'Lockbox' would limit options in emergency
The first item on the ballot this fall is an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that could establish a very dangerous precedent.
The Illinois Constitution lays out a vision of a society that provides for the dignity and basic needs of all to ensure that each resident of our state has a chance to reach their full potential. Though Republicans and Democrats may debate the paths we take to achieve those goals, these common values bind us together as Illinoisans.
The priorities enumerated throughout that document - free public education through high school, the elimination of poverty and inequality, and the promotion of the health, safety and welfare of the people - are the building blocks of healthy communities.
The beauty of the Constitution is that none of these building blocks is given special priority - instead, the people of Illinois are called upon to set their own priorities every year through the budget process.
This November, Illinoisans will have the option to upset that balance for the first time in our state's history.
The proposed "lockbox" amendment we'll be voting on would extend protections to transportation funding that no other spending priority receives.
I and the four lawmakers who cowrote this essay with me were the four votes in the General Assembly against placing this question on the ballot. We did so not because we don't value transportation as a critical component of a strong economy. Without a doubt, there should be strong protections for investment in our roads, bridges, ports and rails.
But experience has demonstrated that unexpected events can have drastic impacts on our state budget. A major natural disaster or economic turmoil can blow huge holes in a budget, even in states in healthy financial condition - which Illinois is decidedly not.
This amendment would severely curtail the ability of the state to react to these types of events.
If a school can't open because of insufficient funding, what good is the new state road that runs by it? How are farmers served by new bridges if our state universities aren't educating the next generation of agricultural experts? A new bus or train line won't help a young parent get to her job or class if she can't afford safe, reliable child care.
Other states that have passed transportation funding lockboxes, such as Maryland, have release valves for emergencies. There, the governor and a supermajority of legislators can declare a fiscal emergency.
In that instance, the threshold for tapping into transportation funds for general purposes can only be reached when there is broad consensus for the need to do so. The proposed Illinois amendment is missing a safety valve.
Constitutions are meant to be broad documents. State governments are intended to serve as laboratories of democracy.
Enshrining this type of language in our state's core legal document undermines the ability of elected officials in the future to respond to the challenges of the day.
We urge Illinois citizens to reject the amendment in the fall.
State Rep. Elaine Nekritz is a Democrat from Northbrook. This essay was cowritten with Democratic state Reps. Barbara Flynn Currie, of Chicago, Laura Fine of Glenview and Pamela Reaves Harris of Chicago.