Gov. JB Pritzker last week squarely placed the responsibility for passing a Bears stadium bill on the team itself, and had some unsolicited lobbying advice for the Bears as he attempted to brush off his own session attendance issues.
The governor continued to downplay his own role in passing a stadium or stadium-related bill, saying it was Bears management which “decided to glom on to the megaprojects bill that I proposed.”
Um, he didn’t exactly resist that move, and the Bears’ addition became the most highlighted part of the bill, to the point where lots of members believed Pritzker was using the Bears to pass an idea that had long ago hit a brick wall in both legislative chambers.
Pritzker also said he’d be “happy” to call a special session, but only if the Bears “figure out how they can get the Legislature, both sides around the same bill.”
And then he offered some belated statehouse lobbying advice: “You’ve got to work the hallways, as you know, in a very, very busy session,” Pritzker told reporters after accurately saying the Bears made “some fumbles” the past few years. “You’ve got to really talk to every legislator if you want to get something done,” he said.
Pritzker said he’s received calls from the Bears since session ended, but didn’t say if he repeated that same advice.
My associate Isabel Miller pointed out to the governor that he had repeatedly urged the General Assembly to move more quickly on the megaprojects bill: “Looking back, do you think spending more time in Springfield working out issues might have produced a different outcome?”
As I told my newsletter subscribers on June 8, Pritzker was in Springfield for just 22 session days this spring.
“I spent a lot of time in Springfield,” the governor insisted, adding, “I’m not a legislator,” and said he has “a whole lot of responsibilities that aren’t legislative.”
According to his legislative calendar, Pritzker was in Springfield two days in January and two days in February, four days in March and three days in April. During the crucial final session month of May, the governor was in town 11 out of 19 session days.
The governor’s calendar also shows that he had just 14 scheduled in-person meetings with individual rank-and-file legislators in Springfield during all of spring session, including only one meeting on his calendar to talk about the Bears stadium with top negotiators Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, and Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, the day before session was scheduled to adjourn.
One top Pritzker insider explained that the governor often takes impromptu calls from members to talk about their projects and/or their bills, which wouldn’t be on the official schedule.
The insider also pointed to how the disjointed, deliberately uncoordinated legislative calendar made it difficult to schedule events at the executive mansion because the two chambers were so rarely in town together until May. He hosted four such events this year (Women Wear Pink, the Black Caucus, Latino Caucus and Asian American Caucus).
Pritzker has been sharply criticized for quite a while for focusing more on the national political front than on governing Illinois. And while all or parts of several bills on his priority list did pass, the danger for Pritzker is that this Bears failure will overshadow everything else and highlight his national ambitions because it’s something that transcends the statehouse. His attendance record, while not a complete look at his work, does him no favors.
Isabel also asked the governor last week if, going forward, he was “planning to be more present in Springfield.”
“I’m in Springfield a lot,” Pritzker replied, saying he often invites legislators to his appearances in their districts. However, his calendar shows he attended events outside Springfield on 18 different session days, which would make it difficult for legislators to attend.
Pritzker also said he called “several” Republican legislators “during the final portions of the session to make sure that they were on board” with the Bears bill. He did not say if he phoned any Democrats.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: The governor has a very good executive staff, if too overburdened. But there’s no substitute for a present governor. Legislators are generally a needy bunch. They see him on national TV during session and wonder why he isn’t attending to them. That’s simple statehouse reality and has been forever.
Pritzker was right when he told reporters, “You’ve got to really talk to every legislator if you want to get something done.” He might think about that advice during upcoming sessions.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.