Is Springfield broken and in dire of need of an extreme makeover? That is the question that will be in front of the voters this Nov when they have the opportunity to vote for a Constitutional Convention,
Also known as a Con-Con!
What the heck is a Con-Con?
Voters adopted the Constitution of Illinois in 1970. Every 20 years, the citizens of Illinois get to vote for a new Constitutional Convention. The next such vote will take place on Nov 4th, 2008. If it passes then the state legislature will be required to call and fund a new constitutional convention. Two delegates will be elected from every state senatorial district, 118 delegates in all, probably in the fall of 09, any citizen who is eligible can run. The Convention would meet and the result, a new Constitution, would be put in front of the voters, possibly in 2010.
What will a Con-Con do for me?
We could get citizen delegates elected who would work for the right of recall, publicly financed elections, term limits, campaign donation limits, fair ballot access and many other good government reforms! We could push to restructure our tax system, move to a progressive income tax and diminish our reliance on property taxes and sales tax, both of which are regressive. We could change school funding to a more fair and equitable system and write a balanced budget amendment with teeth. All of these changes are possible if we Vote Yes for the Con-Con!
More Representation is good!
We, concerned citizens, will have to pitch in to help get out the Yes vote! We will have to help pass out fliers in your neighborhoods. Then we can run campaigns for our favorite delegates and lobby for our favorite reforms. Instead of having just 2 elected officials in your district, a state Rep and Senator, for probably 1 year you will have 2 more elected officials, working hard to get your reforms written into the Constitution. Sign up as a possible Delegate!
“State lawmakers certainly can’t be trusted to undertake the significant changes that need to be fixed,” says John Bambenek, co-founder of the pro-convention Illinois Citizens’ Coalition,
“especially when it cuts into their own authority and their own influence and power.”
Members of the General Assembly and public officials should not run as delegates. They are busy in the General Assembly and with their official duties, so probably will not have the time to spend on the Con-Con. Also they are prohibited from double dipping, so they cannot be paid for most of their time as a delegate. In 1968-70 only 2 lawmakers were delegates to the Convention. We will be calling for this to be a citizen led Constitutional Convention and for the professional politicians to stay home and give us a chance!
Statement from Coalition Members.
Extremist groups cannot take over the Convention!
First they would have to be elected, and then the voters get to vote on every aspect of the Constitution and/or the Constitution as a whole when it comes out of the Convention.
Some state pensioners seem to be worried about a Con-Con but the lawyers tell us that the pensions are protected by; 1) contract law 2) Federal due process rights and not just the Illinois Constitution. Why block much needed good government reforms by worrying about a red herring issue when there are so many protections for the pensions and no one seems to be talking about threatening them?
Also we the citizens get to vote on every step of the process, the delegates and the final product at the end.
The only draw back to a Con-Con is that it will cost money.
There are estimates from $15 million to $100 million. There is already talk about a bill in Springfield to cap the convention at $15 million. That is a significant amount of money to fund a Con-Con. We now have the Internet, conference calling and teleconferencing as high tech communication; we don’t have to pay for 118 delegates to camp out in Springfield in luxury to get this done!
Let’s not wait another 20 years! The General Assembly has had its chance and has failed. It is always politics as usual in Springfield. Now it is time for the citizens of Illinois to get these reforms for ourselves! Vote Yes on the Constitutional Convention on Nov 4th!
| Groups and Leaders in Illinois for the Con-Con |
| Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Former State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, Cook County Comm. Forest Claypool, Cook County Comm. Larry Suffredin, Cook County Comm. Mike Quigley, Cook County Comm. Tony Peraica, State Rep. John Fritchey, State Rep. Paul Froehlich, State Sen. Ira Silverstein, State Rep. Jack Franks, State Rep. Dave Winters, United Power For Action And Justice, Southwest Organizing Project, Council of Islamic Organizations of Chicago, Illinois Association of School Boards, Illinois Citizens Coalition, Illinois Ballot Integrity Project, Public Action For Change Today (PACT), Citizens For Fair Assessments Taxes, Jews for a Constitutional Convention, PACT (Public Action for Change Today) |
| Illinois House members who voted Yes for a Constitutional Convention, House Res 25; passed! |
| Acevedo, Arroyo, Bassi, Berrios, Black, Boland, Brosnahan, Coladipietro, Cole, Colvin, Cultra, D’Amico, Davis, (William), Ford, Fortner, Fritchey, Froehlich, Hannig, Hernandez, Howard, Jakobsson, Joyce, Kosel, Krause, Lindner, Madigan, Mathias, Mautino, McAuliffe, McCarthy, Miller, Mitchell, Jerry, Moffitt, Mulligan, Osterman, Pihos, Riley, Ryg, Sacia, Saviano, Scully, Soto, Tracy, Tryon, Turner, Wait, Washington, Yarbrough |
Click here to become a Vote Yes on the Con-Con coalition member
Or click here to sign up as a possible delegate.
