Will constitutional convention spur state to change?

Arguments for and against a state constitutional convention boiled down to one key assertion from each side during a Mount Prospect debate Thursday night.

Only by way of a convention can ordinary Illinois residents compel fiscal responsibility by state government and break the grip of dysfunctional politicians now running the state, argued Lake County talk show host Bruno Behrend.

A constitutional convention would change little or nothing, because those who now control state government would plan and run the convention, too, answered Ed Murnane, longtime head of the Illinois Civil Justice League.

Illinois voters will be asked on the Tuesday, Nov. 4, general election ballot whether they want to convene a constitutional convention. A three-fifths "yes" vote would trigger a convention, which would be Illinois' first since 1970, when delegates produced the state's existing constitution. One provision of the 1970 constitution is that Illinoisans be given a chance every 20 years to give thumbs-up or down to a new convention.

Behrend, speaking at the event sponsored by the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce, called the 1970 document flawed because it stripped power from residents and gave it to elected officials who, he said, use it irresponsibly.

Behrend, co-founder of the Illinois Citizens Coalition, cited the state's soaring pension debt and other unmet financial obligations that persist despite the current constitution's requirement that the state balance its budget. He also said the state needs a citizen-initiative provision.

Murnane, who covered the 1970 convention as the Daily Herald's political editor, said conditions in the state have not changed enough in the ensuing 38 years to warrant a new convention. He also said that a string of 16 amendment votes since 1970 shows that residents do have chances to alter the constitution.

Murnane did agree with Behrend that current elected officials have been largely ineffective. He acknowledged, too, the state's environment of corruption. Murnane noted that if Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose administration is under federal investigation, were to be indicted, "it would set the stage for Illinois to become the first state to have two former governors as cellmates."

But, Murnane said, residents can change the climate by replacing current state leaders, who, he said, would stage manage any constitutional convention held now.

"It requires a great deal of naiveté to think it's going to be any different from that," Murnane said.

Behrend said that the real naiveté lies with anyone who thinks that voters can change elected leadership in the face of legislative district gerrymandering, which, he said, a new constitution could prohibit.

"Basically, it's a coin flip," Behrend said. "You either get to live under an egregious Republican map or an egregious Democrat map. You can't have a constitution where the political class gets to pick their voters before the voters get to pick their representatives."

Secretary of State Jesse White's office this week began mailing to residents a pamphlet detailing the referendum and the proposal.