Last May, several Illinois House Democrats complained bitterly that their mass transit negotiators were ignored and even shut-out by the Senate Democratic mass transit negotiators.

The House members had a point. The Senate passed a bill which was an almost purely Senate Democratic creation. They literally gave the House a “take it or leave it, but you have to decide right now” moment during the final minutes of the spring legislative session.

But when it came time for the House to draft a bill, it chose basically the same route as the Senate Democrats. Its end product unveiled last Tuesday was based on an internal survey of House Democratic members with no buy-in from Senate Democrats or the governor.

The Senate Democrats were furious. The House proposed taxes that had never been discus

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