Annual meeting of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce

Posted on October 6, 2022
Illinois Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Todd Maisch. (WJBC file photo)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Bipartisanship was practically oozing at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce annual meeting Thursday.

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) tweaked chamber president / CEO Todd Maisch just a little.

“I want to remind folks I distinctly remember Todd offering some praise for the work that we did on our state budget, getting our fiscal house back in order,” Welch said, “and I gotta tell you – if this guy’s impressed, I know we did something special.”

Acknowledging that, Maisch said, “This is the most responsible budget “I’ve seen in twenty-some years – now, it was funded a little bit by the Biden bucks, I will say that – but we paid down bills and, hopefully, we will keep that up – Speaker?”

Maisch also pointed to the infrequent endorsement of a Democrat running for election: incumbent Comptroller Susana Mendoza.

“Evidently, some people paid attention to that,” Maisch added.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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