Be Careful What You Wish For
"If a man could have half his wishes, he would double his troubles" Ben Franklin once said. No one understands this better than House Speaker Mike Madigan, who has developed the genie-like knack of giving folks what they wished for in a way they never dreamed of.
In the waning days of the budget debate, Governor Blagojevich said it was his wish to pass a budget without giving Republicans a seat at the table. Blagojevich was assuming that would give him and Emil Jones the upper hand.
Blagojevich was wrong.
It appears to me that Madigan has given Blagojevich exactly what he asked for. A Democratic budget -- the only Democratic budget possible at this point -- has passed the Illinois House. And while it's on hold thanks to a motion to reconsider filed by downstate Democrats, pending an agreement on electric rates -- the measure has already received the required simple majority needed to pass the Illinois House prior to May 31st, and could become law if Emil Jones uses his super-majority to make it happen (note, Emil Jones might be thinking right now that a super-majority wasn't such a smart thing to wish for).
Granted, a supplemental budget will be needed to tweak the hastily crafted budget around the edges, but that supplemental can be given a post-Jan. 1 effective date so that it only needs a simple majority in both chambers. (SEE Update Below)
So, Rod Blagojevich can have his wish for a Democrats-only budget, if he's willing to lean on Emil Jones to get an electric rate deal done (note, ComEd might be thinking right now that the reverse auction wasn't such a clever thing to wish for, and state help buying Illinois Power before that), and if Rod's willing to capitulate to Madigan on every budget issue.
If anyone in the Blagojevich camp has any sense, they'll take that deal and run. History has shown that the longer and harder you try to squeeze Madigan, the more he makes you pay for it. It only takes one wish.
UPDATE - X1
Rich Miller makes an important point regarding the supplemental in the comments. It would have to be post-dated for June 1st. Still possible to pass a Democrats-only supplemental, but a bit trickier.
4 comments:
The Gov wants an income tax hike but doesn't want to be the one to ask for it. He's hoping to sucker some Republicans into going along with it instead.
Sorry, YDD, but you're wrong. The supplemental would have to be given a June 1, 2008 effective date to require just a simple majority.
Damn, Rich. It was almost a perfect theory!
Still, grant funding could be backloaded after June 1st (lets be honest, it takes the administration that long to cut a check anyway), and they could still pass a Democrats-only budget.
The other option is to wait until January 2008 to pass the supplemental with a simple Dem majority in both chambers. You've still got six months of the fiscal year left.
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