Recall rejected, but the people still have a tool to reform government
Franks is a Democrat from Woodstock
I was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly in November 1998, the same day George Ryan was elected governor. In my almost 10 years of elected office in Illinois, I have had the sad experience of working under the cloud of corruption that has led Ryan to prison and Gov. Blagojevich to get the moniker Public Official A.
It is with this corruption-filled frame of reference that last August I filed HJRCA 28 to add a recall amendment to the Illinois Constitution. I believe in the wisdom of our individual citizens and wanted to give them the ability to choose if Illinois should join the list of 18 states that allow for recall of elected officials. The passage of HJRCA 28 would not have allowed recall; it would have simply put the question on the November ballot and allowed voters to choose recall if they believed it was a tool necessary to clean up a clearly broken system.
Regardless of what critics may say, the proposed amendment was not aimed solely at Gov. Blagojevich. All statewide officials were included in HJRCA 28 and the amendment was designed as a tool for the citizens in case any statewide official was not performing their job. The recall amendment was modeled on California law. Most would agree that the recall of Gov. Gray Davis in California and election of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been good for California. Not only for policy changes that came with the new administration but more importantly for the empowering affect it had on the citizens. It's the political empowerment of ordinary Illinoisans that motivates me.
Unfortunately, in an act of unmitigated arrogance, the Illinois Senate filled the recall amendment with poison pills and then voted the proposal down. During the debate, members of my own party stood up and said they feared allowing citizens a vote on the recall amendment, likening a potential recall to the bloodthirsty mob storming Dr. Frankenstein's workshop. The Senate's vote to deny the people their right to express their will is a clear sign of the depth of the problem in Springfield. Unfortunately, too many elected leaders act as if their power comes from a divine right to office and not from the will of the people.
As I made the long drive back home after the Senate vote, I was feeling discouraged and quite frankly a little fearful about the future of Illinois. I turned on the radio to find some music to help. Flipping the dial, I heard Tracy Chapman signing prophetic words of revolution. "Don't you know we're talking about a revolution. Finally the tables are starting to turn. Talking about a revolution. People are going to rise up and take what's theirs. Talking about a revolution ... sounds like a whisper." The song reminded me that in our great democracy the people do hold the keys to the power, and this November we will have an opportunity to use those keys to unlock a revolution in state government. The Senate leadership denied the people the right to vote on a recall amendment, but they cannot deny us the right to call for a Constitutional Convention.
Every 10 years the option of calling a Constitutional Convention is placed on the ballot. If 60 percent vote in favor, a convention is convened and everything is put on the table. The entrenched powers do not like this idea. They don't even want the people to have recall power. Imagine how they'll feel about term limits, campaign contribution limits and an impartial process to draw legislative districts. But they can't stop our collective will to improve Illinois.
Now is the time for all concerned citizens to say we no longer want to live in the most corrupt, dysfunctional state in the Union. Join me along with Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and concerned citizens throughout Illinois in taking back our government. It is our duty as citizens to take whatever actions necessary to protect our democracy. Now is the time, and the action needed is a Constitutional Convention.