Democrats clash on state budget
SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Wednesday defended his decision to wipe out lawmakers' projects and instead spend the money on health care expansion that had been repeatedly rejected.
"It's as legal as it gets. It's as constitutional as it gets," Blagojevich told reporters following a morning meeting of Democratic officials.
But others aren't so sure.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, said the governor simply doesn't have the legal authority to take money from one part of the budget and spend it on something completely different. He would need to go before lawmakers and get the authority to do so, Madigan said.
"I still think he needs some authority, somewhere," Madigan said, after a meeting of the state's Democratic Central Committee, during which members endorsed Barack Obama for president.
Blagojevich's own budget office has waffled on the issue, first telling the Daily Herald that the governor could do it on his own, then, late Tuesday, clarifying that lawmakers would have to sign off on the switch.
Exactly what the governor plans to cut is unknown. Although he announced his intentions, he has yet to actually file the paperwork that would reveal what projects are on the chopping block.
Meanwhile, infighting continued among the state's Democratic leadership. Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a Chicago Democrat, said he decided to back out of a deal to override the governor's budget vetoes after being, in his view, double-crossed by other legislative leaders.
"I believe I made the right decision and that's all that counts," Jones said.
Specifically, Jones said Madigan and Senate Republican leader Frank Watson conspired to ensure a plan to spend billions on road, bridge and school construction would fail. That plan would have been financed by adding a Chicago casino and expanding other casinos.
"There was a collusion between the two to derail a capital bill," Jones said.
Madigan responded by saying he was never invited to participate in the discussions on the construction plan and denied any meddling.
A spokeswoman for Watson brushed off Jones' allegations as "absolutely not true."
Patty Schuh said the demise of the construction spending plan happened because lawmakers don't trust Blagojevich to spend the money on what they agreed to.
The governor has a history of changing the budget after the fact, canceling or stalling projects and spending money on things lawmakers never agreed to or, in the case of stem cell research, had repeatedly rejected.