Lawmakers, governor keep fighting over construction spending

SPRINGFIELD - Pork projects and pay raises will be on the menu next week when Gov. Rod Blagojevich orders lawmakers back to the Capitol.

On Tuesday, the governor announced he would force lawmakers back to Springfield for two days in hopes they'll approve his $25 billion construction spending plan. That program would be financed by leasing out the lottery for decades to come and expanding gambling.

But the two-day special session also forces lawmakers to address whether they'll get bigger paychecks.

Recommended pay raises automatically kick in if state senators don't vote to reject them during the special session. The House voted to reject the raises in May, but the law requires both chambers to act or else the raises are automatic.

Many had hoped to delay those raises until after the November elections, but Blagojevich's move restarts the countdown for the higher political pay.

The raises add roughly $7,000 to lawmakers' base pay and they could be making anywhere from $73,000 to $100,000 next year.

Blagojevich's pay would increase by nearly $20,000 to $192,000 annually. It's unclear whether the governor would accept the raise.

"The main thing on the governor's mind is capital and getting people jobs, not getting a raise for himself," said spokeswoman Kelley Quinn.

State Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, has led the effort to reject the raises in the Senate, only to be blocked repeatedly. She said the new circumstances should require lawmakers to vote on the raises.

But the potentially politically embarrassing pay hikes are not the focus of the special sessions. Rather, it's Blagojevich's effort to win approval of a multibillion-dollar construction program that would pay for roads, bridges schools and numerous other projects that have not yet been identified.

Initially, Blagojevich pitched a $25 billion construction plan. But it went nowhere. So he recruited Democrat Glenn Poshard and Republican Denny Hastert to sell the plan to lawmakers. The plan then grew to $34 billion, financed with the lottery deal and more casinos, including one in Chicago.

However, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley balked at the deal, saying he'd been left out of negotiations and charging that Blagojevich rather than Chicago would control school construction projects.

In response, Blagojevich dropped the Chicago casino and is now, again, pushing a $25 billion plan he calls a "compromise."

The session dates come during the run of the Illinois State Fair. In fact, the second day of the special session is the same day as an annual gathering of Democrats to tout their accomplishments.

House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego said it's fitting the session comes during the fair because this debate has become like riding the tilt-a-whirl: "You go around and around, going nowhere, but get sick to your stomach."