Party Lines: Infighting Illini

W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 29, 2000 -- House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, the mild-mannered former wrestling coach Republicans chose to lead them after they sent Newt Gingrich into political exile and impeached President Clinton, has found himself in a testy public feud with a fellow Illinois Republican.

The fight with Sen. Peter Fitzgerald — over construction of the Abraham Lincoln Library in Springfield, Ill. — could not come at a worse time, as GOP leaders scurry to complete the annual budget process and adjourn the 106th Congress.

Fitzgerald said he would block bipartisan legislation funding $50 million for the project because Hastert has not included his language requiring competitive bidding for its construction. Fitzgerald said his amendment is necessary to prohibit politically connected developers from winning contracts for the library, a priority project that has been in the works for years.

Keeping Honest Abe Library Honest

After bursting into a closed-door meeting on the Interior appropriations bill — the measure Hastert planned to attach the library funding to — Fitzgerald threatened to filibuster, or talk the bill to death, unless his provision was reinserted. He called Hastert’s efforts to move the House-passed version of the legislation, without his language, “morally and ethically wrong,” and said he would not be “bullied by the speaker of the House.”

Hastert blasted back with a press release, noting that the state of Illinois passed a law in 1998 that requires competitive bidding.

“I find Senator Fitzgerald’s political grandstanding on the Abraham Lincoln Library outrageous,” Hastert said. He added, “I find it particularly disturbing that the senator has changed his mind without consulting anyone.”

But it appears that Fitzgerald, who like all 22 members of the Illinois delegation is a co-sponsor of the legislation, has not removed his threat of a filibuster.

“What Hastert said is that the state procurement statute is strong enough. The senator has served the state for many years and there are plenty of examples of politically connected insiders getting contracts,” said Mike Cys, communications director for Fitzgerald. “He wants to make sure that the taxpayers’ money for a facility honoring Honest Abe is spent honestly.”

Illinois sources say Fitzgerald gained a reputation crusading against contract corruption while serving in the state Senate and in the process feuded with local developers in the Springfield area. He told the State Journal-Register “there are all sorts of lobbyists from Springfield, who I have not talked to in years, calling up and complaining about my competitive-bidding amendment, some of them almost threatening.”

Personal Politics?Fitzgerald defeated former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., in 1998 after a campaign in which she painted him as a right-wing extremist. But in the last two years he has become somewhat of a Senate maverick, bucking his party and voting with Democrats on several high-profile votes. Although he is respected for his independence as well as his ethical zeal, Fitzgerald has irked his fellow Illinois lawmakers by insulting the speaker and blocking the library legislation.

“What he said was tremendously out of line,” said one Illinois staffer. “I think the entire delegation was shocked and I think the governor was shocked. It’s astounding.”

The staffer accused Fitzgerald of embarrassing the speaker and derailing the legislation for political gain.

“Personally, I think this doesn’t have anything to do with Peter Fitzgerald wanting taxpayer dollars to be used wisely. I think it has everything to do with his own personal politics and how he wants to be viewed by the public,” he said.

Furthermore, the public spat — and Fitzgerald’s procedural roadblocks — could imperil the project itself.

“The sad part is that this is a very important project for the state and especially for the city of Springfield. It will be a huge tourism draw for the community,” said the staffer. “The feeling is they really need to strike now and get this authorized at this time because you don’t know what’s going to happen Nov. 7,” Election Day.

But another aide to an Illinois lawmaker credited Fitzgerald for what he called “brilliant” political tactics.

“He has turned his vote on guns, and other issues, and has moved shamelessly toward the center,” said the aide. “It has been a very smart move. In Illinois, in statewide offices, you have got to be a moderate. This fits neatly into a pattern that is emerging of growing independence from Republicans.”