 It was a rough start for a
politician likely to face voters in the Democratic primary in just
six months. At least Quinn gets a chance to improve his
reputation over the rest of the year.
He'll have the pleasant job of handing out construction money
from his one unqualified success of the session, passing a $31
billion public works program, and the far trickier task of proving
his leadership skills by cutting the budget and building support for
a tax increase in January.
"The governor has a tremendous task in front of him," said Rep.
Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville. "I don't think anybody wants to be him
today."
Quinn was hardly the only leader to come out of the session with
bruises.
Democratic leaders Michael Madigan, the House speaker, and John
Cullerton, the Senate president, said they wanted a sound budget
built around a tax increase. Ultimately they couldn't deliver either
one.
Republicans scored a victory of sorts by delaying the tax
increase they opposed and getting an agreement to study Medicaid and
pension costs. But they ended up supporting the same kind of budget,
one filled with gimmicks and holes, that they've complained about
for years.
In many ways, officials have produced a budget so flawed that
they hope it provokes the public into demanding decisive action in
January.
"It's going to be a long, hot summer -- and I'm not talking about
the weather," said Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville.
When Quinn replaced ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, he inherited a
financial disaster. Plunging revenues, rising costs and government
expansion had combined to produce a deficit estimated at $11.6
billion for the upcoming fiscal year.
But Quinn also had some things going for him.
Officials recognized that the budget was a mess and something big
needed to be done. The next election was a year away. And the
much-hated Blagojevich made a convenient scapegoat for any
unpleasant decisions that had to be made.
Quinn, along with Madigan and Cullerton, couldn't capitalize on
the opportunity.
The governor weakened his position by frequently changing his
mind or sending fuzzy messages, causing lawmakers to question his
resolve.
He wanted government employees to contribute more toward their
pensions, then he dropped the idea. He warned that a budget approved
by legislators would force him to make drastic cuts in human
services, then he refused to go through with the cuts. He wouldn't
link the budget to the public works program, but then he did -- and
then he didn't.
Again and again, he avoided threatening to veto the Legislature's
version of the budget, then suddenly issued the threat when it was
too late to matter.
Some of Quinn's changes in course were attempts to try new
tactics as the legislative session dragged on. Others appeared to be
changes for no particular reason. Either way, it affected his
influence among lawmakers.
"When you don't have a set goal, that makes it difficult to
negotiate," said Sullivan, one of the Senate Democrats' leaders on
the budget. "We saw some pretty dramatic turns and changes from
where he started."
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The pattern extended to another of Quinn's top priorities,
strengthening ethics laws. Quinn took a hard-line position early on,
but wound up supporting an ethics package that was opposed by the
very commission he appointed to recommend tougher laws. He
compromised, partly to get legislation that would allow the public
to recall corrupt governors, but that measure never reached his
desk.
Quinn met frequently with Cullerton and Madigan. They largely
excluded Republicans, a decision that annoyed the GOP and may have
ruined any small chance of the two parties working together. But the
three Democrats rarely seemed to be on the same page.
Cullerton at least succeeded in getting his Democratic caucus to
vote for a package of tax increases and property tax relief. Then
Quinn and the House ignored the package instead of building on that
momentum. The tax plan's Senate supporters were left hanging, having
cast a politically risky vote and gotten nothing accomplished.
Meanwhile, Madigan never managed to unite his caucus behind any
tax plan. He spent most of the session insisting there was little he
could do to change the fact that there weren't enough Democratic
votes in the House to pass a tax increase.
Many in Springfield assume that Madigan's inaction was tied to
politics and a reluctance to commit vulnerable House members to a
tax vote.
"I think everyone is entitled -- and I mean everyone -- to be
frustrated that the House put these political concerns ahead of the
practical reality of the state's really ginormous budget deficit,"
said Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and
Budget Accountability.
After lawmakers sent him a budget built on borrowing, unpaid debt
and wishful thinking, Quinn chose, as always, to take an optimistic
view. He called the budget "a bridge to the future" that provides
stability for state employees and all the people who depend on
government services.
Quinn played down the difficulty of cutting spending by another
$1 billion or more, and of building support for the tax increase he
says is still needed. "We are going to keep working and working and
working and improving the fiscal situation of our state," he said.
As for his first session, Quinn said he was thrilled to work with
heroic lawmakers and excellent legislative leaders and great union
officials on behalf of the wonderful people of Illinois.
"I hope I learned a few things along the way," he added.
[Associated Press;
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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