Mayor's Row....by Ned Mitchell
Tom T. Hall had a song out years ago called "Faster Horses, Older Whiskey, Younger Women and More Money". I'm not sure which of those apply but I would say at least three out of the four might just be applicable to our elected state officials here in Illinois. It appears to me that those in power are playing fast and loose with the privilege and honor we have bestowed upon them by electing them to serve us. It seems as if some of them, particularly the most powerful of the bunch have completely forgotten from whence they came.
After much bally hoeing they all joined hands and made a big splash about raising the minimum wage here in Illinois. They all took turns at public events bleating about how concerned they were that folks here could not raise a family on the minimum wage. Most of us agreed although some of us questioned the timing of the legislation. No sooner did they pass that, the very next day here the same folks came back with their own pay raise that was considerably more than what they did for the folks on minimum wage. It kind of appeared for a while that they might have a heart in that the minimum wage was increased before their own salary, but who am I say those folks have a heart?
There was some shock and outrage by voters but legislators have always bet on the proposition that if they vote on something controversial right after an election and a good two years before another election, most of the voters will forget all about it by then. Thus far it has been a safe bet as very seldom do we see an incumbent legislator turned out to pasture to graze with that horse that won't go back into the barn.
Legislators were either asleep at the switch or did not really care due to the fact that many of them are practically on the payroll of the utility companies, but the gigantic rate increases in electric rates, especially in AmerenCips areas of service, completely caught them off guard. Now you can pretty well do most anything as a state legislator and get by with it, but when you hit the pocketbook of the voters on a monthly basis you are in for some rough sledding. In some areas of the state legislators are afraid to attend public events and for good reason. Many of these legislators have taken a lot of campaign cash either directly or indirectly from utility companies. They know if they are too vocal against the rate increases that the campaign cash will no longer be there. They also know that the voters will have a long memory when the next election rolls around if something is not done. It is the classic example of damned if you do and damned if you don't!
We still must give some credit to the downstate legislators who lately have begun to speak out about the issue. Although I pointed out last week that the horse was out of the barn before they decided to do anything about it, they finally are trying to take some action, even if it is to just preserve their own behinds. Up to this point I have not gotten too excited about signing petitions asking for a rate freeze or sending in a copy of my utility bill or joining in with other mayors, most of whom are up for election right now, to set up some sort of co-op to buy electricity from someone other than AmerenCips. You see I feel like all of this bologna is mainly for the benefit of someone other than you and me. I figure if a co-op were to be set up and become successful eventually AmerenCips would merely come along and buy it up or they would jack up the delivery charges to where it would not work. Not only are we not able to get that horse back in the barn I think we are now at the point where a few legislators are beating a dead horse.
You see when deregulation came into play ten years ago utility companies begrudgingly went along with it knowing that in 2007 they would be allowed to raise their rates. They had an agreement and a contract with state and the consumer. Is it legal to now come along and change that after it has already happened? A couple of very wise constitutional attorney friends of mine say it is not. Of course the legislature is accustomed to passing a law every now and then that will make them look good all the while knowing the law is not constitutional. Then once the law makes it's way to the Supreme Court and it is struck down, legislators quickly point their collective fingers at those dastardly Justices and tell the voters we did our jobs, it was the court that failed you. I swear some of these guys should abandon the legislature and become professional magicians!
Now to add insult to injury the State Senate, where the price freeze legislation was not even called for a vote last fall when something probably could have been done, has taken up a major consumer cause. Just last week the Senate held hearings on the fact that cable television rates have increased 93% over the last ten years and made it known they are fed up with it and are going to do something about it. Never mind the fact that my power bill increase by 200% over night, they won't even bring that subject up but they are really bothered by the cost of cable television. Now before you get to thinking this bunch of public servants really cares about you, pay attention to who is known as a proponent of this legislation concerning cable television. A company known as A T & T is very interested in buying into the cable television industry in Illinois and they have been spreading cash around in Springfield for years.
How the system works in Springfield is each legislator has a lap top computer upon which all proposed laws are entered into the data base. If a legislator wants to read a particular bill all they have to do is call it up on the computer and read it. More importantly at the very bottom of each of these bills is a list of those who are for the legislation, known as proponents and those who are opposed to it known as opponents. I'm not just guessing about this, you see, I was once a part of the legislature and on many occasions I joined in other legislators in looking at the bottom of the page to see who was for or against legislation before actually reading the document for myself. Many times legislation passes or fails based on who is for or against it. Lobbyists with pockets full of cash seem to have their way more often than not. That is legal in Illinois. It may not be good government, but it is legal. You and I are the ones who keep sending legislators and governors to office that will not change the system.
In the past few weeks I have heard dozens of people around here berating downstate legislators, local ones in particular, because they are not doing enough about the utility issue. A constant refrain is that even though our local guys are outvoted, they could be more vocal about their feelings. The bottom line to that fallacy is that legislators simply cannot do that if they want to be re-elected. First of all President of the Senate Emil Jones does not need Senator Gary Forby just like Speaker of the House Mike Madigan does not need Representative John Bradley. If either of these two were to rock the boat in the least bit, their leaders would finance a candidate against them in the next primary election and eliminate that problem immediately. I know all about that from first hand experience. Both Jones and Madigan have more than enough pals in the legislature to do their bidding so they can afford to sacrifice a few down state guys to keep everyone else in line. I know for a fact that when the powers that be eliminate a hell raiser or two, they quietly point out that fact to anyone who might consider asking a question or two. It is a brutal system and if you stay in it you will conform. If you don't conform Jones and or Madigan will show you the door. In my particular case it was a joint effort by the dynamic duo. So the point is don't be too critical of the local guys we have in Springfield. They have to walk a fine line between serving our interests and speaking up for us and at the same time stay in good enough graces with their leaders to keep their seats. I don't envy them and for sure did not fit in well!
Hats off to the hard working bunch of the Apostolic Church here in Sesser where pastor Brad Dunning and his congregation have dismantled the old Shelton's barn next door to the Dollar Store to make way for a new church that is coming soon. We applaud their hard work and vision for not only their church but also our community.
If you need us give us a call at 625-3611 or 625-5322 or write nedmithchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org or P. O. Box 277, Sesser, Illinois 62884.
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