Chicago Sun-Times

Steve Huntley
June 17, 2008

Voting matters. Sometimes folks find that out the hard way. That unhappy lot would include Cook County suburbanites jousting at windmills in their uphill campaign to secede from the county.

Two years ago these suburban residents probably didn't think it much mattered who ran county government -- only half of the registered voters cast ballots in the election that made Todd Stroger Cook County Board president. He rewarded their indifference with a big 1 percentage-point increase in the county sales tax. That will bring in more than enough money to cover a current budget shortfall -- enough to ensure more spend-thrift business-as-usual in county government for years. Now, despite the secession dreams of Palatine and a few other suburbs, voters have little choice but to wait until the 2010 elections to register their displeasure with Stroger.

C'mon gov, cut the nonsense, make a deal

July 11, 2007

If there were not millions of children waiting for information about the amount to be appropriated for public education, thousands of health-care providers waiting for reimbursement for services already provided and each of us wondering about the dignity of self-governance in Illinois, the governor's behavior in Springfield would just be bad political theater.

Editorial

Blab tab is running high as no budget deal emerges

July 6, 2007

State Senate Republicans have done some figurin' to come up with an idea of what the special session of the General Assembly is costing taxpayers. For example, they conclude that it costs $125 a day for hotel and meals for each lawmaker. Multiply that by 177 members of the Legislature and you come up with $22,125 per day. And the tab for keeping the doormen on the job at the state Capitol totals $2,500 a day.

EDITORIAL

Governor, here's how to lead

July 2, 2007

Surely it's painful to be Rod Blagojevich. You accomplish next to nothing for half a year while those FBI busybodies investigate your administration. You float an unprecedented taxing-and-spending plan only to have the Illinois House reject it -- by a less than ambiguous 107-0. You so spectacularly fail to broker a state budget with leaders of your own party that editorial writers -- testy when appalled -- start calling you the governor who can't govern.

Your solution?

Cast yourself in the role of bold hero! Call a special session of your General Assembly! Having wasted your legislature's time and your taxpayers' money for six months, demand that Springfield...waste more time and money!

Too much finger-pointing, not enough action

Editorial
June 25, 2007

If you've lost patience with the ongoing state budget logjam in Springfield, take heart. At least you're not alone.

If the situation seems confusing, well, again, you're in good company.

For some background on one of the newest wrinkles, let's start with this position statement: "Any final budget approved by the General Assembly must provide for significant new investments in education, capital improvement and transportation needs, health care and human services, frontline staff in state agencies, and the long-term stability of state-funded pension systems."

Wow! That sounds too good to be true - in other words, not grounded in reality.

Editorial

Wake us when it's over

June 25, 2007

With the speed of an evolving species, the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. Rod Blagojevich continue to "negotiate" the budget for a fiscal year that's now six days away. The pols probably see themselves as Odysseus-like heroes of their own little epics -- valiant warriors who'll be remembered for their righteousness. Mostly, though, their collective rope-a-dope stirs little fascination as they trade insults instead of ideas.

Who knew that these same legislators would embrace protocols by which they can resolve their impasse? They've done just that, as we learned from a story by the Tribune's Michael Hirsley at the bottom of a recent sports page.

Blagojevich's work ethic criticism a flight of fancy

BY BERNARD SCHOENBURG

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his staff have a way of saying things that could just make your jaw drop - and they haven't passed up chances for some of those moments recently. In particular, the holier-than-thou calls from the governor's staff demanding that legislators put in more days in Springfield, have been hard to fathom.
That's because Blagojevich is so rarely in Springfield when the General Assembly - made up of people he wants to pass his programs - is in session.

Public transit needs reforms, not bailout

June 14, 2007

For anyone worried about the fate of mass transit in the Chicago area, there was the faintest of good news out of Springfield last week: Gov. Blagojevich finally seemed to notice that the CTA, at least, is in deep financial trouble. But any optimism one might feel about the governor's better-late-than-never epiphany is tempered by his proposed solution. That's because he is now insisting that the state budget include at least $100 million for the agency -- a rescue that is wrong in many ways.

Madigan and Jones need to get results

May 25, 2007

RICH MILLER capitolfax@aol.com
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was first elected to the House in 1970. I'm 45 now, so I was 8 years old at the time. Senate President Emil Jones was first elected to the House two years later, in 1972. I was in fifth grade. Both men have held legislative leadership positions for pretty much my adult life.

Madigan and Jones' combined 70-plus years of experience can be a good thing. They've seen almost everything, so it's tough for a lobbyist or a governor or anyone else to sneak something past them.