Blagojevich's research doesn't tell full story

During a Chicago appearance Wednesday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich repeatedly took aim at his political enemy (albeit fellow Democrat) House Speaker Michael Madigan.

At one point, Blagojevich said his crew had been doing some research and found that many of the things Madigan says today in blocking things the governor wants, sound a lot like things Madigan said backing the 1980s and 1990s when he blocked things Jim Edgar and Jim Thompson wanted when they were governors.

Well, I’ve done my own research and thought I’d share the rest of the story.

Thompson wanted a tax increase back in 1988. Madigan blocked it repeatedly.
The deep irony is that Blagojevich now claims Madigan wants a tax increase and the governor vows to veto it should it ever emerge.

One of the biggest fights between Edgar and Madigan came in the mid-1990s when Republicans controlled the Capitol. Edgar and the GOP pushed construction-spending plans. Madigan refused to put votes on the proposals and thereby blocked them.

Question: Who was a loyal Illinois House Democrat in the mid-1990s, voting alongside Madigan to help block hundreds of millions of dollars worth of spending on roads, universities and dilapidated state buildings?

Answer: State Rep. Rod Blagojevich.

Blagojevich now blasts Madigan for refusing to go along with his ideas for a construction-spending spree that has reached as high as $34 billion.

Of note, in 1989, Madigan shocked just about everyone by delivering a temporary income tax increase that helped education and local government. It was later made permanent with Jim Edgar’s (the new governor) blessing.

And near the end of his tenure, Edgar turned to Madigan to push an overhaul of how the state funds schools. Madigan guided it through the House – although it took two tries – but Republicans in the Illinois Senate later blocked it.