Gov. Pat Quinn -- with help solely from fellow Democrats -- pushed it through post-election and with the help of a legislator or two who’d previously been opposed. Suddenly, votes that had been unavailable were available. And a lame duck legislator or two headed for well-paid state government jobs.
And the vote hadn’t been taken from the tally board before skeptics began to nudge and wink. Given the Legislature's spending record and previous broken promises, did anyone believe “temporary”?
Fast forward to the this spring, and various state agencies under the same governor -- from the people that teach the little ones to those that jail felons -- are again on-script. Read the rest of the opinion piece at The Southern Illinoisan.