Eye On Illinois: Both gubernatorial candidates fumble facts at ag forum

Politics often is a game of “what have you done for me lately,” but events this week give a chance to be more forward thinking.

One of the leading takeaways from Wednesday’s Agricultural Legislative Roundtable, as Capitol News Illinois reported, was Gov. JB Pritzker incorrectly stating the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act only passed after all language concerning eminent domain powers was removed.

Pritzker’s November opponent, state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, seized on that remark because he knew the massive bill allowed Invenergy to invoke eminent domain to obtain property for its Grain Belt Express transmission line. Though that potential is limited to seven counties – Pike, Scott, Green, Macoupin, Montgomery, Christian, Shelby, Cumberland and Clark – and although Invenergy said it would use the power as a last resort, that doesn’t change the fact Pritzker was flat wrong.

“JB walked in and blatantly lied to working families,” Bailey tweeted Thursday morning. “He can wear all the flannel he wants, but his record is clear. He has abandoned working people across Illinois and he owes them an apology. It’s simple: Don’t sign legislation you don’t read and stop lying to people.”

However, Bailey didn’t escape the forum unscathed.

“I had several counties in my district two weeks ago that went through a three-hour brownout,” Bailey said, using the incident as an indictment on Pritzker’s energy policy.

Except when Capitol Fax’s Isabel Miller contacted the Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative to investigate when and where the brownouts occurred, they had no record of any such issue, attributing outages to storms or downed trees.

Other pundits can debate what’s worse: not knowing the language of your own legislative accomplishment or not knowing the reality of what happens in your own legislative district. Both candidates will attempt to clarify their remarks (nearly all the eminent domain language was stricken, after all, and the lack of an actual brownout doesn’t detract from the fear they could happen), but both could choose action.

Bailey voted against CEJA and has said eminent domain alone was enough to fuel opposition, not to mention all the other parts he doesn’t like. He could introduce an amendment singling out this one issue and put the pressure on Pritzker to support a fix. Or Pritzker could get ahead of that curve, asking one of the many Democrats who control the General Assembly to get involved.

Neither outcome is likely, especially given the legislative calendar and the demonstrated lack of interest in a special session concerning issues significantly more likely to gin up Democrat support, but the possibility exists. Such action would indicate this topic isn’t just campaign fodder but truly meaningful to the taxpayers who may be affected.

What will you do for me tomorrow?

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.