In my fifteen years
writing about Illinois politics, I've never had a better day at the Statehouse
than last Wednesday.
I'm probably biased
because that was the day the World Series champion White Sox came to
Springfield. I'm a Sox fan, and it was thrilling just to see manager Ozzie
Guillen, and, to some extent, chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. I was on Cloud Nine.
But it was so much more
than just the the opportunity to meet and have my photo taken with Guillen,
although that was pretty fantastic.
Guillen began his speech
to the Illinois House by saying, "I've never felt so nervous in my life as
right now."
As we sat in awe of a man
who had taken an underappreciated ragtag team populated with what were thought
to be average players to the pinnacle of their professional careers, he was
saying he was honored to be in the room with us.
Most of us who work at the
Statehouse have forgotten the rush of our first days on the job. The
magnificent building with the glorious chambers becomes just another place to work.
The honor of representing thousands of people or reporting on that
representational process loses its specialness as the humdrum of daily routine
becomes just another part of life.
It took an outsider like
Guillen to remind us how privileged and special our lives really are. Only a
few of us ever get the chance to do this for a living, but all of us eventually
seem to take it for granted. I spend my session days hanging out in offices,
casually talking to people in the building's ornate halls, going out to dinner
at nice restaurants. I'm always busy, but most people probably wouldn't think
it looks much like work, even though I often privately complain about the pace.
When I was young, my
father worked at least two jobs at once, sometimes three, and none of them
looked easy. My mom was a public school teacher for years, in between
pregnancies. My parents had five children, all boys. The seven of us would
drink a gallon of milk at every meal. We were like little locusts, consuming
everything in sight. My parents were always in debt, always living paycheck to
paycheck, always scrimping every penny possible to make ends meet and always
looking for a way to make more money to support their ever-growing family. It
was horribly difficult, but they never complained and their kids never knew how
bad the finances really were.
Guillen's reverence for
the venue that had all but begged him on bended knee to grace it with his mere
presence had a big impact on many who were there. It forced me to think not
only about the special, almost sacred duty of everyone in that room, but
reminded me that my life has been so much easier than my parents, and how I've
been given the opportunity to occasionally make a real impact on my
surroundings and to have a job I love. I know this all sounds far too corny,
but I owe Ozzie for squeezing some of the cynicism out of my being last week.
Even Governor Rod
Blagojevich rose to the occasion. The governor gave perhaps the best speech of
his life that afternoon, completely unscripted and straight from the heart.
Blagojevich is a Cubs fan, but I, for one, forgave him for that flaw last
Wednesday as he spoke sincerely of the efforts made by Guillen, Reinsdorf and
the entire Sox organization as they pursued their sport's Holy Grail.
Guillen was a gentleman
from start to finish. There was not a whiff of arrogance about him, despite his
recent triumph.
After his speech to the
Senate, a few Senators were allowed to speak on the floor about their thoughts.
The last to speak was Sen. Adeline Geo-Karis. Geo is 87 and she doesn't stand
up too often. As she sat in her chair she praised Guillen as a gentleman and
thanked him for honoring the Legislature that day.
Afterwards, Senators lined
up to have their photos taken. Ozzie noticed that Geo couldn't stand in line,
so he grabbed the World Series trophy and walked over to her desk, gave her a
bear hug and posed for a photo.
It was the sweetest thing
I've ever seen in all my years in that building.
Thanks, Ozzie, for a truly
great day.
-30-
Rich Miller also publishes
Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter. He can be reached at
capitolfax.blogspot.com