Congressional Power Rankings

May 21, 2006

A report last week found that U.S. Rep. Timothy Johnson, R- Urbana, ranks 207th in clout among the 435 members of Congress, and is No. 8 in the 19-member Illinois House delegation. That's not bad for a guy who's in his third term and keeps a pretty low profile.

"I think it's a sign of his independence," said Phil Bloomer, a spokesman for Johnson. "He's not a reliable vote one way or the other. People know that they need to persuade him in issues, and I think that puts him in a position to have more influence."

Republicans, because they control the House, tended to score higher than Democrats in the rankings. Five of the six top-ranking members of the Illinois delegation were Republicans - House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and Reps. Henry Hyde, Ray LaHood, Judy Biggert and Jerry Weller - with only Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Chicago slipping in among the Democrats.

Johnson, at No. 8, finished ahead of three Republicans - Reps. Mark Kirk, Don Manzullo and John Shimkus - and most of the Democratic members from Illinois.

The rankings were done by Knowlegis, a company that describes itself as "a knowledge management company that provides services and software for government relations professionals."

Among Illinois' senators, Dick Durbin ranked 22nd and Barack Obama scored 68th. Durbin, although he holds the No. 2 leadership position in the Senate, was ranked eighth among Senate Democrats. Obama was No. 26 in his party.

Congressmen and senators were ranked broadly on their position in leadership, their influence and legislation they had sponsored. More precisely, they were rated on committee assignments, fundraising, appearances on TV talk shows and their years in Congress.