Illinois needs a new state constitution

Abner Mikva has enjoyed a career promoting good government for the people of Illinois and the entire country. However, he surely is wrong in opposing a much needed Constitutional Convention. If he does not understand that state government in Illinois is totally dysfunctional, then he has not been paying attention for many years.

The labor and business establishments in Springfield that work the legislative leadership and governor's office might be able to tolerate the broken system, but the poor, the disabled, the school kids and the taxpayers are truly disgusted.

It is time to dramatically overhaul many of the processes of state government, and a number of amendments to the current state constitution are in order. The entire document does not need to be altered, but a rewrite is needed concerning the legislative leadership power grab and the misuse of power from the executive branch.

A review of the current system will clearly point out the basic flaws in the governing process in Springfield. Here are a few of the very obvious examples:

1) There is too much power vested in the four leaders, and individual General Assembly members have no say over the issues before them. This was caused by the ability to amass huge war chests by the leaders, which is then doled out to the willing members in exchange for compliance with the leaders requests. Term limits should apply to all leadership positions.

2) The governor's office should not be able to rewrite legislation, change priorities clearly sent to the governor's office by the legislature or misuse public dollars by punishing individual legislators or segments of the General Assembly.

There are other issues that can be reviewed and modified by the delegates elected to the 2010 Constitutional Convention, and I believe that a better system of governance can be established in Illinois.

Now is the time to act. The system is truly broken and it needs a total bipartisan review and overhaul.

Alfred G. Ronan

Chicago