Thursday, May 01, 2008

Recall amendment dies in Ill. State Senate

This is why we need a new constitution in Illinois. A bill to place a proposal on the November ballot to allow a recall provision for public officials failed in the Illinois State Senate, after easily passing in the House.

Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Chicago Democrat, has allies in the upper chamber, most notably Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), who helped build Barack Obama's record in Springfield.

From AP:

A constitutional amendment that would have allowed voter recall got only 33 of the 36votes needed to pass in an afternoon vote. Nineteen senators voted "no" and two voted "present."

The recall drive has been fueled by frustration over Governor Rod Blagojevich, whose administration is under federal investigation.

But the recall amendment went far beyond recalling state officials. It also would have covered judges and local officials.

If legislators had approved the amendment, it would have been placed on the fall ballot so voters could decide whether to give it final approval.

Meanwhile, initial steps to impeach the unpopular governor have begun in the House.

Related posts:

Obama's state legislative record--he got a lot of help

Illinois corruption update: $25,000 to "pay to play" with governor

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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:54 PM

    So, not only is Email against the recall, he's totally for the legislative pay raises.

    Swell guy, him.

    Not only is he helping to keep the most corrupt government in the country alive, he's trying to push that virus into the White House to boot.

    As added fun and excitement, Heather Stearns voted against it, as well.

    Thanks, Heather. You're a winner!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cal Skinner5:16 PM

    Supporters of a constitutional convention will be quite surprised at how much worse it can be.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marathon Pundit7:04 PM

    You remember the '70 Con con, Cal.

    As an ex-state legislator, you may not like my pet idea, doing what they do in Iowa, drawing computer generated districts. Some may argue that the Voting Right Act of 1964 would void that, but it's ludicrous what's going on with some of these gerrymandered districts, particularly downstate.

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  4. Anonymous10:21 PM

    Iowa-style redistricting may be the only thing I'll unequivocally agree with John Ruberry on. I'd support a con-con to win that alone.

    There must be a way to balance the spirit of the Voting Rights Act against the horrible effect of gerrymandering for political purposes.

    I'm a Democrat that believes if districts were drawn on the square, we'd have a majority. But my party gets more than half the blame for the way IL draws its maps. I'll join you on this issue for sure.

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  5. Marathon Pundit10:33 PM

    Wow. We agree!

    There will be another earthquake tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Levois12:27 AM

    Or the Cubs can win the world series? Or even better Cubs and White Sox in the World Series?

    Ok that has nothing to with this thread as for our state constitution there are a lot of reforms needed. There's reform, redistricting, referendums, even I suppose a return to cumulative voting for members of the state house of representatives.

    ReplyDelete