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Wednesday, July 11, 2007 1:10 AM CDT
House could hand governor setback via gun proposal
By KURT ERICKSON, JG/T-C Springfield Bureau
[email protected]
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House is poised to hand Gov. Rod Blagojevich another setback, this time over the issue of gun control.
In the midst of a lengthy impasse over the state budget, Blagojevich has called on lawmakers to ban the sale, purchase and possession of gun clips that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
But observers on both sides of the divisive issue say there are simply not enough votes to get the measure passed.
Of the 60 votes needed for approval, gun control advocates and gun rights groups agree there are only about 50 solid “yes” votes. Not even the bill’s sponsor thinks it has enough support.
“The governor’s been out of town, out of touch and out of ideas to solve the fiscal crisis of the State of Illinois,” said Todd Vandermyde, spokesman for the National Rifle Association.
The showdown over guns comes amid a contentious fight over the state budget. Tuesday’s meeting between the governor, legislative leaders and a group of rank-and-file lawmakers proved just as fiery as previous sessions.
The governor again railed on House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, who does not support the governor’s plan to spend more on health care and schools. He already has led the House in rejecting the governor’s plans to sell the lottery, raise taxes on businesses and expand gambling.
“Speaker Madigan is acting like a Republican,” said Blagojevich.
The governor described the two-hour, closed door meeting in positive terms.
“It was one of best meetings we’ve actually had,” said Blagojevich. “It was spirited and a lot of fun, I thought.”
Madigan and other lawmakers who attended the meeting gave a different version of events.
“Unfortunately, the governor came very close to losing his temper,” Madigan said. “He raised his voice and flailed a little with his arms.”
The sniping comes six weeks into a budget impasse that has left the state operating under a temporary budget.
The governor has called a series of sparsely attended special sessions over the past week aimed at getting a spending plan in place. The cost of the special session to taxpayers is an estimated $216,000.
Although lawmakers only met briefly and took no significant action, attendance Tuesday was higher than it had been in recent days. In the Senate, 46 of 59 members were on the floor. Ninety-six of 118 House members showed up.
The governor’s push for a vote on his gun measure drew the ire of lawmakers from across the state.
Quad-Cities area lawmakers say passage of the legislation could drive gun manufacturers in the Rock River Valley out of the state.
“This is another straw on the camel’s back. We already have manufacturers moving from Illinois and why we insist on chasing out the few who are left doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” said state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline.
“The governor is trying to use this issue and use it to move people’s attention away from his failure to get a budget in place. That’s the bottom line,” said Jacobs.
“It makes you wonder if he’s attempting to throw this into a government shutdown so he can attempt to demonize people even more,” said state Rep. Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville. “If he keeps this up and we have a government shutdown, there will be one person responsible and it’s the person who didn’t keep the focus.”
State Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, said there are other pressing needs that the state needs to address.
“He had all year to do this. He’s not introduced one special session for electric rates. Gas is over $3 a gallon again. It is zero leadership on his part,” Reis said.
Kurt Erickson can be reached at
[email protected] or 217-789-0865
