In the News

The 29th District Dialog , April 30, 2008

This week in Springfield has been extraordinarily intense and busy because the recall effort (known to lawmakers as SJRCA 70) has been passing back and forth between the House and Senate. This amendment proposes to amend the Suffrage and Elections Article of the Illinois Constitution and provides for elections to recall not just the Governor and State executive branch officers, but also members of the General Assembly, and supreme, appellate, and circuit judges as well as sets forth requirements for petitions and elections. It also allows the General Assembly, by law, to provide for recall of officers of units of local government and school districts.

I am in favor of the recall. I believe it is a sound process to have in place when and if an elected official needs to be removed before they are up for re-election. I am concerned, however, that the addition of local government (i.e. alderman, local mayors, school district officials). The reason the House and Senate are trying to put a recall process in place is because of concern about corruption and competency within the Governor's office. I personally do not think the amendment should include aldermen, mayors, local judges and school officials because our goal as state lawmakers should be to first address the state officials, not local government. Additionally this could cause the amendment not to pass.

As of 9 a.m. this morning I believe this amendment has a good chance of passing, and I will vote for it despite the fact that it has been weighed down with these extra local provisions. The bigger picture is extremely important to the citizens of Illinois who are fed up and want to have a say into whether or not our Governor should continue to hold office.

A good source for the latest information on the recall can be found on The Capitol Fax Blog, which has been live-blogging the Recall initiative. I've also posted an up-to-date article regarding this issue both on my blog and on my legislative website. Please feel free to send me your comments on this important issue.