Normally, I wouldn't comment on such a pointless media pop, but something about yesterday's press conference by State legislators in front of Lincoln Hall demanding Speaker Mike Madigan pass a capital plan rubbed me the wrong way:
State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville said the state was in danger of losing millions in federal matching funds if it did not move forward.
First, Rep. Hoffman is lying about losing federal matching funds if the state doesn't pass a capital plan. From Rich Miller at Capitol Fax Blog:
Nobody has yet been able to prove to me that this “We’re gonna lose $9 billion” statement is a fact. Yet, it is contantly passed along by reporters as if it is true.
Second, Hoffman's dear friend and close political ally, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, promised the funding to renovate Lincoln Hall way back in 2003, when then Sen. Rick Winkel agreed to break with Republicans and vote for Blagojevich's bond refinancing proposal. Blagojevich has yet to deliver on the promised funding from five years ago, so for Hoffman to stand up and demand that Madigan do something to fund Lincoln Hall is the height of chutzpah.
If Hoffman really wants to help renovate Lincoln Hall, he should call on Blagojevich - again, they are very close friends personally and thisclose politically - to keep his promises, as the reason there has been no real capital plan is because nobody trusts the Governor to honor the funding promises which would be included in one.
UPDATE: Here's the recent quote from Sen. Winkel, which I was having difficulty locating earlier:
In exchange for his vote in 2003 - and for which he got a lot of heat from other Senate Republicans - Winkel was supposed to get a commitment from Blagojevich to undertake the long-awaited renovation of Lincoln Hall on the University of Illinois campus.
It still hasn't happened.
"I found out who I was working with," Winkel said. "From my experience I wouldn't do it again."
First, he said he wouldn't trust Blagojevich. He isn't alone, of course, the General Assembly is full of members who believe they've been burned by the governor and his administration.
Second, Winkel said he didn't like the way political insiders, including GOP heavyweight Robert Kjellander, profited from the bond deal.
"I wouldn't do it again," Winkel said. "Besides, who's vote to give him a ton of money that he could use as a discretionary fund?"
ANOTHER UPDATE: Here's another example of this tired trick:
Poor Joe White. The University of Illinois president apparently really believes Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the governor's claim - in a press release anyway - that if a big gambling expansion bill gets the Legislature's OK it means the UI's Lincoln Hall will finally, finally, finally get a long-promised $55 million makeover.
Where have we heard that promise from Blagojevich before?
Well, just four years ago.
Unfortunately, Joe White wasn't at the UI then. So maybe he can be forgiven for drinking the Blagojevich Kool-Aid and allowing himself to be used last week as a prop in the governor's latest stunt - sending deputies and assistants around the state to appear with local officials to promote a $25 billion capital improvements plan financed with proceeds from gambling expansion.
But even if the money for Lincoln Hall stays in the bill, and even if the bill passes, and even if the bill is signed by the governor, and even if the project is authorized that still doesn't mean the money would be released by the governor. This governor doesn't work that way. Deals are aborted. Promises are forgotten.
That's why a lot of state lawmakers don't trust Blagojevich, and why Joe White shouldn't either. The UI president is only setting himself up for a $55 million disappointment.
"I would have no confidence that any agreement would be honored or kept," said former state Sen. Rick Winkel - now a UI faculty member - who was burned by a Blagojevich "agreement" when he was in the Legislature. The pact was that if Winkel broke from his Republican caucus and voted for a $10 billion pension bond sale that Blagojevich wanted, Winkel would get construction money for Lincoln Hall and two other projects, the Post Genomic Institute and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
How many times will Lincoln Hall be used as bait by Gov. Blagojevich as his allies to get gullible legislators to go along with his budget schemes? Rep. Hoffman is the Governor's buddy, so his motives are transparent, but Rep. Black and Rep. Rose should know better than to participate in this. Why are they standing with Blagojevich on this when they know he cannot be relied upon to fulfill commitments made more than five years ago?
And, at some point, it would be nice if the media attending one of these press conferences actually reported on the number of times Lincoln Hall funding has been promised and withdrawn by this Governor.
YET ANOTHER UPDATE (and bumped to the top): Someone saw this post today, and wanted to send along this poll recently conducted in Rep. Hoffman's 112th District, a fairly Democratic district down by St. Louis.
Client: PRIVATE BY REQUEST
Date of Poll: June 11, 2008
Polling Area: 112th House District
Number of Participants: 3,772
Margin of Error: ± 1.57%1. Do you think it is appropriate for the Illinois Legislature to form a special impeachment
committee? - 65.46 percent2. Do you want your local legislators to support the formation of that special impeachment
committee? - 65.67 percent3. Based on what you know about Gov. Blagojevich, do you think the legislature SHOULD attempt
to remove him from office? - 56.81 percent
Cross-tabs are at the link above. Can someone please explain to me why the House Republicans are standing with Rod Blagojevich to call for this $34 billion capital plan, when nobody trusts him, even in Democratic district represented by his staunchest ally?
DISCLAIMER: I built the campaign website for Hoffman's opponent several months ago, but I don't have any ongoing involvement with that campaign. I didn't talk to them about this post, didn't get any information for it from them, and did not get the poll from Hoffman's opponent or his campaign.
