Springfield Update

It is depressing to watch the stalemate in Springfield continue although the last week has been somewhat entertaining even though nothing has been accomplished. Governor Blagojevich called two more special legislative sessions last week to solve the transit crisis but to no success and he returned home to Chicago to attend a Blackhawks' game while legislators were still working in Springfield which made great new clips! There was also an interesting expose on the Governor's work habits last week on CBS Channel 2 that showed our Governor spending most of his time “working” from his Chicago home. His staff assures everyone that the Governor is always working regardless of where he is and I feel comforted by that news.

Apparently there is a meeting of the legislative leaders scheduled for this week as they continue to search for a solution to the crisis facing our state. It is now almost 30 days since the BIMP was sent to the Governor and he still has until January to deal with it. We still have an impending transit crisis that will need some action and many legislators are holding out for a “capital funding “ bill. All three of these items have become firmly weaved together and I doubt there will be much action on one issue without the other two. The fact that a capital bill seems to involve gambling expansion also makes this a more complicated issue for many of the legislators. At some point some strategic plan to put our financial house in order is going to be addressed before out state is bankrupt!