State job goes to ex-lawmaker who supported tax hike

Chicago Tribune ^ | 01-14-11 | Ray Long and Hal Dardick

[sleeper-has-awakened]

Quinn's office, former rep deny connection between vote, appointment

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn gave a nearly $86,000 state job to a former lame-duck lawmaker who supplied one of the votes needed to pass his major income tax increase, but the governor's office and former state Rep. Careen Gordon both said Friday that there was no connection between the actions.

"In the seven years and couple weeks I was in the legislature, my vote was never for sale," Gordon said. "Sometimes, there's just no conspiracy."

Gordon, a Democrat from Morris who recently moved to Chicago, said she first approached the governor about a job on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board soon after losing her re-election bid in November. She said that Quinn asked her in that conversation what she thought of the possibility of a tax increase.

She said she told him she could support it only if she knew how the money would be used, cuts were included and there would be "no new programs." He did not ask for her vote, she said. Nor did she feel pressured to vote for the legislation, she said.

The 67 percent increase in income tax, which the Democratic governor signed into law Thursday, passed the House on Tuesday with the minimum 60 votes needed. Lobbying, horse-trading and other forms of legislative compromise were widely employed to muscle the controversial measure through the Democratic-controlled General Assembly just hours before the end of the session would have killed it.

But the governor's office said Gordon's appointment at the end of her legislative career was a coincidence.

[sleeper-has-awakened]

I'm shocked! S.O.P. foe the Dem's these days it seems. While I hate the tax hike I'm really concerned with the huge increase in the business tax. Most businesses around here are just getting by and almost every private sector worker I know has had a wage reduction, no increase in years, or been laid-off in the past 2 years. Couple this with a huge health insurance increase....not good.

[Hoodat]

but the governor's office and former state Rep. Careen Gordon both said Friday that there was no connection between the actions

The smoking gun can be found in Paragraph Three - third word.

[KansasGirl]

[the governor’s office and former state Rep. Careen Gordon both said Friday that there was no connection between the actions.]

They must think voters are stupid.

[Starboard]

"my vote was never for sale"

But it was open to "barter"

[EGPWS]

They must think voters are stupid.

After all, these thug's have had or are holding elective office aren't they?

[Western Phil]

Don’t know what Quin used to do for a living besides running for political offices., trying to look like a reform Democrat He finally teamed up as Lt Gov with Blago and got elected. Took over when the feds went after Blago and the Illinois voters decided they wanted 4 more years of the same. Looks like reform democrats are the same as any tax & spend democrats.

[PhilCollins]

Gov. Quinn was an aide to then-Mayor Harold Washington, and he was a state treasurer.

[Western Phil]

Its an interesting world. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Quinn_%28politician%29

“In 1978, Quinn protested an increase in state legislators’ salaries by urging citizens to send tea bags to Jim Thompson, then the governor. The tactic was a reference to the Boston Tea Party; Quinn was born on December 16, the anniversary of that event.[9] As Lieutenant Governor, he repeated the tactic in 2006, urging consumers to include a tea bag when paying their electricity bills, to protest rate hikes by Commonwealth Edison.”