Madigan re-elected speaker for 17th time, lays out Democratic economic agenda
A newly re-elected House Speaker Michael Madigan on Wednesday unveiled a series of proposals aimed at jump starting job growth in Illinois, the Democratic response to the economic agenda Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has pushed for two years as the sides remain deadlocked on a state budget.
The plan represents a pivot in strategy for the longtime speaker, who has been facing pressure from members of his own caucus to develop a counter to the governor's plans beyond mere opposition. But it provides little movement toward a budget resolution as universities and social service providers fear for their futures after their state funding ran out at the start of the new year.
While Madigan began his remarks on the first day of the new session lamenting the difficulty of the just-concluded one and calling for both the sides to "work to end the acrimony and find the best in each other," he went on to make it clear that he was not caving to Rauner's demands, which the governor has made a condition of a larger budget agreement.
"Some of us believe that we can grow the economy by changes in workers' compensation, collective bargaining and prevailing wage," Madigan said, referring to Rauner without using his name. "These people would argue that changes in those areas would lower the cost for Illinois businesses, which would act as an incentive for businesses to locate in Illinois or stay in Illinois. Obviously, this approach focuses almost exclusively on cost. In my opinion, this would be a race to the bottom that would unjustifiably hurt Illinois workers."
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