February primary was an eye-opener

This last primary election has shown the people of Illinois that two changes need to be made. First, the primary date needs to be changed. There is no way the citizens of this state can truly learn about a candidate in one month, especially with a holiday season ending and people concentrating on their jobs for the new year.

Simply loading up a mailbox does not help to make an informed decision. The calendar was designed to help with the Presidential Election and give Illinois recognition in this election process. That has not come to fruition. The primary date should be pushed back to April or May.

The second change needed is the Lieutenant Governor's Office. For years I have called to make this office relevant to the people of Illinois. With the election and resignation of Scott Lee Cohen in less than a week, the Office of lieutenant governor is being highlighted and called into question whether the office should exist. Possibly the newly elected candidate for Governor would choose a lieutenant governor running mate after the primary and assign him duties. The lieutenant governor could have real constitutional duties, like running a state department.

Or we could eliminate the office altogether and set up an order of succession in case something happened to the Governor. In these tough economic times, there definitely has to be change when it comes to the Lieutenant Governor's Office.

I urge the citizens of this state to call the Governor's Office, their state legislators, and even candidates for office to help bring about these changes.

Kevin O'Connell

Former Palatine Township Clerk

Chairman, Northwest Political Coalition