For
months, most Statehouse observers have predicted a battle royal between the
state's three top Democrats, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Illinois House Speaker
Michael Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones.
The
three men haven't been getting along, and the relationships between Madigan and
Blagojevich, and Madigan and Jones are particularly strained. So far, Jones and
Blagojevich are doing OK together, but that could change in a heartbeat if
Blagojevich and Jones tangle over school funding. Jones wants a lot of money
for schools, but Blagojevich refuses to raise taxes.
At
its core, most of the in-fighting is about disrespect and/or perceived
disrespect for each other. Jones and Blagojevich believethat Madigan, who has
ruled the Springfield roost for years, doesn't give them enough respect.
Madigan is not happy with Blagojevich for breaking his word to the Speaker time
and time again.
Anyway,
a couple of Friday's ago, Gov. Blagojevich couldn't have signaled his intent
more clearly that he wants a fight with Speaker Madigan if he had smacked
Madigan's face with his glove.
I
don't think Madigan has ever worked harder to pass a bill than he did on House
Bill 4050, which established a pilot program in his district to run out the
predatory lenders.
A
community group in Madigan's ward had been advocating for action for years.
Whole neighborhoods were being destroyed by predatory mortgage practices, and
Madigan was determined to placate them any way he could. The law he passed
requires the state to monitor predatory lending practices in a high risk region
within Cook County and to require borrowers with low credit scores to take a
credit counseling class, among other things.
Madigan
was relentless when he finally decided that the time had come to pass the
legislation, cutting deals with or putting the strong-arm on everyone in sight.
He used every single one of his powers to muscle the bill through both chambers
over the strong objections of the financial industry. "I'm bleeding from
every orifice," moaned one industry lobbyist after a meeting with
Madigan.
The
Speaker was so determined to pass his bill that the House Republicans refused
financial industry pleas to make sure that everyone who voted on the final roll
call was actually in the chamber at the time - proving that even the
Republicans understood Madigan would make their lives miserable if he stood in
his way.
One
of the compromises that Madigan had to make was to allow the Department of
Financial and Professional Regulation to designate the areas within Cook County
where the pilot program would be implemented. But late one recent Friday night,
Gov. Blagojevich ordered the Department to stop enforcing the law by
essentially zeroing out the zip codes that were included in the pilot program.
The governor claimed in a statement that it is "clear that the program may
be negatively affecting the communities it is designed to protect."
Neither
Speaker Madigan nor the bill's principle Senate sponsor, Marty Sandoval, were
notified of the action in advance. Madigan found out about it Friday night,
after a reporter called his spokesman while he was eating dinner at a restaurant.
The Madigan camp was furious, and revenge is being vowed.
The
governor claimed that at a public meeting held by the Department of Financial
and Professional Regulation last year, there was "overwhelming opposition
from community groups and real estate professionals to the impact the law was
having in the affected communities." Rev. Jesse Jackson stepped up shortly
after Blagojevich nullified the law to defend the governor's actions, claiming
that Madigan's bill "has the smell of apartheid." Jackson said he
will push to have the law repealed. Fat chance of that happening.
You
can argue the merits of Madigan's proposal for days, but, as with most
everything else in Springfield, this issue has nothing to do with the merits
and everything to do with politics. Gov. Blagojevich knew how important this
law was to Madigan. He knew what Madigan's reaction would be if he killed it
off without so much as a heads up or an offer to negotiate a compromise. This
was a deliberate action, designed to inflame emotions and show Madigan that the
governor intends to play hardball all year, despite their later pleas that they
were trying to avoid a showdown with Rev. Jackson.
Two
can play that game, however, and retaliation is certain. Without some sort of
Divine intervention, we may be in for the mother of all legislative wars.
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Rich
Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and
thecapitolfaxblog.com