Progress Illinois

Last night, Illinois legislators joined their counterparts in the House to vote on the debt ceiling deal, which calls for cutting at least $2.1 trillion in spending over the next decade. The bill passed the House 269 to 161 and Illinois House members voted in a split fashion.

Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk took to Fox yesterday to blame unfunded wars for the nation's current debt crisis -- except for the ones he supported.

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So there you have it: every member of the Illinois Republican delegation to the House of Representatives is on board with turning Medicare into a voucher program by 2022, shifting more of the cost of the health care onto seniors. All of the Republican members of the House from Illinois approve of cutting the top federal income tax rate by another 10 percent. They're all ready for a vast restructuring of the Medicaid program, a move that will shift more responsibility for health care for the poor and disabled to the states, likely leading to further reductions in that program. Earlier today all members of the Illinois Republican delegation voted, in other words, for GOP Rep. Paul Ryan's 2012 budget resolution. The final tally in the House was 235-193. The budget plan will die in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

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Republicans assume control of the U.S. House today and their members, new and old, couldn't be more excited to shrink America's growing national deficit. On WLS' Don Wade and Roma this morning, U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam recounted a conversation he had with one of his new colleagues who entered Congress with no political experience. "As one of these fellas told me ... 'I am not going to sit by and let a group of people squander the prosperity of my children and grandchildren without a fight.'" Listen (the full interview is available here):

If protecting America's youth from future debt payments is a top priority of the GOP, their actions this week sure don't reflect that mission. For starters, Brian Beutler is reporting that the new House rules penned by the caucus "exempt some of their biggest legislative priorities from deficit consideration." These include both the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, which were temporarily extended during the White House deal late last year, and ludicrously expensive changes to the estate tax. Republicans are also keen on repealing the new health care reform law, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will reduce the federal deficit by $143 billion over the next 10 years and $1.2 trillion in the decade after that. (It will also insure some 30 million Americans.) Luckily, Democrats in the Senate and White House will block any effort to peel back coverage. They might also want to teach Roskam and his friends the definition of "squander."

Although one race is still pending, Illinois Republicans made big gains last night in the state's contested congressional races. At the very least, the party took over three seats, held its ground in the 10th Congressional District, and now boasts a firm majority in the state's DC caucus.Yet one of those members may be out of a job come 2012.

With the likely election of Gov. Pat Quinn, the retention of State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride, and a strong showing for some endangered state lawmakers, Democrats will have control over every facet of the remapping process in 2012. While the act of redrawing districts may be convoluted -- we lamented that the state legislature missed an opportunity to reform it this spring -- it's unquestionably good for progressives that Democrats (as opposed to the GOP) will be able to shape how those lines are constructed for the next decade. After all, Illinois is slated to lose one congressional seat because of population changes.

Back in August, Swing State Project tried to estimate how a new map might look. The growth of the state's Latino population means Rep. Peter Roskam's 6th District seat could very well be endangered. Given how much more conservative he is than the people he represents, that would be a good development.