Quinn's Biggest Flip-Flop

The fact that Gov. Pat Quinn is once again doing a 180 on a major issue should be anything but surprising. However, the fact he's making such a stark reversal on one of the biggest pieces of legislation that was passed out of the legislature is still somewhat remarkable. The Chicago Tribune's Monique Garcia is reporting that Quinn will veto the campaign finance reform legislation that lawmakers passed this spring. Not only was this bill touted by supporters as the most important piece of ethics reform to come out of Springfield this year, but Quinn himself testified in favor of the bill, calling it "landmark" legislation. He's waffled on the issue since then, to the point lawmakers held up on sending it to his desk in an effort to use the bill as leverage in budget talks.

Republicans and members of the governor's Illinois Reform Commission have criticized the measure, saying it does little to control the flow of campaign cash in Illinois. They have gone so far as to say it would give legislative leaders more control over legislative races than they already have. It seems Quinn changed his mind if he's going for an all-out veto rather than amending the bill himself. Either way, he's not winning any points with House Speaker Mike Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and other top Democrats who pushed hard to get the bill passed.

Frankly, I'm guessing Madigan and Cullerton are furious. They made this the centerpiece of ethics reforms this year. Considering Illinois has absolutely no limits on how much money anyone can donate to a political campaign, Quinn and other supporters seemed justified in saying that the measure was a good first step toward significant campaign finance limits in Illinois. It seems a strange tactic, then, for Quinn to veto the legislation altogether, rather than working with Madigan and Cullerton to come up with a trailer bill to impose stricter limits down the road. How is he going to have any credibility in negotiating a new bill after such a major reversal? I'm no expert on Illinois history, but I'm guessing it's pretty rare for a governor to veto a bill that he testified in favor of before both a House and a Senate committee.

We'll find out at noon exactly what Quinn's reasoning is in vetoing the measure completely, rather than using his broad amendatory veto powers or working with top Democrats to strengthen the bill during the fall veto session. The big question now is, can Democrats override the governor's veto? Probably not. Although there are enough Democrats to override a veto in the Senate without GOP support, one Democrat -- Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-East Moline) -- voted against the legislation. And House Democrats would need at least one Republican vote to override any veto and Republicans don't have any reason to help out the Democrats on this one.