‘Power of one’ must end in Springfield

We live in a democracy and as such Illinoisans deserve to have a voice in their state government. Unfortunately, today we are subject to a “power of one” form of government.

In November the people of Illinois elected 118 members to the House of Representatives. Each was elected to represent approximately 100,000 constituents from their home district. But for 26 of the last 28 years in Illinois, one man — and his set of rules — has governed the Illinois House, circumventing our democracy and placing the power over all legislation into the hands of one man — the Speaker of the House.

The public has a right to expect that their ideas and concerns, brought forward in Springfield by their elected representatives, will receive fair consideration on the House floor. But today, moving a bill to the House Floor requires a unanimous vote of the Rules Committee. In other words, 117 of the 118 state representatives can favor bringing a bill to the floor for discussion, but if the “one” objects, the bill can be blocked.

The following procedural reforms are being proposed so that Illinois can begin to change back into a true democracy:

Ÿ Guaranteed consideration of any bill supported by 71 House members;

Ÿ Advanced notice of committee hearings and notice of the legislation to be discussed;

Ÿ Specific, line-item spending for state programs;

Ÿ Regular reviews of state programs;

Ÿ Mandatory public review period before passage of a budget;

Ÿ Decreasing the number of House committees by half.

These changes bring common sense to a currently flawed process. If approved, they will go far in increasing transparency and in preventing a situation where one man has the power to stop any piece of legislation that he feels does not further is own personal agenda.

Michael W. Tryon

State Representative

64th District

Crystal Lake