 On Jan. 11, 2017, Illinois’ new state politicians will be inaugurated.
But before then, lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly, including members
voted out of office in November 2016, will meet for two more days, known as
“lame duck” session, a dangerous period that often sees controversial
legislation sneak through the legislature.
Lame duck session allows legislators who have already been voted out of office
to vote on bills that they will not be accountable for through the electoral
process. Additionally, after Jan. 1, 2017, the House needs 60 votes instead of
71 to pass legislation, so those unaccountable representatives make up a larger
portion of the voting block. In the past, this has allowed for bills like the
2011 income tax increase to pass the legislature with lower standards and
many—20 percent, in fact—of representatives voting on their way out the door for
a tax hike they may not have voted for if they had another election to face in
the future.
Fortunately, 87 legislators in the House of Representatives signed a resolution
that declared opposition to income tax hikes during lame duck, and 84 voted for
a constitutional amendment that would partially close this loophole and require
the supermajority needed during the rest of the post-regular session year for
tax increases.
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While comforting, these measures are no guarantee, and they
certainly don’t protect against other controversial non-tax
legislation potentially popping up.
Once the 100th General Assembly assumes office on Jan. 11, 2017, the
dynamic in Springfield changes – Michael Madigan loses his
supermajority in the House and becomes less impervious to the
governor’s veto.
This also means that common threats from Madigan’s caucus like
constitutional amendments to institute a progressive income tax will
likely recede into the background.
But Madigan will still control a strong majority, which will
continue to stretch out the battle raging between him and Gov. Bruce
Rauner. As both parties dig in their heels on many issues related to
the budget, some bipartisan reforms are ripe for passage. Issues
like transparency, local government consolidation, criminal justice
reform, property tax relief and regulatory reform will present
opportunities for change in the midst of broader stalemates.
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