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| Chicago's Thompson and Bilandic buildings |
As
in Michael Bilandic, the one-time 11th ward alderman who became
mayor following the death of Richard J. Daley, then wound up redeeming his
legacy by becoming a state Supreme Court justice – even serving a stint as
chief justice of Illinois.
THE
LATTER STORY is the reason why Bilandic’s name is on the building at the
northwest corner of Randolph and LaSalle streets. Not because of anything he
did as mayor.
But
the one-time State of Illinois Building (the structure now named for James R.
Thompson technically is the State of Illinois Center) technically is the home
of the Illinois appellate and Supreme courts in Chicago, as well as the
Illinois attorney general’s office and other legal-oriented state agencies.
And
if Gov. Bruce Rauner were to have his way, it could soon someday become the
home of the governor’s Chicago office – which currently occupies half of the
top floor of the Thompson Center (the four legislative leaders occupy the other
half).
Both
WBBM-TV and the Chicago Sun-Times have reported that Rauner would want make the move as a gesture toward the eventual
disposition of the Thompson Center from the state property rolls altogether.
IN
PART AS a gesture to those political partisans who see the idea of a
block-sized building in Chicago devoted to state government as some sort of
slap in the face to the idea that Springfield, Ill., is the actual seat of
state government.
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| With legislators who usually keep the public 'in the dark' symbolically, how would they react to literally being with no electricity? |
This,
it seems, is one of Rauner’s ideas of how to shake up government activity and
tradition. That is, when he’s not pushing for various measures meant to
undermine the authority of organized labor within state government.
I
can’t help but think Bilandic himself would be appalled by these actions, and
the inability of our state to get its finances together for purely politically
partisan reasons.
Back
in his mayoral day, mayors knew the idea of being able to work with Republican
governors. The whole “D” vs. “R” concept was not an obstacle to getting things
done – as it is now by a political generation who defines politics as telling
your opposition party they’re entitled to nothin’!!!!!!!!
THAT
IDEA IS why we are now into month seven of a budget stalemate for state
government, which has prevented many government expenses from being paid.
Including
the utility bills for the Capitol building itself! The State Journal-Register
newspaper in Springfield reported that state government now owes some $9
million to the city-owned City Water, Light & Power company – of which some
$6 million of that is past due.
Just
think how quickly the utility would have cut off electricity to anyone else who
incurred that much back debt? Instead, the City Council in Springfield is
saying it will pass a resolution meant to urge the state to pay up – because that
big of a debt to the city is causing financial problems at the municipal level
as well.
Actually,
my own memories of life in Springfield was of a utility company that offered up
cheap bills (some $15-20 per month, I seem to recall in my case). To incur that
much debt literally means the state is consuming a lot without paying up.
SO
WHAT WOULD happen if the city had to cut off electricity to the Statehouse
building?
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| BILANDIC: Is his spirit snickering at us? |
Would
we be in the predicament where state workers in the Chicago office (the one
that Rauner wants to do away with as some sort of extravagance) would wind up
becoming all-the-more important to state government operations?
Or
would ComEd and other utility companies decide they could play hardball with
the state?
And
would Mr. Bilandic be looking down upon us from the skies laughing at our
political ineptitude – which in some ways makes his own “blizzard of ‘79’
ineptitude seem downright petty by comparison.
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