I’m sure the overly cynical among us will think it ridiculous to even ponder such a question. Of course, they’re a batch of hacks who do what they’re told – they’re politicians!
WOULD-BE
GOVERNOR HOPEFUL Chris Kennedy has added his own thoughts to this issue –
recently telling the State Journal-Register newspaper in Springfield that he
thinks the Democratic majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature
sometimes create bills on issues of concern to the public.
Not
that they have any intent of actually addressing those issues. Instead, the
bills are a promise of sorts – something the Democrats in charge will get to in
some future year. Provided, of course, that they’re re-elected to their posts.
“I
think that’s just emblematic of the inherent, well, corruption in our
government there,” Kennedy said. “We’re more interested in keeping people in
power and preserving power than actually passing legislation that’s helpful.”
A
sentiment that, officially, is being debunked by Democratic leadership. An aide
to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, the guy whom many people
want to believe is the ultimate political boss to be blamed for all that is
wrong with Illinois, said of the statement, “Mr. Kennedy is not very well
informed.” No wonder Madigan is in the camp of Democratic gubernatorial hopeful J.B. Pritzker.
THERE’S
ALSO THE rule of thumb used throughout the years by many political reporters
trying to figure out what will happen on the Statehouse Scene in Springfield –
Nothing happens if the Speaker is opposed.
Meaning
the legislative leadership, both in the Illinois House and state Senate, have a
process by which they dictate which bills amongst the hundreds introduced each
year actually get through committee review and get a final vote.
Or,
actually, which ones get stalled without anything resembling a public review
and are never heard from again. Which isn’t exactly what Kennedy is complaining
about.
For under Kennedy’s theory, a bill needs some sort of public attention paid to it – what good is it to claim you’ll do something in the future if you don’t tell anybody about it in the present?
CHRIS
KENNEDY – WHO may be one of the few members of that political family that can
claim Jack, Bobby and Ted as relatives who hasn’t actually held a political
office in the past – is trying to create an image for himself with such
statements that he’s not a political hack.
That
even though he’s the son of Bobby and nephew to Jack and Ted, he’s not the
ultimate political insider. Which may be true, but largely because he has never
had the will power to follow through his past talk of running for office to
actually campaign for the post.
Many
people are going to try to tag the one-time boss of the Merchandise Mart (the
Chicago property that the Kennedy family owned for decades) as nothing but a
political insider. Hence, Chris is now eager to toss out the kind of talk that
might appeal to the good-government types in our society.
As
though he has high-minded ideals he wants to bring about for the betterment of
all of us in our society.
PHILIP: Was he really just taking orders? |
While
I know one former Illinois House member who told me that she was always
permitted to vote on issues as she saw fit – other than the first vote of each
legislative session to pick leadership. So long as she picked Madigan, she was
allowed to decide things for herself.
Although
I also remember one former Illinois Senate member who once ridiculed me when I
suggested that then-Senate President James “Pate” Philip would tell him what to
do. He insisted that the Senate Republican caucus was a batch of
conservative-minded people who told their president what THEY would permit HIM
to say and do.
Which
may go a long way to explaining the level of nonsense that appears to pervade
our state’s political structure – the one that Kennedy seems to think he wants
to oversee, but may someday come to his senses and wish he never became
involved with.
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