A dozen Republicans were set to cross over and vote for Gov. Pat Quinn's proposed income tax hike last legislative session.
Then House leader Tom Cross stepped in and put the kibosh on it, a leading state lawmaker says.
"Twelve brave souls said they would. We only needed five of those brave souls. Their leader Tom Cross said No," state Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) told a meeting of McHenry County Democrats, Cal Skinner reports at the Illinois Review. "The leader of the Republican Party personally killed the income tax increase."
Of course, it's not a surprise that a Republican House leader would stop an income tax hike by bringing the hammer down on his wayward troops. Cross might want to put Lang's statement on his campaign brochures.
But it does speak to the opportunity that Quinn and fellow Democrats had to push through an increase that the governor wanted badly to help solve the state's fiscal crisis. The fact that a dozen Republicans were ready to support the measure means it actually had a reasonable chance.
At the same time, the episode speaks to the overwhelming power legislative leaders have in this state - something the governor's ethics reform commission tried to address by, for example, proposing term limits for legislative leaders.
That idea went nowhere, leaving Illinois at the mercy of the cabal commonly called The Four Tops - the majority and minority leaders in the Senate and House. Legislators who stray from their dictates pay a heavy price, including possibly their jobs.
Politics
But ultimately legislators must take responsibility for their own actions.
"Dozens who voted no did so just to protect their next election," Lang reportedly said, indicating that those folks actually supported the increase in their hearts.
For better or worse, though, they chose not to think for themselves - though they were certainly only thinking of themselves.
Steve Rhodes is the proprietor of The Beachwood Reporter, a Chicago-centric news and culture review.
