http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0802demsaug02,0,2583616.story

Democrats put state and party at risk

By William Daley

August 2, 2007

Chicago Tribune

After a generation of Republican control of much of state government, in 2002 Illinois Democrats celebrated the turnover of power in the governor's office and the chance it offered them to address pressing needs such as education, infrastructure, pension reform and tax relief.

Five years later, the budget meltdown that's now unfolding in Springfield has the potential to set Democrats back for another generation while hurting the people of Illinois.

Voter distrust of politicians is running pretty high across the country and the constant bickering and lack of progress in Springfield plays right into that dynamic. There is a lot of talk about raising money, but there's little sense that the state's big problems will be solved. The business sector is rightfully concerned about Illinois foundering amid this rudderless chaos.

Instead of the state's elected leaders coming together in good faith to forge a common agenda, things have gotten personal and ugly among Democrats. Republicans, meanwhile, are mindful of the age-old rule: Never interrupt your opponents when they are making fools of themselves.

The legislative session began with a lot of hope and possibility. Business leaders were open to higher taxes in one form or another if the money was properly invested. After years of progress in Chicago's public schools, support for education funding reform was broad.

The challenge then, as now, was to get enough people on both sides of the aisle to support one solution so it would not come back and bite them at the polls. But with proposals ranging from a gross-receipts tax to higher income and sales taxes, expanded gaming and the sale or lease of state assets, no one wanted to compromise and the mud started to fly.

We have seen this before. After the 1994 midterm election, the new speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, challenged the Clinton administration with harsh rhetoric and an overly ambitious agenda (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). But President Bill Clinton stayed focused on the issues. The result was that Gingrich wore the jacket for government gridlock while Clinton claimed a major legislative victory on welfare reform.

Illinois can improve education, expand health care, fund a capital program and reduce pressure on property taxpayers, but it will not come for free. At some point, Illinois will have to bite the bullet and find some new revenues while seriously reforming its way of doing business. We can't just continue to hope that natural revenue growth will keep the state solvent.

This is the best year to do it; after this year we will be too close to the statewide elections in 2010. Everyone needs to jump into the pool together -- Democrats and Republicans, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the legislative leaders -- and stay in until consensus is reached. Politics must take a back seat to public policy. Give the rhetoric a rest.

We live in an age of activist governors, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, Edward Rendell in Pennsylvania and Eliot Spitzer in New York. All three have had to compromise on their agendas because of the power-sharing nature of government. President Bush is learning the limits of his power. His domestic agenda has stalled and his war policies face increased scrutiny from an impatient Congress.

Blagojevich might take note: step back from health-care reform, move forward on other issues, demonstrate thoughtful leadership and a willingness to compromise, and earn a second chance. If state government shuts down or Springfield adjourns without any real progress, people will not be so generous with him or his fellow Democrats in the next election.