McHenry County Blog

I see that Democratic Party State Rep. Jack Franks is taking up the cause I lost in the 1970's.

Back when I was young and naive, I introduced a bill to allow voters to recall their public officials.

Of course, it didn't get out of committee.

I've often said since that Illinois voters should consider themselves lucky because they get a periodic vote. When elections were consolidated, the township schedule had to be changed. The choice was either to cut the terms off after two years or extend them by two years.

You can guess what happened.

I was so perturbed that I had a bill drafted to make the office of township supervisor hereditary. I didn't have the guts to introduce it, though.

Franks has gone me one better by introducing a constitutional amendment. It's probably just to taunt Governor Rod Blagojevich. It will receive a fate similar to my bill.

Incumbent politicians just have too much at stake in the status quo.

Can you imagine how much more responsive McHenry County College trustees would be if they could be threatened with recall?

Enough rambling. Here's the press release:

Franks Proposes Amending
Illinois Constitution to Allow Recall Elections

SPRINGFIELD – State Rep. Jack Franks on Wednesday afternoon filed a resolution for an amendment to the Illinois constitution to allow recall elections for state officials. House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 28 is similar to California’s constitutional procedure for a recall election that led to the removal of Gov. Gray Davis from office in 2003.

“The current situation in this state is unacceptable. I would be letting down the citizens of the state of Illinois if I did not confront this problem,” Franks said. “The governor’s inability to lead has proven that the citizens of our state need a way to remove incompetent officials from office, even when an election is still years away.”

Franks’ amendment would allow for elections to recall the state’s executive branch officers, members of the General Assembly, and supreme, appellate and circuit court judges. To initiate the process, a petition alleging a reason for recall would be filed with the secretary of state. The proponents of the petition would have 160 days to collect signatures. For members of the General Assembly and judges, the petition would require a number of signatures equal to 20 percent of the last vote for office in their districts, while a petition to remove an executive branch officer would require 12 percent. If a petition was filed to recall the current governor, for example, it would require 418,559 signatures, based on the 2006 gubernatorial vote.

An election would be held between 60 and 80 days after the sufficient number of signatures are certified to determine if an official should be recalled and, if necessary, select a replacement.

Gov. Blagojevich has not participated in the most recent legislative leaders’ meetings during the record-breaking overtime session. Blagojevich’s latest comments indicate that he will shut down state government if all of his budget demands are not met.

“The governor’s actions will have real consequences for the people of this state,” Franks said. “This extraordinary effort is necessary to protect the public from abuses of governmental power and to reinforce our system of checks and balances. Eighteen other states already have similar legislation in place. Illinoisans should also have the right to recall elected officials.”

House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 28 was referred to the Rules Committee on Wednesday. For more information, please contact Franks’ constituent service office at 815-334-0063.

Labels: Jack Franks, Recall