House
Speaker Michael Madigan told a firefighters group last week that he, Governor
Rod Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones are engaged in a "civil
war," and that "no prisoners" are being taken.
This
isn't exactly a particularly unique insight. The fight between Madigan and the
Blagojevich/Jones alliance started long ago and has been vicious, mean and
hurtful to a whole lot of innocent bystanders. It resulted in an eleven-month
session last year, along with numerous lawsuits, special sessions and hordes of
unresolved issues. I've heard it called a "civil war" before, and
it's obvious that nobody is taking prisoners. It's a fight to the end.
But
it's rare that a politician will state things publicly in such a stark manner,
so when he does you can easily get the idea that the situation might be even
worse than you thought. And if that's the case, then we're in for some true
nastiness.
Madigan
went through a long list of complaints for the firefighters.
The
speaker is still hugely upset over the broken state budget deal last year. Not
since the legislative leaders began negotiating the state budget behind closed
doors has the deal been broken as it was last year, when Senate President Jones
refused to override the governor's surprise veto of projects for Madigan's
members after promising Madigan to his face that he would override all
vetoes. As Madigan told me weeks
ago, he hadn't yet spoken to Jones about the incident, but when he does, he
said, he will tell Jones: "You only get one big lie."
You
may recall that the governor's administration also fired the wife of Madigan's
chief of staff, dumped a Madigan ally as a lobbyist for the Illinois Finance
Authority because he was "too close" to the Speaker, brutally slashed
the budget for the Illinois Arts Council, which is chaired by Madigan's wife,
and bused in protesters who booed Madigan during his annual speech at the State
Fair last summer, among plenty of other things.
Despite
all this, the governor's office seemed taken aback by Madigan's remarks last
week. Madigan's bold words gave the governor some deep insight into what's
really going on in Madigan's mind, and a preview of what may be to come: lots
more trouble.
Last
week, Madigan expanded the playing field to include the House Republicans, who had
been going along with much of Madigan's agenda.
Madigan,
who is also the state Democratic Party chairman, has become convinced that
House Republican Leader Tom Cross is somehow in cahoots with Democratic Gov.
Blagojevich, and he took some extreme action last week to punish Cross for his
perceived disloyalty.
On
Monday, Madigan unveiled a Democratic candidate against state Rep. Skip Saviano, an influential Republican legislator from Elmwood
Park.
Saviano has
been a friend and ally of Madigan's for years. Back in 1997, for instance,
Madigan took the rare step of appointing Saviano to a
committee chairmanship, even though Saviano's
Republicans were in the minority. They've always been close, and Saviano has been an effective go-between in the ongoing
"civil war." He can talk to just about anybody, but Madigan
apparently thought he had strayed too far towards the governor's position.
The
move against Saviano stunned the Statehouse, which
was probably the point.
Then,
Madigan pushed two very anti-Republican bills to the fore. One would
reestablish straight party voting in Illinois, which the Republicans eliminated
after they lost the House to Madigan in 1996. Considering the very real
probability that Barack Obama
will be at the top of the ticket this November, straight party voting could
imperil a whole bunch of suburban Republican incumbents.
The
other proposal would reinstate another law that the Republicans got rid of
during their two-year hold on total power. The first bill on the Republican
agenda in 1995 was repealing the Structural Work Act, which allowed injured
construction workers to sue someone besides their own employers. Business
groups hated the law, and now Madigan wants to bring it back.
A
pal of mine said he planned to talk to Madigan about Saviano
and the rest of the speaker's new agenda, but had some real fears that Madigan
might then turn on him. He's right. And the same thing goes for the other two
main characters in this drama, Blagojevich and Jones. If you're not with them
all the way, then you're against them, and God help you if that's the case.
It's why nothing gets resolved. Nobody can mediate this war.
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Rich
Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and
thecapitolfaxblog.com.