Blagojevich scales back in proposal

CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to revive his proposed statewide construction program Thursday by ratcheting down the price tag and abandoning gambling expansion to pay for it. But the concessions may not be enough to resuscitate the plan stalled by his feuding with lawmakers and legislative infighting. Top lawmakers met with Blagojevich for nearly two hours about the overhaul that shrinks the program to fix Illinois' infrastructure and more to $25 billion from $34 billion. But a surrogate who attended the meeting in place of House Speaker Michael Madigan said the plan still has problems. The proposal relies in part on a partial lease of the state lottery, an idea that Democratic House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie called “a hard sell.” State Rep. Robert Pritchard, R-Hinckley, said he was interested in hearing more about the proposal to lease the lottery because he thinks it's “one of the issues out there that might be workable.” But Pritchard also would like to look at taking money from general revenue funds to use to bond for a more modest construction bill, which he pegged at costing $6 billion to $7 billion. While that wouldn't be sufficient for all the needed repairs, Pritchard noted that the need continues to grow. He suggested that the state set priorities and consider a bonding program every other year, instead of every 10 years, to pay for construction needs. Blagojevich's proposed overhaul of the capital plan is a testament to just how much relations have devolved in Springfield where both chambers and the governor's office are controlled by Democrats. Republican former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and former Democratic congressman Glenn Poshard, now Southern Illinois University's president, worked for nearly five months to try to put together a deal. Madigan and Blagojevich have a running feud and the state House's top Democrat has refused meetings with the governor, calling them unproductive. Other leaders were quick to criticize Madigan after their meeting with Blagojevich. “All they do in the House is just sit and criticize. So let the bridges fall, let our roads crumble, you know, let our schools go without the capital needs that they deserve, and all they do is complain,” Democratic Senate President Emil Jones said. It's “a travesty” that the Democrats can't agree on how to do a capital bill or how to pay for it, said Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson. Currie contends that many fellow House Democrats don't trust Blagojevich to fulfill project commitments in a capital plan, no matter its size. Some fear that there aren't enough safeguards to keep Blagojevich from diverting money to his pet projects and punishing lawmakers who crossed him. “Unfortunately, there's not a lot of trust in the governor among members of our caucus,” Currie said, pledging to bring Blagojevich's latest proposal back to House Democrats. Instead of leasing the lottery, there could be support for a modest state income tax increase or for a graduated income tax system that puts the biggest burden on the wealthiest Illinoisans, Currie said. Blagojevich has repeatedly rejected the suggestion of raising the state income tax. His scaled-down proposal relies on $100 million in excess state sales taxes on motor fuels and $150 million in excess motor fuel taxes, according to the governor's office. The proposal floated Thursday contains about $7.7 million to renovate Cole Hall at Northern Illinois University, according to Pritchard. School officials have asked for state funding to help revamp the lecture hall, where five students were killed and at least 16 others injured in February by a gunman who later killed himself. Pritchard said he thinks that NIU could get those dollars if the proposal is passed. “It's about communicating the need for a project like that, and I think the university has done a good job at communicating the need,” he said. “But the first hurdle is getting a capital bill. And that's a big hurdle.” Daily Chronicle Reporter Carrie Frillman contributed to this report.