A useful reminder from Charles Wheeler, writing at Illinois Issues.
“Speaker Madigan’s Democrats have controlled our General Assembly for more than 30 years. Speaker Madigan’s Democrats have controlled spending in our state government for more than 30 years,” Rauner said. “The Democrats have spent our state into the toilet for 30 years.”
Apparently history wasn’t the governor’s forte at Dartmouth. Anyone interested in accuracy, rather than cheap political rhetoric, might note that 30 years ago Gov. Jim Thompson was on his way to a record fourth term, to be followed by Jim Edgar’s eight-year stint and George Ryan’s single term. All three are Republicans, of course, but unlike Rauner they had the governing skills and pragmatic sense that let them work with Madigan and his fellow Democrats.
Indeed, Thompson faced Democratic majorities in both the Senate and the House for 12 of his 14 years. Moreover, for Edgar’s final six years and Ryan’s entire term, Republicans held a Senate majority. Does anyone in his or her right mind think former Sen. James “Pate” Philip, the outspoken Wood Dale Republican who led the GOP majority, saw himself as a Madigan puppet?
Perhaps if the governor wants to see “stunning failure,” he should look in the mirror, for unlike Rauner, each of his 41 predecessors — even those who later went to jail — managed to get a budget passed, more or less on time, the No. 1 priority each spring session.
This article appears in Jun 16-22, 2016.
