Speaker Madigan's Deputy: We're In The Same Boat

By Madeleine Doubek

OK, deep breath in. Deep breath out. Now that we got that nasty election out of our systems, there's a veto session in Springfield starting next week. House Speaker Mike Madigan, Gov. Bruce Rauner and everyone will shake hands and get to work saving our universities, needy people, health care, roads and all that, right?

Former state Sen. Matt Murphy, a state budget expert who now is working as a lobbyist, said Chicago's precarious school funding and other budget strains might be the only pressure on Chicago Democrats to get something done any time soon. "I don't know how many more times they can go to the well of borrowing or using TIF (tax increment financing) funds to pay their bills."

Because Democrats still will hold majorities in both the House and Senate when the new General Assembly is sworn in in January, they retain just as much say over what gets done or doesn't. So beyond the expected posturing, what's the outlook?

I checked in with Democratic state Rep. Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook for some nitty gritty guidance. Nekritz is a pension expert, 14-year year veteran and the House Assistant Majority Leader.

You can read Doubek's Q&A with Nekritz here.