Bush could be absent from ballot here
suntimes.com
November 22, 2003
BY DAVE MCKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau
SPRINGFIELD -- President Bush's spot on next year's Illinois ballot was threatened Friday after the state Senate killed a Democratic bid linking next year's presidential race with a controversial plan to forgive steep election fines against scores of Democrats.
Ending the fall legislative session on a fiery note, angry Republicans and a handful of Democrats defeated the measure, quickly taking the luster off a landmark ethics package the Legislature sent to Gov. Blagojevich on Thursday.
"Think about this, the irony of this," Sen. Peter Roskam (R-Wheaton) told the bill's supporters. "You're asking us to waive an ethics fine on the day after . . . we gave ourselves high fives on the Senate floor, and the governor did victory laps about reform and renewal in Illinois."
After quietly passing out of the House late Thursday, the omnibus elections package failed 27-23 in the Senate Friday, falling seven votes shy of the 30 needed to pass. Seven senators who voted for the bill faced pending election fines of up to $55,000. All were Democrats.
But in turning back the proposal, Republicans may have given their standard bearer in next year's elections a case of political heartburn.
In order to be on the Illinois ballot, state law requires that President Bush certify his candidacy for president in late August. But he won't be nominated by his party until Sept. 2, the last day of the Republican convention in New York City. The bill would have waived that filing deadline for Bush.
Democrats thumped their chests and taunted Senate Republicans for refusing to endorse the Bush provision and the rest of the package, including a change permitting the same type of flawed paper ballots to be counted in Illinois that the GOP fought against in Florida to hand Bush the 2000 presidency.
"Perhaps you don't want us to have a target because I want to go after him [for] destroying the economy [and] triggering the . . . war," bellowed Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago).
"I'm still looking for the weapons of mass destruction . . . in his personal war. It's ridiculous. I want him on the ballot," Jones said.
"I called the various news organizations that had colored charts in the 2000 presidential campaign and suggested they color in Illinois to whatever color there is for Democrats because we won," said Steve Brown, a spokesman for House Speaker and Illinois Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan.
Madigan's aide said Democratic lawmakers might revisit the issue next spring but likely would again try to tie the election fines, dimpled chads and more relaxed mail-in voting rules to Bush's ballot dilemma.
Gov. Blagojevich, also a Democrat, struck a more conciliatory tone when asked about the president's problem.
"While I will personally support the Democratic nominee, I am opposed to any efforts that will lead to keeping the Republican nominee off the ballot," the governor said.
Bush's campaign refused to comment on Friday's developments, but top Illinois Republicans predicted Bush would somehow get his name in polling booths -- with or without Democratic cooperation.
"I feel comfortable our candidate will be on the ballot. If not, we'll have the most active write-in campaign in the history of the country here in Illinois," said Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville).
The part of Friday's bill that turned Republicans blue in the face was the provision granting the bipartisan Illinois State Board of Elections greater leniency in dismissing pending fines against dozens of mostly Democratic campaign funds for violating disclosure requirements.
A 1999 ethics law imposed tough sanctions against politicians who were slow in filing campaign documents with the election agency, resulting in fines as high as $797,600 -- a levy imposed against Democratic Secretary of State Jesse White.
Claiming his reporting violations were not deliberate, White argued the fines were exorbitant and persuaded the agency to recalculate that amount to $2,400 under a temporary legislative rule last year that no longer remains in effect.
The secretary's office insisted White -- who has yet to pay anything for violating the 1999 law --had nothing to do with having the fine-waiver language inserted in this week's election bill.
Election authorities initially recommended more than $900,000 in fines against dozens of campaigns, but they recalculated that amount down to $305,900 for 53 political committees. Election officials conceded the law is murky on which set of calculations now apply.
Voting on Friday's bill was a politically delicate maneuver in the 59-member Senate, where a total of 14 members had fines that could have been forgiven under the change.
Sen. Miguel del Valle (D-Chicago), who voted yes on the bill, faces a $55,000 levy from the agency. Sen. Gary Forby (D-Benton), who voted no, has a $37,500 unpaid election fine. Both have appealed those fines.
Six senators facing smaller fines -- Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago), Sen. James DeLeo (D-Chicago), Sen. Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete), Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago), Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood) and Sen. Antonio Munoz (D-Chicago) -- voted to change the election board rules.
Meanwhile, on other fronts, the House adjourned without voting on Exelon Corp.'s controversial legislation it said it needed to purchase Downstate utility Illinois Power, leaving the transaction in doubt.
Unable to win over Madigan, Exelon had sought a bill that would speed up the time in which it could buy the Decatur utility from Houston-based Dynegy Inc., as well as reach power purchase contracts between the two utilities and the Exelon subsidiary that owns its nuclear plants.
Those agreements became controversial because critics feared they would only benefit Exelon's bottom line and freely allow ComEd and Illinois Power to later justify consumer rate increases to regulators -- a fact Madigan accused Exelon of hiding.
The House also sent Blagojevich legislation that would allow the state to borrow up to $1.4 billion to keep its unemployment insurance account solvent.
Finally, the House sent the governor legislation imposing a new $500 million tax on hospitals that will enable the state to secure more federal money.
The plan will allow hospitals serving Medicaid patients to cover their investment in the higher tax, plus recoup $300 million on top of that.
Contributing: Tammy Chase and Lynn Sweet
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