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| QUINN: A dangerous political mix |
That’s
about the only line of logic I can think of that would make me comprehend why
the governor would create a link between the issue of trying to keep Archer
Daniels Midland Co. in Illinois AND trying to fix the funding flaws in pension
programs overseen by state government.
FOR
THE RECORD, ADM officials have said they want to move their world headquarters
from Decatur to a large Midwestern city. They have hinted Chicago is their
preference, but St. Louis and Minneapolis also have been mentioned in the mix.
To
the goal of ensuring that Chicago comes out on top, the Illinois General
Assembly is contemplating whether they should approve something resembling tax
breaks for ADM IF they stay in an Illinois city. Such tax credits could come up
for consideration during the veto session that begins later this month.
But
Quinn is telling the Associated Press that he’ll use his veto power to kill off
any such tax breaks – UNLESS the state Legislature also manages to approve an
adequate plan for fixing pension funding mechanisms.
Whether
or not pension funding will be addressed is questionable – some legislators are
confident it can be addressed during the same veto session, while others say
the sides are too far apart and that nothing will happen until next year AT THE
SOONEST!!!
HOW
WOULD IT play if Quinn wound up killing off a bid to keep one of rural Illinois’
major companies within the state, while also giving Chicago’s corporate
presence another major player?
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| CULLERTON: A political balance? |
Would
it seem like Quinn is playing politics in ways that would encourage ADM to give
one of those other cities more serious consideration?
The
presence of O’Hare International Airport may be a major advantage, but if it
meant avoiding the political games, I suspect ADM officials would learn to live
with Lambert Airport in St. Louis.
Which
might somehow mean that a few of those ADM executives who leave Decatur for the
new world headquarters would wind up living in the St. Louis Metro East area.
Or maybe not. Maybe they’ll all decide to live on the Missouri side of the
Mississippi River? Or maybe Quinn fantasizes that they'll use high-speed rail to commute from Chicago TO St. Louis?
I
COULD EASILY see this issue being spun into a negative that Quinn was willing
to let a rural-based company leave the state, AND into a negative by Chicago
interests that he thwarted local efforts to try to attract that company.
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| Could political gamesmanship make Lambert look better? |
The
last time I checked, Madison and St. Clair counties had solid Democratic Party
organizations, but not strong enough to overcome opposition everywhere else in
Illinois.
Which
is why state Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, is trying to make an
appeal to both regions; what with his talk that the estimated $20 million worth
of tax breaks being sought by ADM to move to Chicago should be balanced off
with something to compensate Decatur for any jobs it loses due to the move.
I’m
not sure I see what Quinn gains by linking the two issues – particularly since
the General Assembly has made it clear on so many occasions that they’re not
willing to do the political heavy-lifting required to resolve the pension
problems.
HOW
MANY “DEADLINES,” how many drop-dead dates, have come and gone with nothing
being done on the issue? There’s plenty of blame to go around the General
Assembly on this issue.
Quinn’s
latest tactic comes across as the governor himself trying to grab a share of
the blame, rather than letting the Legislature take the hits!
Which
further convinces me that if Quinn prevails in next year’s election cycle, it’s
going to be more due to the incompetence of his potential opponents than it
will be anything positive the governor does himself.
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