Reports on the first 100 days of the 104th Congress emphasized Newt Gingrich's leadership style and Republican successes in fulfilling their Contract With America. Little attention was paid to the consequential changes in House organization or to the realignment of standing committees. In this new environment, how did the Illinois House delegation fare? Not surprisingly, the short answer is good for Republicans, not so good for Democrats.

GOP dominance in Congress — as well as that party's two-seat gain in the state's 20-member U. S. representative delegation — means a diminished role in House committees for Illinois' Democrats.

Still, Rep. Richard J. Durbin of the 20th District downplays the impact of the national Republican takeover. "We did as well as could be expected," says the Springfield-based Democrat. "We had fewer opportunities [for committee posts] and fewer members."

In fact, congressmen take seriously the business of getting good assignments. There are two basic rules. First, the majority party selects the committees and subcommittees and determines the number of majority and minority members who will serve on those bodies. The Republicans shortened the standing committee roster in the current Congress from 21 to 18, reduced committee assignments from 863 to 769 and cut subcommittees from 115 to 84. That move constitutes a substan-

26/August 1995/Illinois Issues

tial slimming of House structure.

The second rule is that each party makes its own committee assignments. The 230 Republicans in Gingrich's camp reserved for themselves 55.5 percent of the assignments, a slightly disproportionate share. The 204 Democrats and one independent were awarded the rest. And, significantly, the shakeup downgraded the seniority status on committees for some members.

In Congress, seniority carries power. Not all 435 members of the House can speak on all bills — even in committees, which can have as many as 50 members. Instead, the chairmen of those committees and subcommittees — who are the senior members — are accorded the time to guide bills.

Illinois GOP serves on 13 committees
Illinois Republicans did well under this new regime, despite the retirement of Peorian Robert Michel, who as minority leader in the 103rd Congress chaired the Republican Committee on Committees and looked out for the state's interests.

Yorkville Republican J. Dennis Hastert of the 14th District won a high-ranking spot on Gingrich's leadership team. He's now chief deputy whip, as well as a member of that party's Committee on Committees. Senior Illinois Republicans — Philip M. Crane of Mount Prospect (8th District), Henry J. Hyde of Bensenville (6th District), John E. Porter of Wilmette (10th District) and Harris W. Fawell of Naperville (13th District), along with Hastert — hold relatively high rank on their standing committees.

Hyde ascended to the chairmanship of Judiciary — the committee responsible for realizing the Republican agenda on such issues as immigration, affirmative action and school prayer. Crane is the second-ranking Republican on Ways and Means, the key tax-writing committee.

In addition, Hyde, Crane, Fawell and Porter chair subcommittees. Porter is one of the "college of cardinals," honorific language applied to the 13 subcommittee chairmen on the House Appropriations Committee. That panel is currently working to implement the GOP budget resolution. Republicans aim to eliminate the federal deficit by the year 2002 and that means tough spending cuts. In fact, Porter's panel is charged with examining spending in health and education. His committee will scrutinize more than 500 federal programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, college loans and government support of public broadcasting.

Two junior Republicans, Thomas W. Ewing of Pontiac (15th District) and Donald Manzullo of Egan (16th District), retained their committees from the previous Congress, but their majority status and the influx of new Republicans pushed them well up in seniority standing. Ewing is in the top third of his party's standing on Agriculture — which is charged with re-examining agricultural subsidies and reauthorizing the Farm Bill. He chairs a subcommittee on that panel. Manzullo is in the mid-rank of the International Relations Committee, but is fourth on Small Business and chairs one of its subcommittees.

The freshmen, 5th District Chicagoan Michael Flanagan, Peorian Ray LaHood (18th District) and Jerry Weller of Morris (11th District), got at least one significant assignment each: Flanagan was assigned to Judiciary, LaHood to Agriculture and Transportation and Weller to Banking and Transportation. In addition, Weller picked up significant assignments on party committees.

Illinois Republicans are spread across 13 of the 19 standing committees. Democrats, on the other hand, lost ground — despite the presence of Durbin and Chicagoan William O. Lipinski (3rd District) on the Democratic Steering Committee. For years Chicagoan Dan Rostenkowski, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, was in on divvying up Democratic assignments. But not in 1995. He lost his re-election bid to Flanagan.

In 1993, Democrats bragged because Me! Reynolds of Chicago (2nd District) was the only freshman placed on the prestigious Ways and Means. No longer. He's dead last in seniority on the redesigned Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee. Meanwhile, Chicagoan Cardiss Collins (7th District) became ranking member of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee. As a result, she can no longer serve on Commerce, where she formerly chaired a subcommittee — though the leadership did agree to preserve her seniority status on that committee. Lane Evans of Rock Island (17th District) was dropped from the Resources Committee. Chicagoan Sidney R. Yates (9th District), Durbin, Jerry F. Costello of Belleville (12th District) and Glenn Poshard of Marion (19th District) kept their committee assignments, but Lipinski's investment of years on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee and his chairmanship of one of its subcommittees was lost when that entire committee was merged into the Resources Committee, on which Lipinski was not given a place. Lipinski's previous position enabled him to look out for the interests of Great Lakes shipping and the Port of Chicago.

Chicago Democrats were big losers
The big losers were second-term Chicago Democrats from minority communities. Luis V. Gutierrez (4th District) was reduced from three committees to two, losing his place on International Relations. Bobby L. Rush (1st District) lost all three of his previous assignments — Banking, Government Relations and Science — to begin at the bottom of the Commerce Committee.

Despite a 10-10 balance of Democrats and Republicans in the Illinois delegation, Democrats have assignments to just 10 of the 19 standing committees. And no Illinois Democrats are in the upper ranks of their party's hierarchy, although Durbin is vice chairman for communications on the Democratic Policy Committee.

With Durbin's likely departure to make a run for Paul Simon's U.S. Senate seat, it will be up to Lipinski to promote better assignments for his Democratic House colleagues. But even his electoral future is uncertain. Lipinski won re-election in 1994 by less than 55 percent of the vote. *

Jack R. Van Der Slik, a political scientist at the University of Illinois at Springfield, is the author of One for All and All for Illinois: Representing the Land of Lincoln in Congress.