State Sen. Christine Radogno Reflects on Legislative Session, Life in Lemont

State Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) never envisioned herself as one of Illinois's most powerful lawmakers.

At the start of her career, she wasn't even sure she could take on the LaGrange Village Board. But in the late 1980s, the mother of three heard that the fire station might be relocated to the end of her street, and she wasn't having it.

"I never thought I'd be in politics," said Radogno, who is now in her fourteenth year in the Illinois Senate and her second year as the Republican minority leader. "I ended up running for the LaGrange Village Board, where I served for eight years based on that local issue, and that's how I really became more aware of government in general."

Radogno and her husband moved to Lemont seven years ago, shortly after the state's most recent legislative redistricting process was completed.

"I think the people here are so friendly," she said. "Everyone has been so welcoming." 

An Early Role in Budgeting

Though her background was in social work, the fire station battle had given Radogno an inside look at tax increment financing (TIF). That bit of expertise unknowingly put her on the path to becoming a leader in budgeting who is well-known for her cautionary stance on state fiscal issues.

"Because I had the [TIF] background when I got to the Senate, they put me on the revenue committee because it's a revenue issue, which is more of a financial area than anything else," she said. "And then just to round that out they put me on appropriations. So all of a sudden, I get to the Senate and ... here I was on revenue and appropriations, which I'm thinking, 'Okay, I always feel good if I can balance my checkbook.'"

Those committee assignments turned out to be a great advantage for the new senator, who was suddenly in the thick of the heavy-duty lawmaking in Springfield.

"All policies are driven by the budget, so to really get on committees that dig into the budget and the finances, it's a very good place to get a much better picture of what's going on," she said.

Radogno quickly became the spokesperson for the Republican caucus on budget issues, and was later appointed as deputy leader. Two years ago, she ran for the top job and won. Her election to the post marked the first time in state history that a woman was chosen as the leader of either party in the house or senate.

"It is a huge honor to be the [GOP] leader because you are elected by your peers, and of course each and every one of them is a leader in their own right," she said.           

Recent State Legislation

Though many of her efforts don't make big headlines, Radogno said she is pleased to be working on projects that she feels are important to the residents of Illinois.

"I've spent a lot of my time on what might not be considered issues that people generally wrap their arms around, like how debt is structured," she said.

On some of the recent headline-making issues like the Civil Unions bill, which Radogno opposed, she has found herself on the losing side. Though it's not surprising given the Democratic majority in both houses, the senator takes it all in stride.

"The [civil unions] issue is an issue that I think timing-wise is beginning to happen across the country, but I wasn't convinced that this district at the time would embrace it," she said. "On the other hand, I am okay that it passed."

She has more concerns about the gaming expansion that passed earlier this month. Radogno questions the projected revenue from the expansion, citing a decrease in gambling revenue statewide this year as well as the likelihood of cannibalization from existing facilities.

"The revenue estimates were too high and the big concern there is if you assume you're going to get a billion dollars a year and you start spending that way, we're just going to dig ourselves deeper in the hole," she said.

Local Issues in Springfield

Radogno has also been keeping close tabs on the financial issues facing Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A, and is prepared to step in and request state help in the form of financial oversight if needed.

"Hopefully, the district can get on sound financial footing," she said. "And if they need assistance in the form of a oversight panel or something, I would definitely support that."

She also encourages parents to take their role as their child's main educator to heart, regardless of the situation in the district.

"No matter what troubles the school district is having, if they are committed to their children's education, I really believe that will make a huge difference in the outcome," she said.

Though education is primarily a local issue, transportation is handled at the state level and is an issue in which Radogno has taken a particular interest. Her husband takes Metra's Heritage Corridor Line, and Radogno is acutely aware of the reliability and service issues on the train line that serves Lemont. She says that grade separations are required to help Metra manage the conflicts with freight traffic on the line, which currently receive priority over commuter train traffic.

"It was not adequately funded in the last transportation bill, but I'm hoping that we will make sure that the funding is there for those grade separations in order to sort of untangle the freight traffic," she said.

Distance from the Governor

Since she took the Republican leadership post, Radogno's relationship with Governor Pat Quinn hasn't exactly been close. Earlier this month, she publicly questioned his jobs program through a letter to the governor requesting responses to issues she found particularly troublesome. She claims that she'd like to work with the governor on key issues, but complained that he hasn't been particularly engaged or available.

"With the crisis that we have on the financial side, which I think is the biggest thing facing the state, we have not seen or heard form the governor on those issues at all," she said. "I stand read, willing and able and would love to engage with him about the problems facing the state, but he has not tackled those."

Radogno blames the Democrats for the state's budget crisis and is adamant that spending be curtailed to fix the problem.

"We've warned year after year that if we continue to spend at a rate that exceeds the revenue coming in there is going to be a crisis," she said. "Now that crisis is upon us."

Her ideas to solve the state budget crisis include using managed care and other cost efficiencies to reduce the state's Medicaid costs, reducing the cost of doing business in order to create more jobs, and reforming worker's compensation policies.

"We need to really reinvent government, to do things more efficiently," she said.

Not surprising given her financial conservativism, Radogno opposes the governor's planned hike in the state income tax and says the proposal has little chance of passing.

"I think everybody on both sides of the aisle, frankly, ran on the platform that we need to streamline state government, be more efficient," she explained. "So neither party is willing to push for an income tax increase until [we become more efficient in our spending]."

Bipartisan Efforts

Worker's compensation reform is an example of Radogno's bipartisan efforts in the Senate. She leads the committee addressing the topic along with co-chairman and Democratic majority leader John Cullerton.

"It is an equally partisan committee, which is unusual, but I think, a good sign," Radogno said.

Cullerton's office agrees, and praised Radogno's past bipartisan efforts, which included helping pass a multi-billion dollar state construction program.

"While there's clearly a partisan difference between the two, President Cullerton and Leader Radogno have time and again shown they can work together and demonstrated an ongoing ability to communicate, even if they don't always agree on the outcomes," said Cullerton's spokesman John Patterson.

Radogno's Future in Government

With redistricting to come in 2011, the future for many Illinois lawmakers is uncertain. Depending on the outcome of that process, Radogno says she may consider seeking a statewide office for the second time if the time is right (she ran unsuccessfully for State Treasurer in 2006).

The tone of politics in the state hasn't turned her sour on serving, she said.

"People often think that there was some era where everybody was very civil," she said. "All you need to do is go to the Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield and look at the campaign ads and rhetoric. It hasn't changed—it's always been brutal."