 Quinn, fresh off his early November win over Republican state Sen.
Bill Brady, was publicly absent from the veto session at the
Illinois Capitol the week before Thanksgiving. His office was not
saying if the governor will have any public appearances during this
week's session. Still, Statehouse observers remain split on whether
Quinn's absence is helping or hurting the governor.University of
Illinois at Springfield political science professor Kent Redfield
said Quinn can't lose if he isn't there.
"He doesn't need to fail," Redfield said. "There is no question
about that. And so until the ducks are lined up and he has
agreements with his own leaders to begin with, ... he doesn't want
to get out there and get nailed between the eyes like (Gov.)
Blagojevich did with his gross receipts tax."
But Redfield cautions that if Quinn stays away too long, or stays
too quiet, there could be problems.
"He really needs a fresh start. He needs to act like he's
governor and project a presence like he's governor. Now everyone has
a personal style," Redfield said.
Former state Sen. Denny Jacobs said Pat Quinn could be anyone and
he'd still have a tough go of trying to convince lawmakers to
support an income tax increase this year.
"I hit a golf ball into the weeds one day and asked the guy who
was caddying for me what club I should use, and he said, 'I don't
think it makes a damn bit of difference what club you use’ because I
was just that horrible at golf," Jacobs said. "Right now anybody is
horrible in politics."
Jacobs, who served the Quad Cities area for years, said perhaps
only former Gov. Jim Thompson could have pushed an income tax hike
through this General Assembly.
"(Gov. Thompson) had that ability not only to connect with
individual legislators, ... which (Gov. Quinn) has been trying to
do, but also he could connect with the media and (legislative)
leaders themselves," Jacobs said.
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Jacobs adds that he thinks Thompson was the last governor who was
an equal to the House speaker and Senate president. The former
senator says the change in relationships at the Capitol has caused a
change in power.
But Jacobs said no matter who has more power, Pat Quinn's biggest
problem is still Pat Quinn and his "bomb thrower" past.
"I think (Quinn) is truly trying to change and become a person of
the people. ... It's harder for him to work with people, where
before he would just throw the bomb and see how it exploded and
where it went," Jacobs said.
Redfield said that may change now that Quinn is no longer the
replacement governor.
"Now he has a four-year term. He has things that people want. He
can help people. He can hurt people. He has things that the
legislative leaders want, and he needs to assert himself," Redfield
said.
Quinn has said his election victory is a mandate for his tax
increase, though legislative leaders have said they disagree.
The last week of veto session begins (today) Monday. Lawmakers
also have a handful of lame-duck session days scheduled for early
January.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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