Statehouse Dems show new interest in privatizing lottery

AP:

The Illinois House approved new versions of legislation that Gov. Rod Blagojevich had rewritten to cut taxes for disabled veterans and lower insurance costs for college students.

Speaker Michael J. Madigan also said Wednesday that House Democrats may reverse course and support the governor's idea of privatizing the lottery to pay for a statewide construction program.

But Madigan cautioned that his caucus still has deep doubts about whether the governor can be trusted to oversee that program fairly. They won't be pushed into a deal, he said.

"We're not prepared to have things dictated to us. Everybody in the building ought to understand that," said Madigan, D-Chicago.

Blagojevich has begun a campaign of using his amendatory veto power to make dramatic changes to legislation approved by the General Assembly. He calls it "Rewrite to Do Right."

One of his rewritten bills would exempt disabled veterans from paying property taxes. Blagojevich's office estimates 16,000 people would qualify for the exemption, which would apply to veterans with at least a 50 percent disability.

Local governments would lose $35 million to $40 million in tax revenue, said the sponsor of the legislation.

The House voted 78-12 to accept the governor's changes.

Perhaps the personality clash is easing and the governor might get some of his proposals passed. According to this article, however, there is still issues of trust. Perhaps the governor can actually prove himself to be trustworthy. We'll have to see.

One more excerpt:

Lawmakers also approved a rewrite that would let parents keep college-age children on their health insurance. Unmarried children could stay on their parents' health plans up to age 26 under the legislation.

It was approved 70-21. In a news conference afterward, Blagojevich denied it would increase costs for insurance companies or businesses that provide health care for employees.

Asked if approving the governor's changes was meant as an olive branch, Madigan said, "You could take it that way, if you wish."

Madigan's majority leader, Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, said the changes could be challenged in court, creating an opportunity for the courts to spell out the limits of the governor's amendatory veto power.

The state Senate now has 15 days to consider the governor's vetoes or the legislation dies. The Senate is not in session, so that would require bringing senators back to Springfield.