Governor meets with
Sherman
over Capital Bill dispute
Governor Pat Quinn, speaking at the
Bill Signing ceremony for the disputed Capital Bill,
at Marshall High School on Monday, July 13, 2009.
Photo by Rob Sherman. Click on photo for larger
image.
I attended the Bill Signing ceremony, which took place at Marshall High School, on the West Side of Chicago at the corner of Kedzie (3200 West) and Adams (200 South). I sat in the third row, second seat from center, with the other VIP's (elected officials and journalists), in the large auditorium that has two balconies. It just so happens that my mother attended Marshall High, between 65 and 70 years ago. Mother was born in 1926, and this was a Jewish neighborhood, back in the early 1940's.
The Bills that Governor Quinn signed on July 13, 2009.
The disputed Capital Bill is the one on the bottom with
the white cover.
Photo by Rob Sherman. Click on photo for larger
image.
After the ceremony, I attended the "Press Availability" news conference, but as a legitimate, bona fide journalist, not as a social activist. This is what I'm referring to in the headline when I say that the Governor met with me to discuss my concerns regarding the Capital Bill. It was not a private meeting. We met at a press conference, with many other important journalists from throughout Illinois listening in to our discussion. We also spoke to exchange pleasantries, both after the ceremony in the auditorium, and after the news conference.
The rules are very clear cut at a "Press Availability" news conference. If you are a journalist with official press credentials, you can attend and ask the speaker what his position is on an issue or why he has made certain decisions. If you are a social activist who seeks to engage in debate or offer one's own position on the issues, get out! You don't belong there. That's not what a "Press Availability" news conference is for.
I always follow the rules. That's why I get to attend the big news conferences, and have been able to do so for three decades.
Reporters compete with each other for the Governor's attention. The protocol is to let the Big Boys, the reporters for the TV stations, major radio stations and daily newspapers, get their questions in, first. Then, the secondary market reporters, like me, get to jump in.
When I succeeded in getting the Governor's attention, I asked him the following, carefully planned and crafted question:
"Please explain to my readers why you did not line-item veto any of the numerous provisions that constitute tax dollar donations to houses of worship, parochial schools and ministries. It's particularly puzzling to me because we met last year, in the parking lot of the Capitol, where you told me that you agreed with me that the million tax dollars that Rod promised Pilgrim Baptist Church is unconstitutional. This Bill is Pilgrim Baptist on steroids."
Pat's response was, "If the appropriation is for a secular purpose, then it's OK. If they are doing secular work, then it's OK."
That's a reasonable response, and it means that, as far as he was concerned, he was acting in a manner that was consistent with his oath. I accept his answer.
Of course, I strongly disagree with him as to whether or not the appropriations that I'm challenging are for a secular purpose, but also, the State Constitution categorically prohibits grants of money to houses of worship, parochial schools and ministries, regardless of whether their work is secular or sectarian. That's because there truly is no meaningful way of separating their secular work from their sectarian work.
My attorney, Green Party candidate for Governor Richard Whitney, and I are busy going through every single line item in the 996-page Bill. I've made it through the first 200 pages and I've got 796 pages to go. We will ask a "neutral" third party, an Illinois state court judge or a federal judge, to decide who's right.
However, it doesn't change the fact that Pat Quinn is a good guy, and continues to be a good guy. I just disagree with him on this matter. We'll see what the courts say.
The Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus today published a story about the challenge by Rob Sherman Advocacy to the unconstitutional line items in the Capital Bill. The story is entitled Group protests state funds going to churches, parochial schools. Thanks, QC-online (Quad Cities online), for your coverage of this issue.