in a comprehensive way.

It’s safe to assume Blagojevich will continue beating that drum. Perhaps he’ll go so far as to call lawmakers into special session. Who knows.

In the meantime, I’m getting cozy with flannel.

Entry Filed under: Emil Jones, Michael Madigan, Rod Blagojevich