The first legislative leaders forum held at Northwestern proved a crash course in the basics of Illinois politics, but specific issues and policies took a backseat to jokes and generalities Wednesday night in Ryan Family Auditorium at the Technological Institute.
University President Henry Bienen moderated the forum, which featured the Democratic and Republican leaders from the Illinois House of Representatives and State Senate.
For the Democrats, Senate President Emil Jones Jr. and Speaker of the House Michael Madigan participated. They were joined by two leading Republicans, Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson and House Minority Leader Tom Cross.
The Civic Awareness Organization, a student group that seeks to forge stronger ties between NU and civic leaders, hosted the event, which was sponsored by the Office of Governmental Relations. The student group’s members ushered the event, wearing suits and handing out blank question cards to the audience amid the numerous police officers and aides that lingered in the aisles. Weinberg senior Andrew Madigan, a CAO member and the son of Michael Madigan, introduced Bienen at the beginning of the forum.
The legislators began by discussing how they got into politics and the job’s significance. Jones described his growing interest in politics after seeing a 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate.
“I realized the impact elected officials have on our lives,” Jones said. “An alderman told me, ‘From the cradle to the grave, an elected official or one of his designees will make the decisions on your life. A politician or his designee will sign your birth certificate, and a politician or his designee will sign your death certificate.'”
The legislative leaders spoke in front of a crowd of about 200 people on a range of state issues, from tax policy to preparing for Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid, but the closest they came to any policy solutions was a playful back-and-forth about property taxes.
Jones said the Chicago area’s tax dollars end up benefitting lllinois’ rural population, or “downstaters.”
“We feed you guys,” Jones joked, looking at Watson, who represents the more-rural 51st District.
Watson did not reply.
“That’s what you get, I guess,” Jones said.
When Bienen asked a question about Illinois’ looming budget problems, however, party differences were more clear even as the legislators refrained from discussing the details of public policy. Madigan said there was no “collective will” to solve the budget shortfalls that already plague services like mass transportation.
“Speaking for myself, I would be prepared to support a tax increase, but I don’t see the support for that,” Madigan said. “There is no answer.”
Jones said the problem is Illinois politicians’ votes for benefits they do not fund, which puts the state in a bind since it must live up to fiscal commitments and is required to balance its budget.
Watson used the question to contrast Republicans’ basic philosophy with Democrats’, and said his party is more focused on an individual’s rights and responsibilities than big-government solutions.
At times during the forum, a fifth Illinois politician was on the minds of both speakers and audience members – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the junior Illinois Senator who served seven years in the Illinois State Senate.
Jones discussed seeing Sen. Barack Obama doing community service work early in his career. A later question from the audience asked the speakers what they thought of “voting present,” a reference to a criticism from Obama’s presidential opponents that questions his use of “present” – or declining to vote for or against a bill – while serving in the Illinois State Senate.
CAO members Dan Schaffer and Andrew Madigan planned the event. For Northwestern students, many of whom are from out-of-state or abroad, the forum was an introduction to Illinois political figures.
The legislators, despite their differences, each emphasized the need for students to serve their communities if they wanted to understand politics.
“If you want government to change, get involved,” Jones said.
Matt Radler can be reached at
