Special election 'corruption tax' could cost $31 million

Illinois lawmakers must act quickly to hold special elections for U.S. Senate, officials warned Wednesday, or delay might cost an extra $31 million per election.

Cook County Clerk David Orr led the call for quick action, saying legislators should hold special elections on the same dates as currently scheduled local primaries Feb. 24 and the general election April 7.

But other election officials were leery of rushing to add special elections, warning it could turn into a logistical and legal nightmare.

Corruption charges this week against Gov. Rod Blagojevich prompted talk of holding a special election to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant seat, rather than letting the governor appoint a successor, as under current law.

If the special election were held at the same time as other elections, it would avoid most extra costs, which Orr estimated at $8 million per election in Cook County. Potential special elections to fill Rep. Rahm Emanuel's seat, now that he's joined Obama's cabinet, or if a Congress member wins Obama's seat, would add to the cost.

Citing the charges against Blagojevich, Orr said, "It's an extraordinary corruption tax on the taxpayers of Illinois."

The Illinois State Board of Elections does not track spending on elections, because 102 counties and eight municipal election authorities each pay for their own elections.

But state election specialist Ken Menzel pointed to the special election last March to replace retiring Rep. Dennis Hastert, which cost about $1.3 million. Extrapolated across the state's 11,563 precincts, Menzel sad, that would come to about $31 million.

"A big reason they do appointments for statewide office instead of special elections is because it's such a big expensive process," Menzel said.

Kane County Clerk John "Jack" Cunningham estimated his county's cost at $700,000 per election. Having already laid off workers due to budget constraints, he said it would be "totally fiscally irresponsible" for the state to make counties pay for special elections.

As for holding the vote on existing election days, Cunningham said, "It's almost totally impossible to do."

The first problem is a list of deadlines set by law. Filing for the Feb. 24 primary started Monday and ends this coming Monday. Absentee ballots go out Feb. 2. The only way around the deadlines would be for lawmakers to set new deadlines.

Then voters run into other logistical problems, such as having enough time to fill out and return absentee ballots from service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. And a special primary could not easily be held on the day of the April general election, because voters choose a party to vote for in the primary, so you would need two ballots and separate ballot counters for each election.

McHenry County Clerk Katherine Schultz was skeptical it could all be done, and ballparked her cost at $500,000. DuPage County estimated its expenses at $1.5 million.

If lawmakers must go through with it, Lake County Clerk Willard Helander suggested they might find another way of naming primary winners, through a caucus or special party vote by phone or Internet.

Otherwise, she estimated Lake County's cost at $900,000 for special primary and general elections.

The April ballot is already the most complex in the four-year election cycle, featuring scads of local races for municipalities, schools, park districts, townships, etc. As Helander put it, "It's hard to fit a size-10 foot in a size 7 shoe."

Otherwise, the next elections aren't until 2010, which could leave Illinois without a senator for a year.