I recently obtained a document distributed by the governor's office detailing the membership list and meeting times and locations of the secret state legislative "working groups."
The governor's office has insisted that not only should legislators dummy up about what goes on at the groups' meetings - which are designed to forge compromises on the governor's "Turnaround Agenda" - but also that outsiders should not even know the membership of the groups or when and where they're getting together.
That's pretty ridiculous. Many moons ago, I began writing about private legislative caucus meetings. That didn't endear me to the powers that be, but I thought the meetings were too important to the Statehouse process to ignore. I still think that, although caucus meetings are somewhat less important these days.
So I exerted a bit of effort and eventually scored the governor's document.
The working group tasked with hammering out a potential tax hike is so secret that its very existence would not be confirmed by members I contacted. Legislators were reportedly warned by the governor's office that if any word leaked about the group, Governor Bruce Rauner would refuse to increase taxes.
Yep, he's a control freak.
The group was nicknamed "Vegas" by some of its members because what happens in the group is supposed to stay in the group. Its official name is listed as "HOLD" on the governor's document. It's apparently not an acronym. "They were that afraid to put things in writing," explained one source. "So just 'hold' this slot open."
I kid you not.
Republican state Representatives Patricia Bellock and David Leitch are on the HOLD group, as well as Democratic Representative John Bradley. Senate Democrats Heather Steans and Toi Hutchinson are also on the super-secret group, as are Republican Senators Pam Althoff and Karen McConnaughay. The governor's top staff abruptly shut down a HOLD meeting last week, calling House Speaker Michael Madigan's unilateral advancement of a budget bill a "hostile action."
The "Economic Growth" working group will tackle issues such as workers' compensation insurance, the governor's local "right-to-work zones" proposal, tort reform, and the minimum wage. Democratic Representatives Jay Hoffman and Art Turner, Republican Representatives Mike Tryon, David Leitch, and Dwight Kay, Democratic Senators Kimberly Lightford and Kwame Raoul, and Republican Senators Matt Murphy and Jim Oberweis are on the group. Some initial progress is being made on workers' comp reform, I'm told.
The "Taxpayer Protection" working group discusses issues such as the governor's proposed property-tax freeze. Members were told that the governor's initial bargaining position is a permanent freeze. Democratic Senators Gary Forby and Andy Manar, Republican Senators Dan Duffy and Chris Nybo, Democratic Representatives John Bradley and Barbara Flynn Currie, and GOP Representatives David Harris and Ed Sullivan are on the working group.
I wrote recently about the "Transforming Government" group, which featured the Democratic throwdown with the governor's staff over a legislative-term-limits constitutional amendment. It's also dealing with implementing the governor's executive order on state-worker ethics and banning public-employee-union contributions to the executive branch. Democratic Representatives Lou Lang and Elgie Sims, Republican Representatives Norine Hammond and Chad Hays, Democratic Senator Don Harmon, and Republican Senators Darin LaHood and Chapin Rose are all on the committee.
The governor wants to move current state employees and teachers out of their "Tier 1" pension plans and into a "Tier 2" plan that provides far fewer benefits. His "Pension Reform" working group is composed of Democratic Representative Elaine Nekritz, Senate Democrat Daniel Biss, House Republicans Tom Morrison and Ron Sandack, and Senate Republicans Bill Brady and Pam Althoff.
Rauner has been promising a major road- and transit-construction plan since the campaign. The "Capital Plan" working group is composed of Senate Dems John Sullivan and Marty Sandoval, Senate Republicans Dave Syverson and Karen McConnaughay, House Dems Bob Rita and Christian Mitchell, and House Republicans Norine Hammond and Ed Sullivan. They didn't get much done at their last meeting because the governor refused to talk about how to pay for it.
The "Budget Implementation" working group is huge. The last meeting was attended by 38 people, including all legislative-appropriations-committee chairs. Getting things accomplished with a group that size could be difficult.
The "Unemployment Insurance" working group will use an "agreed bill" process to find a way to bring down employer costs. Republican Senators Sue Rezin and Kyle McCarter, Democratic Senator Terry Link, Democratic Representative Jay Hoffman, and House Republicans John Anthony and Dwight Kay are on the group.
Can we stop with all the crazy secrecy now, please?
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax (a daily political newsletter) and CapitolFax.com.
