Photo by Terry Farmer/Showcase Photography Senate President James 'Pate' Philip

In an age when many public officials do all they can to stay within the boundaries of "political correctness," Senate President James "Pate" Philip doesn't mind straying outside. Since assuming his role at the helm of the General Assembly's upper chamber in January, Philip has continued to live up to his now-cliche'd reputation as a "straight-talking ex-Marine" by saying what he feels no matter who disagrees. Just after Republicans won a majority of Senate seats in last November's election — practically assuring Philip his position as president — he spurred cries of racism and a protest in Chicago with his blunt comment in support of ending state-funded programs for non-English speaking students. "Let 'em learn English," he said. Then in February, he was in the center of controversy when Atty. Gen. Roland W. Burris and others railed their wrath at him. Philip was quoted in a Chicago Sun-Times report as saying charges of welfare fraud against U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun during her campaign were not investigated "because of a black attorney general, perhaps." Will straight talk like this continue throughout Philip's Senate presidency? If so, the publicity his remarks generate could wind up overshadowing any legislative accomplishments or failures. The media frenzies he's created so far may dissuade him from speaking so frankly quite so often; he's probably tired already of the attention. Philip has priorities for what he wants to do as leader of the Senate, and being the center of the media limelight doesn't seem to be one of them. As he remarked to a reporter before sitting down for a recent interview: "This is really a pain in the ass."

A retired district sales manager for Pepperidge Farm Inc., Philip, 62, represents people living in the western suburbs of Chicago, where farmland and woods have given way to strip malls and subdivisions in just a few decades. In the city of Wood Dale in DuPage County, where he now makes his home, streets are becoming more and more clogged with traffic, and flights out of O'Hare International Airport constantly roar overhead, making it obvious that once-tranquil suburbs like this one now have some "urban" problems to solve. Wood Dale city clerk Gerry Jacobs, who has lived in the city for 32 years, sums up constituents' feelings this way: "People hear the words 'DuPage County' and immediately think that's where all the rich people are. [Of all counties in the U.S., DuPage has the eighth-lowest poverty rate.] But the people here have the feeling that the

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money they pay should stay right here."

As president, Philip is expected to move suburban concerns higher on the Senate agenda, something he sees as a long time in coming. "The city of Chicago has gone down in population. A lot of people have moved to the suburbs, and that's been reflected in the makeup of the Senate and the General Assembly. So of course we have more input from suburbanites," he said. "Basically, suburbanites want independence from government. They appreciate good schools and are willing to pay for them. They don't like state interference. They don't like a lot of rules and regulations. They have a low crime rate, a nice place to live, and they pretty much want to be left alone."

'If the cities need help, I say we ought to help them within reason. I mean, you've got to help people help themselves . . .'

The Republicans had been the minority party in the Senate for 18 years. It was a frustrating time for Philip as he watched population soar in the Republican-dominated suburbs, while Democrats maintained control of drawing legislative redistricting maps and thwarted any smooth emergence of GOP suburban power in the legislature. But the Republicans got the chance to draw the redistricting maps in 1990, and they now hold 32 of the 59 Senate seats.

The direction Philip seems to want to move the Senate is keeping government from making more demands on suburban Republican constituents, especially when the demands are perceived as subsidizing the needs of citizens in other parts of the state. "They've always been paying for Chicago," he said of suburbanites. "They've been doing it forever. It's the reality of our system."

Philip has long contended that the suburbs don't get as large a share of state education dollars as do Chicago schools, and therefore they are forced to rely on local property taxes for an unfairly large portion of their school funding. "I think the state's responsibility is to provide each child a fair education," he said. "If the cities need help, I say we ought to help them within reason. I mean, you've got to help people help themselves. The day of the free ride is over."

To some, this talk smacks of "Chicago-bashing." Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said problems could erupt for the entire state if Philip actually lives up to the label. "You cannot isolate DuPage County from Chicago," Daley said. "We're dependent upon one another. I mean, if not for O'Hare, DuPage wouldn't be anything. If you do try to isolate it, the whole area dies. We may have political differences, but DuPage, Will . . . have the same problems we have."

Daley bristles at Philip's assertion that suburbanites have long carried much of the burden for the city of Chicago. "It's not my fault," Daley said. "People come here from out of state, out of [the] country without good medical care, poor socioeconomic status. When I have someone arrive from a foreign country, what — I should send them to DuPage? They would never allow it. They have to understand I as the mayor of Chicago have to deal with all of these poor people. We have to help them. And there's gotta be a cooperation, not a 'They're over there, we're over here' [attitude]. Our problems are their problems. We're all in this together."

Former Gov. James R. Thompson said he's certain Philip recognizes the interdependence of city and suburbs within the whole state. "When you compare the often candid way he says things to what he's done in the last 16 years, you can see he is not a Chicago-basher," he said. "Nobody could possibly put that label on him if they looked at his voting record. Navy Pier comes to mind, school reform comes to mind. And when I wanted to keep the White Sox in Chicago, the fast place I went was to Pate's office. If it were not for him, I couldn't have gotten the new stadium passed."

Democrats are skeptical. House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-22, Chicago), who holds the power to block Philip's legislative efforts, said, "Suburbanites are going to dominate the affairs of the state Senate, but that doesn't mean that they're going to get what they want. Generally in my experience they're driven because they don't like the notion that their tax dollars are being used to solve problems in urban areas — problems such as crime, social services, payment for police services in places like Chicago. So I think they may be a little disappointed because even though they've taken over the affairs of the Senate, those problems are not going to go away. And the last time I checked, this was one state. I think they have a tendency to become selfish."

This city-suburb philosophical difference has manifested itself in the issue of caps on property tax increases. Two years ago, lawmakers passed legislation limiting those increases to 5 percent or the inflation rate — whichever is less — in the five collar counties surrounding Chicago: DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will. The first Senate bill introduced this year is sponsored by Philip and calls for extending the cap on property tax increases to the entire state.

Clamping down caps statewide would allow the General Assembly to set revenue and spending policies for all local governments in Illinois — especially school districts, which may not have any other way to raise money. Gov. Jim Edgar, who has supported such an extension in the past, called for it again in his State of the State message January 27, asking lawmakers to pass a measure by March 30 so tax bills for the current year will be affected.

"I really don't think most people understand the legislative system," Philip said. "I think they understand high tax bills. I put caps on the bills, and caps are working in the suburbs. They have forced local government to do two things: enact better management and realize the importance of cooperating. There's a school district in DuPage that's talking to a local library about sharing materials. That way the schools won't have to buy materials the public already owns. We need

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more of that in government — more cooperation."

The cap on property tax increases went over big with collar county residents. "That's one of the major things Pate has accomplished," said Lois Mazzuca, a Philip campaign worker who serves as supervisor of Addison Township in DuPage. "If he can use that as a springboard to work toward caps for the whole state, that's good because property taxes have gotten way out of hand, and not only in Illinois. It's a national problem."

Christine Harris recently was appointed by Philip to the DuPage County Airport Authority — "the taxpayers' nemesis," as she calls it — and chairs the grass roots committee of We the People, one of several citizens groups formed to keep an eye on government. She said skyrocketing property taxes have terrified some people in her neighborhood. "People think of people in DuPage as having money coming out of their ears. There may be more rich people out here in some places, like Hinsdale, but there are lots of people in trades, blue-collar workers, who are panicking over increased assessments," said Harris, who runs a pet grooming service. "It's not always a very happy picture. I have customers coming into my shop, and they're in tears because they're barely hanging onto their houses."

Not shedding any tears for Republican suburbanites' complaints over property taxes is freshman state Sen. Gary LaPaille (D-11, Chicago), who heads the Illinois Democratic Party and formerly was Madigan's longtime chief of staff. "If you're lucky to have a higher income and to live in a home that's assessed at a half a million or a million [dollars], that's what comes with wealth. And if that means you live in the suburbs, that was your decision to live in the suburbs. You could be a wealthy person and decide to live in the inner city if you want to pay lower property taxes. Everyone makes their own decision of where they want to live based on where they want to live. That's our system."

Another of Philip's early bill introductions makes clear his desire to reduce the cost of doing business in Illinois. As has been tried repeatedly before. Senate Bill 2 would repeal the structural work act, also known as the "scaffolding act." The existing law allows a worker injured on a scaffold, ladder or similar equipment to collect worker's compensation and also seek restitution from his or her employer if the employer is found responsible for the injury.

"I introduced that because people can collect under that law and under workman's comp. We're one of the few states — I think we may be the only state — that lets people collect twice like that," he said. "You have to remember that we're in competition with Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin. Their workman's comp rates are much lower than ours. It gives the other states an unfair advantage in attracting business.

"We should be competitive, but we're not. We still have one of the top 10 highest workman's comp rates in the country when we should be in the middle. Listen, the whole thing is jobs. We have to encourage people to come here, build here, stay here, expand here. You don't do that with excessively high workman's comp. The Democrats have catered to labor interests and, to a lesser extent, so have some of the Republicans. That's not the way to do business."

Philip also takes a "tough on crime" stance, and made clear in January that he intends to push legislation calling for the death penalty for all convicted murderers. He also wants to reduce the time span for appeals by those on Death Row.

'We have to encourage people to come here, build here, stay here, expand here. You don't do that with excessively high workman's comp . . .'

"There's not much the General Assembly can do to save the cities [from crime and deterioration]. But as a start, we should probably make the laws tougher," Philip said. "We've got to increase criminal penalties for people for violent behavior. We have to build more prisons. We ought to incarcerate more violent people. I would think we'd be tougher on crime now that Republicans control the Senate. The liberals just want to take the guns away — they think that's going to solve the problem."

Sen. John Maitland (R-44, Bloomington) said he's confident Philip wants to tackle problems in all regions of the state. "Pate speaks very strongly about the issues affecting the area he represents in DuPage County, as he should," said Maitland, who has served in the Senate since 1979 and is one of Philip's assistant majority leaders. "But he also recognizes the problems we face downstate and — to a lot of people's surprise — in Chicago. "For example," Maitland said, "if you look at the leadership team he named, people thought he'd pick one more person from the suburbs, possibly two more. But if you look at who he added — Maitland, [Sen. Laura Kent] Donahue [48, Quincy], [Sen. Frank C.] Watson [55, Greenville] — that means a lot. It shows that he's ready to hammer away at problems throughout the state. Frankly, we're very satisfied, which may be what you would expect to hear from me [as part of Philip's leadership team from downstate], but that's the case. I am concerned about the way Pate's quotes are taken out of context," Maitland added. "Pate is outspoken, and he says what he means, but he recognizes the needs of the rest of the state."

Even so, Maitland joined 12 other downstate Republicans in reviving their own caucus last month — a move designed to make sure their concerns get some attention. Perhaps Chicago Democrats aren't the only ones feeling a bit worried about the new suburban clout Philip is spearheading. If this downstate GOP Senate caucus becomes disgruntled and joins with other forces in the Senate, the new chamber president may find bargaining a "bigger pain in the ass" than he bargained for. *

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