Officials promise quick fix to state's finance woes

SPRINGFIELD -- In a year marked by state leaders' repeated inability to meet deadlines, they now promise to resolve one of Illinois' biggest problems in just two weeks with one of the most controversial methods available.

If you believe them, in just a matter of days the state will have a plan to pay for billions of dollars worth of new roads, bridges and schools. Footing the bill will be gamblers. They'll pile into two new casinos -- one of them in Chicago -- and they'll play new slot machines at horse tracks.

"Mr. Cross and I are on a 7-to-10-day timeline," House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, said of the fast-track talks with House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego. They claim a deal then will be presented to lawmakers for approval.

But so far, Madigan, Cross and the other political leaders at the negotiating table have presented little evidence to suggest they can pull this off.

For instance, plans to build new roads, bridges and schools lingered for years -- even with mounting pressure from influential business groups and labor unions. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been unable to broker a construction deal since coming into office in 2003 despite numerous attempts.

In fact, the last major investment in the state's infrastructure was then-Gov. George Ryan's $12 billion Illinois FIRST program back in 1999. That was financed with higher alcohol taxes and vehicle fees.

Similarly, gambling expansion has been pushed annually to no avail. Again, the last successful effort came in 1999 when Ryan and lawmakers approved dockside gambling and cleared the way for a casino in Rosemont, which then sunk under allegations of investors' mob connections and led to legal battles that continue today.

Plus, just two years ago, the Illinois House voted to repeal the law that legalized riverboat gambling. The proposal never went anywhere, but many of its supporters remain in office and, if nothing else, would have to explain a fairly glaring gambling flip-flop with election season approaching.

And there are competing gambling expansion ideas as well. The Senate has twice voted for massive casino deals that would add the Chicago casino and at least two others only to watch them wither in the House.

Cross says that latest Senate plan is effectively dead and he and Madigan would "start over."

But state Sen. Terry Link, a Waukegan Democrat and member of the Senate's leadership team, warned the House version -- with a Chicago casino and just one other -- was lacking.

"I don't think that bill would see the light of day in the Senate," Link said at a Capitol news conference last week, flanked by the mayors of Waukegan and south suburban Country Club Hills, both of whom are counting on casinos to spur economic development in their communities.

To date, lawmakers have struggled to compromise on major issues. Twice faced with mass transit "doomsdays," they've been unable to broker a long-term fix and turned to last-minute state loans or borrowing schemes to avert a meltdown.

In addition, this current crop of state political leaders presides over unprecedented gridlock at the Capitol.

Faced with a May 31 budget deadline, lawmakers dug in their heels and created the longest overtime session in state history, one that likely cost taxpayers more than $1 million to cover expenses. The final details of the budget weren't delivered to the governor's desk until Friday, five months late.

This summer, when Madigan wouldn't accommodate Blagojevich on a time for convening a special session, the governor sued the House speaker. Then the wife of a top Madigan aide had her state contract terminated, a move Blagojevich officials denied had anything to do with the leaders' differences.

Regardless, the mood at the Capitol has grown so dark that it was recently suggested on the House floor that a relationship expert be brought in to help.

"The situation in Springfield is just a train wreck," said state Rep. Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat. "All these things could have been addressed back in our regular session. Now we're in a crisis mode and I don't see how we get out of it."

Even Cross, a pointman on the gambling-for-construction deal, was pessimistic that years of growing political resentment and gridlock could be tossed aside so quickly.

"I wouldn't bet on it, but I think we have to take a shot at it," Cross told reporters. "Look, it's not impossible to do this."