House Dems Launch Another Partisan Working Group, GOP Decries Being Left Out
House Speaker Chris Welch waves to the crowd at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association brunch in Springfield last month.
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House Democrats are launching a working group made up entirely of Democratic members from the city and suburbs to address a coming fiscal cliff for mass transit agencies in Illinois, once again leaving Republicans out of the process of crafting legislation that could have long-term impacts on transit and tax policy in the state.
The “Public Transit Working Group” will be co-chaired by Reps. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) and Eva-Dina Delgado (D-Chicago). 13 other House Democrats will sit on the committee and none come from farther south than Joliet or west of Aurora even though transit systems, mostly bus systems, dot urban areas all across the state.
And it appears clear the Chicagoland area will be the priority of the group or any potential legislation.
“A high-quality and affordable public transportation system doesn’t just efficiently meet the needs of the community it serves, it also provides significant economic and health benefits, reduces congestion on our roadways, and allows the freedom of mobility to everyone,” said Buckner. “That’s exactly what the Chicagoland area deserves and it’s one I will be advocating for as we begin this collaborative work.”
House Republicans were quick to condemn the partisan group.
“It’s telling that Speaker Welch touts the creation of a 'diverse group of lawmakers' to address public transit issues but fails to include a single Republican voice,” said House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna). “Our caucus represents parts of all 102 counties in Illinois, including districts with critical public transit needs that serve families regardless of political affiliation. The Speaker’s actions show a blatant disregard for bipartisan cooperation that is necessary to serve our communities effectively. It’s deeply disappointing to see Speaker Welch continue to dismiss the concerns of millions of Illinoisans by pushing a self-serving agenda that disregards the voices of the Republican caucus."
But, none of the working groups organized by House Democrats in the past two years has included any GOP voice.
In March, House Democrats announced a teacher shortage working group. In January, the caucus announced a working group on “new arrivals,” migrants that had been shipped to Chicago from Texas.
The caucus previously announced a firearm safety working group and a public safety working group. Republicans were also excluded from those groups.
We asked Welch’s spokesperson Thursday why Republicans aren’t involved and if they could better address the transit crisis with a group that could include potential Republican votes.
We have not heard back.
In January, when House Democrats launched a “new arrivals” working group, we asked the chair of the panel, Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview) why the GOP was left off.
“The working group process has been a successful process through which the Speaker has really tackled big issues where we are going to need to arrive at consensus within our caucus,” Gong-Gershowitz said at the time. “As you can imagine, a meeting with 78 members [of the Democratic caucus] would be challenging. So the working group process has worked effectively for us as a caucus in order to reach consensus. But the working group process isn’t a committee process, per se.”
The Senate appears to be taking a different approach. Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) has hosted a number of bipartisan field hearings across the state on transit.
Villivalam is expected to lead Senate negotiations on a transit reform bill, but it isn’t yet clear how the House, Senate, and Governor’s office plan to craft a final package.
It’s expected transit will be one of the top issues in Springfield in 2025.