Illinois Democrats in family feud
By Rick Pearson and Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporters
May 13, 2004
Until this week, it appeared that one of the few Democrats in the state that Gov. Rod Blagojevich had not seriously ticked off during his 16 months in office was the chairman of his 2002 general election campaign, Mayor Richard Daley.
That abruptly changed Tuesday when Blagojevich slammed the door on Daley's concept for a massive Chicago casino complex before it could even be negotiated, prompting expectations of retaliation by Daley-aligned lawmakers.
The decision shines a bright spotlight on the often dysfunctional relationships among the most powerful leaders of a Democratic political organization that now rules Illinois after a generation of Republican control.
Even before Blagojevich publicly showed up Daley, the governor had been engaged in a running feud with House Speaker Michael Madigan, the veteran Southwest Side lawmaker who is also state Democratic chairman. At the same time, Daley and Madigan have long had an up-and-down relationship arising over political allegiances and the city's legislative agenda.
"You're talking about three egos that could fill the size of the Superdome," said one veteran Democratic legislator.
The infighting defies the stereotype of classic Democratic politics in Illinois, which holds that the agenda is dictated to a rubber-stamp chorus by the mayor of Chicago.
At the same time, the battling presents the opposite of what Republicans and some Downstate residents had feared would be the result of a virtual Democratic sweep in the 2002 elections. The critical prediction held that Democrats would quickly join forces to advance a Daley wish list.
In reality, Democrats in power are acting pretty much as they did when they were out of power--forming the proverbial firing squad in a circle.
Though Blagojevich, Daley and Madigan all campaign under the Democratic banner, each is looking to appeal to a distinct constituency.
With aspirations for a potential White House bid, Blagojevich is looking to escape the governor's mansion with as little controversy as possible, making opposition to increased general taxes an unbreakable mantra and ruling out a Chicago mega-casino to avoid the title of the gambling governor.
With the entire House up for election in November, Madigan has his Democratic majority at risk. The prospect of backing Blagojevich initiatives that involve gutting the State Board of Education and raising business fees and taxes to close a budget gap could place some of Madigan's members in political jeopardy. Moreover, Madigan's daughter, Lisa, the state's attorney general, has evolved into a rival of Blagojevich's and has aspirations for his office.
And although Daley continues to face little political risk in Chicago, the mayor's decision to embrace casino gaming for the city represented a way of generating revenue to avoid or, at the very least, reduce the need for increasing politically onerous property taxes. But expansion of gambling remains a politically controversial issue, both statewide and in Chicago, and public opinion polls show it lacks major support.
Budget showdown
The battling points to a contentious end for the spring legislative session, scheduled to adjourn May 21. With Madigan increasingly raising doubts about the viability and wisdom of Blagojevich's budget and school plans, even the governor suggested that he and lawmakers could still be working on a state spending plan in early June.
On Wednesday, Blagojevich sought to downplay any concerns that relations with Daley had soured, while delivering politically murky explanations over how the rejection of the mayor's casino plan had occurred.
Indeed, Blagojevich said he told Senate President Emil Jones Jr. (D-Chicago) on Friday that he would not support a casino for Chicago. Blagojevich said he told Jones he would tell that to Daley. But the governor said he couldn't reach Daley until Tuesday, a day after the mayor publicly outlined his casino plan and four days after talking to Jones.
"I got [Daley] as soon as we possibly could," Blagojevich said. "I never thought there was a serious proposal out there until Monday, when it was announced by the mayor."
Even with Blagojevich's opposition, "what we have now is a clear message that if ever gaming is going to be seriously discussed in Springfield, Chicago wants to be part of it," said one senior city official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
But on Wednesday, during an interview on WGN-AM 720, Blagojevich said "the door's shut" on the concept of a Chicago casino for at least the remainder of his current term as governor.
"What I'm saying [is] there's no casino in Chicago for this budget, for next year, for the year after and who knows what I'll be doing the year after that, right?" Blagojevich said.
Though each side publicly claimed no long-lasting repercussions in the city-state or Blagojevich-Daley relationship, one mayoral adviser took issue with the governor's style--joining frequent complaints among Democrats that Blagojevich is more concerned with furthering his image as a populist than in working diligently to craft sound public policy.
Blagojevich "governs by polling," the Daley adviser said. "That's how I read him. They do polling every week. And I also read him as taking a page out of the book of some other governors, that confrontation is how you get to be popular--being against the `old boys.'"
Indeed, during his Wednesday radio interview, Blagojevich invoked Madigan's lengthy tenure in the House as he criticized longtime legislators for "protecting the status quo" and siding with lobbyists in resisting his budget.
Aiming at Madigan
Taking a comment that Madigan made last month out of context, Blagojevich criticized the House speaker on six occasions in the interview for proposing a temporary income tax increase to solve the state's budget woes.
"I don't care how powerful certain people in my party are, and with all due respect to Speaker Madigan, no temporary income tax increase," Blagojevich said.
In reality, however, Madigan never proposed such a tax increase. He told reporters in April that although he could support a temporary tax increase, he would not propose one because of Blagojevich's opposition. "It's not going to happen," Madigan said then.
Blagojevich also has challenged Madigan and Jones in another way. Though Madigan and Jones have long controlled the political funding of Democratic legislative campaigns, Blagojevich recently created a new political fund to reward lawmakers who side with him.
Though no major dust-ups have occurred between Daley and Madigan recently, the two have treated each other warily ever since Madigan allied himself with Jane Byrne when she became Chicago mayor even as Daley's 11th Ward organization fought with her.
Some Democratic lawmakers speculated Wednesday that Daley and Madigan could form an alliance of convenience in the wake of Blagojevich's rejection of the mayor's casino plan.
But few believed such an accommodation would last long.
"There's an old saying in the 11th Ward--forgive, but never forget," said one longtime political strategist who asked not to be named. "That is the controlling sentiment in that relationship."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE |
