Legislative leadership held their first meeting of the so-called “core group” Tuesday night — an unannounced session behind closed doors. The core group includes only top leadership of the two houses and two parties who meet quietly in an attempt to find compromise positions on different issues — usually centering on taxes and the budget. They met Tuesday night after 7 p.m. in Ways and Means chairwoman Maggie Carlton’s small conference room on the third floor. Carlton brusquely informed the press who showed up for the meeting that it was a private meeting in her office and said to get …