Blagojevich calls for special session

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CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants lawmakers back at work in Springfield to consider a newly slimmed-down version of his statewide construction program that has stalled because of feuding and disagreements. Blagojevich on Tuesday called a special session for Aug. 12-13 to deal with the plan that has a lower price tag - $25 billion instead of $34 billion - and no longer relies on gambling expansion as a major source of revenue for it. “That's news to me,” state Rep. Robert Pritchard, R-Hinckley, said when told Tuesday by the Daily Chronicle of the special session, adding the governor was overstepping his bounds by calling it. “I didn't realize he was the speaker nowadays.” Last week, Blagojevich met with three of the four top legislative leaders to discuss the plan to fix Illinois' infrastructure and do much more. Only Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, who has a running feud with the governor, did not attend, sending surrogates instead. “Now that they have had time to review our proposal, I will convene a special session so that they can pass a plan this summer that will repair and rebuild our state's infrastructure and put Illinoisans to work,” Blagojevich said in a written statement. While Pritchard said action is needed, he also said it's unlikely anything will be agreed upon in the House - especially if it's the ideas the governor floated to legislative leaders last week. Madigan's allies “disagreed with every one” of them, Pritchard said. A Madigan spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday, but a Madigan lieutenant in the House says the scaled down proposal still has problems because it relies on a partial lease of the state lottery to pay for it. Democratic House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie has called that “a hard sell.” The special session will take place during the Illinois State Fair. Disagreements between the Democrats who control Springfield means this latest gathering at the state Capitol could feel like a carnival ride that goes “round and round,” said David Dring, a spokesman for House Republican Leader Tom Cross. Still, Dring said they are hopeful, but skeptical, that lawmakers can make progress on a capital plan. “I'm anxious to see how many members will actually be there,” said state Sen. Brad Burzynski, R-Clare, adding he assumed he will be attending the sessions but needed to check his calendar. “I think the governor has far overstepped his authority to get members of the General Assembly to Springfield. He's somewhat delusional if he thinks he can push something through at this time.” 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 on a capital plan that would be palatable to lawmakers. But the hurdles the plan has faced has nearly as much to do with personalities as anything else. Some House Democrats contend that they simply don't trust Blagojevich to fulfill project commitments in a capital plan no matter its size. Some also fear there aren't enough safeguards to keep Blagojevich from diverting money to pet projects and punishing lawmakers who crossed him. During the upcoming two-day special session, the governor also has put education funding on the agenda. That's in response to members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus who asked Tuesday for him to convene a special session on education funding, Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said. Every time Blagojevich calls lawmakers back to Springfield, taxpayers pick up the tab. A two-day special session last month was expected to cost taxpayers at least $80,000 for food, lodging and transportation, according to an Associated Press analysis.