- A hulking pension reform package pushed by Gov. Pat Quinn and House Minority Leader Tom Cross collapsed late Thursday, leaving the last big issue of a productive spring legislative session a casualty of partisan bickering and a heavy union pushback.
Cross (R-Oswego), who took sponsorship of the pension package Thursday after House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) abruptly dropped his ownership of it a night earlier, announced he wouldn’t call the measure for a vote before lawmakers concluded their work for the spring at midnight.
Madigan left Cross holding the bag in the end, withdrawing as sponsor and supporter of the legislation. Cross was long suspected of being Madigan's stalking horse on the entire issue.
Now we'd say he just looks like Madigan's bitch. It's a lot more complicated than all of that, but Madigan gets to keep hiding for a while more.