U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill) gets very little respect from his colleagues in Washington, and from Republican politicians back in Illinois. But that doesn’t bother him. He is detested by Illinois’ senior senator, Democrat Dick Durbin, and that feeling is mutual.

Fitzgerald is not a team player, and his propensity to say what he thinks and vote how he likes has clearly made him a senatorial outsider. Democrats are convinced that it also makes Fitzgerald a one-termer, and a flock of wannabe senators are eyeing his seat.

            But many of Fitzgerald’s problems will be cured if he wins in 2004. Tradition has long dictated that a senator has not proven his political mettle until he or she wins a second term. Being prickly, obstreperous, irreverent and/or self-righteous didn’t undermine the reputations of such Lone Wolf senators as Jesse Helms (R-NC), John McCain (R-AZ), or Russ Feingold (D-WI). But there is a reason: Feingold is in his second term, McCain his third, and Helms his fifth. As such, they’re respected by their colleagues, and their irritating behavior tolerated.

            Fitzgerald’s adamant opposition to expanding O’Hare Airport, a plan supported by many of his Senate colleagues, and by Durbin, is the most flagrant example of his single-mindedness. Fitzgerald promised in the 1998 campaign that he would oppose any runway expansion or reconfiguration, and he has kept his word. But he is maligned by Durbin, and by much of the news media, for being obstinate and not acceding to “reality” – which means O’Hare expansion.

            Fitzgerald also bucked his fellow Illinoisan, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, as well as Governor George Ryan, in blocking the appointment of one of Ryan’s political cronies to run the Lincoln Museum in Springfield. Fitzgerald thought that Ryan’s pal would make the museum a haven for political patronage.

It was also Fitzgerald who took charge of controlling federal patronage in Illinois after the onset of the Bush Presidency, refusing to share that much-sought prerogative with Hastert. Fitzgerald picked a New Yorker, Patrick Fitzgerald (no relation), to be U.S. Attorney, and he has been an outstanding prosecutor, pursuing the licenses-for-bribes scandal with zeal.

            Fitzgerald’s voting record has been generally conservative, but with some significant deviations, particularly on environmental issues. As detailed in the adjoining vote chart, Fitzgerald joined Durbin in opposing oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, to require electricity producers to use more “renewable” resources, and to use more ethanol in gasoline. Unlike Durbin, Fitzgerald consistently opposed any hikes in farm subsidies, and backed cutting those subsidies by $1.9 billion. Fitzgerald broke with the Republicans on the issue of patients’ rights, opposing the Republican bill (see chart), and supporting the Democratic bill; this did not win him any brownie points with Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott. But Fitzgerald backed vouchers for private schools, and voted for Republican tax-cut and spending-cap bills.

            Both Durbin and Fitzgerald opposed increasing senators’ pay by $4,900. But, according to a June Roll-Call newspaper article, which reviewed the financial reports of all senators, Fitzgerald had a net worth of $25.3 million – so he really didn’t need the money. In his 1998 race, Fitzgerald raised and spent $17.7 million to defeat incumbent Carol Moseley-Braun by 98,545 votes; of that sum, over $11.5 million came from Fitzgerald himself, or from his family. Moseley-Braun spent $7.2 million.

            For 2004, Fitzgerald fervently hopes that Moseley-Braun tries for a comeback. Having lost as an incumbent, and having the same baggage she had six years ago, she would surely lose again. Other potential contenders include U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-9), State Senator Barack Obama (D-13), State Comptroller Dan Hynes, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, former Chicago Board of Education president Gery Chico, and wealthy investment banker Blair Hull. If Moseley-Braun runs, she would likely win the primary; against Hynes or Pappas, Fitzgerald would have huge problems, and would have to tap into his fortune again.

            Durbin is seeking his second term in November, and is opposed by Jim Durkin, a Republican state representative from Westchester. Durbin is a predictably liberal vote on almost every issue, opposing Republican tax- and spending-cuts, and supporting every spending bill and subsidy in sight; he is also consistently pro-choice on abortion, and supports gay rights. Durbin had a couple of off-the-wall votes (see vote chart): he opposed a bill to deny federal funding to school districts that black-balled the Boy Scouts, due to their refusal to allow gay scoutmasters; he also backed a needle-exchange program for heroin addicts in Washington, D.C., and “domestic partner” health insurance coverage for gays.