Illinois Governor's Pork Cut Bypass Panel

The Chicago Tribune reports:

The fate of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's controversial plan to expand health care in Illinois likely will fall to a bipartisan panel of lawmakers, and he was generous with those legislators last week, even as he slashed away at their peers' pork-barrel projects.

But during a session in which Blagojevich alienated many with his hardball tactics, the governor's perceived largesse toward the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules has once again riled lawmakers -- including committee leaders.

"I'm perturbed that anybody would think our votes can be bought," said Sen. Maggie Crotty (D-Oak Forest), co-chairman of the committee. "If that isn't unethical -- or if that isn't against the law -- there will be a law because I'll carry it."

House Democrats and Senate Republicans, who lined up against some of the governor's key spending initiatives this year, took the brunt of the governor's cost cutting.

Blagojevich vetoed $47.7 million in projects from House Democrats, approving about three dozen items worth about $2.3 million, according to records and interviews. Senate Republicans held onto about $3.5 million of the up to $50 million in projects requested, records showed.

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At the same time, however, the six lawmakers from those two caucuses who serve on the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules retained at least $4 million in projects for their districts.

Their projects range from $470,000 to buy books and computers for 17 Chicago-area schools in Democrat Rep. John Fritchey's district to $1 million to promote tourism and economic development in Livingston County at the request of Sen. Dan Rutherford (R-Chenoa).

"I find it somewhat interesting that only six people out of those two caucuses had their line items retained, and those six people coincidentally happen to be members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules," Rutherford said.

The obscure panel has the power to block large parts of the governor's far-reaching medical plan if eight of its 12 members vote against it.



Even committee members whose names were not on projects appear to have benefited.

Like other Senate Democrats, Crotty had no specific items in the budget because Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) did not solicit suggestions from his caucus members. But as a group, Crotty and her Senate Democratic colleagues walked off with about $52 million in pork-barrel funding, of which nearly half went to projects approved in previous years, records and interviews showed.

Crotty said she finds the governor's tactics "distasteful" because he is playing politics with taxpayer funds.

"It's not like it's his money that he's doling out," Crotty said.

Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), a member of the House leadership team, said the governor let his personal feud with House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) interfere with his duties.

"He certainly has tried to attack Speaker Madigan and Speaker Madigan's caucus," Lang said. "I think it is a blatant attempt to manipulate the legislature."

Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff denied that politics had anything to do with the way the governor parceled out member initiatives.

"The decisions were based on what the state could afford and what was really essential and appropriate for the role of state government," Ottenhoff said.

She said the governor expects panel members to vote on the merits of his proposal to expand health-care options for 500,000 Illinois residents.

Panel members who see it differently said the governor's tactics could backfire.

"To the extent that preferential treatment was given to [committee] members, it has created the irony that it would be that much more difficult for any [committee] member to side with the administration's efforts because of a fear that it would look like a quid pro quo," said Fritchey, who held onto three-quarters of his initiative money.

It's easier to understand what government spending really is.