http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/04/06/opinion/130988.txt

Give voters the power to 'fire' elected officials

4/6/2008

Bloomington Pantagraph

Editorial Board

The proposed amendment the Illinois House is expected to act on this week could not only change the state Constitution, it could change the face of Illinois politics.

It could even change the person living in the Governor's Mansion - make that working in the governor's office.

The recall amendment is not about Gov. Rod Blagojevich, yet it is.

Illinois has needed a recall provision for some time, but it has taken the ineptitude and political shenanigans of the current governor to spark increased interest in giving Illinoisans the same option as residents in 18 other states.

Where that power exists, it has been used sparingly. Just knowing the authority is there might help make elected officials more responsive to taxpayers. Sometimes, waiting years for the next election is too long.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and others have been advocating a recall provision for years. State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, is also among the supporters. The time is ripe and the opportunity shouldn't be missed.

However, there are multiple hurdles to be jumped.

First, lawmakers will have to overcome the natural reluctance to approve a measure that would not only apply to the governor but would also allow voters to recall their legislators. Three-fifths of the members in each house must vote in favor of the measure to put it on the ballot.

Second, even if the House and Senate approve HJRCA 28, voters would have the final say on whether the recall provision becomes part of the Constitution. It would take a majority of those voting in the election or three-fifths of those voting specifically on the question.

If the Legislature puts the proposal on the November ballot, there could be enough time to recall the governor before his term ends in January 2011.

But that would require recall organizers to gather more than 400,000 signatures on petitions within 160 days of filing a notice with the Illinois Board of Elections.

The number of signatures that would be required for recalls in the executive branch is 12 percent of the total votes cast for the office in the election in which the person was elected. There were just under 3.5 million votes cast for governor in 2006, meaning more than 418,400 signatures would be needed.

The proposed amendment also requires that signatures equal to 1 percent of the votes casts be collected in five separate counties. That is a good safeguard that would prevent disgruntled voters in one or two large counties to trigger a recall.

As big as that hurdle is, it may seem small compared to the difficulty of getting the proposal through one man: Senate President Emil Jones.

That's where the governor comes in.

According to Rebecca Rausch, a Blagojevich spokeswoman, the governor supports the idea of giving voters the option of recalling elected officials.

The governor shouldn't stand on the sidelines. He should demonstrate the support for voter choice by taking a more public role and insisting his longtime ally Jones allow senators to vote on the measure.

Otherwise this talk of him supporting voter choice is just that - nothing more than talk.