Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Blab tab is running high as no budget deal emerges

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Blab tab is running high as no budget deal emerges
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
July 6, 2007

State Senate Republicans have done some figurin' to come up with an idea of what the special session of the General Assembly is costing taxpayers. For example, they conclude that it costs $125 a day for hotel and meals for each lawmaker. Multiply that by 177 members of the Legislature and you come up with $22,125 per day. And the tab for keeping the doormen on the job at the state Capitol totals $2,500 a day.

This is necessary because the Democratic governor and the Democrats who run the General Assembly weren't able to get together on a state budget by their May 31 deadline. Now Gov. Blagojevich has called the lawmakers into special session, which started the new tab for taxpayers. Maybe he hopes that will put pressure on legislators to bow to his budget demands. But we expect the voters blame both him and lawmakers for this costly mess.

And why have all lawmakers in Springfield anyway? We know their only role is to approve whatever Blagojevich and the top legislative leaders agree on. Let them go home until a deal is struck.

At the low end of the daily bill is $400 to keep sound technicians on the job in case anyone has something worth saying. Given the dismal record of Blagojevich and the legislators toward resolving the state's finances, most of us would probably say just shut up and get the job done.