Court will determine if democracy prevails

The Guest View by Kathy Ryg and Sid Mathias that ran in the Aug. 9 Daily Herald made it abundantly clear why we need so desperately to change our state politics. Please read what they say.

Another petition to place an Independent Map Amendment to our Illinois Constitution on the November ballot has again been stymied. In 2012, we circulated the first Map Amendment that met with overwhelming voter support, but every attempt was made by the protectors of the status quo to deny this citizen initiative.

A judge ruled against the amendment but clearly explained how to fix the legal objections so as to pass muster the next go-round. Well that next go-round has been this campaign season and, in spite of the new initiative satisfying every one of the former judge's objections, another judge has again ruled against it on such a narrow technicality to assure that no citizen initiative will ever make it to a vote.

The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. We await the Supreme Court's ruling to see if we are allowed to vote on this initiative in November. Are we as voters going to be allowed to choose our elected representatives or will our elected representatives continue to be allowed to choose their voters, thus locking them in to their power positions forever?

We wait to see if democracy will prevail.

Alan Heigert

Mundelein