Dan Rutherford

SPRINGFIELD - Disenchanted House lawmakers took out their frustrations on beleaguered Gov. Rod Blagojevich Tuesday, approving a California-style measure aimed at allowing voters to recall the governor and other state politicians.

The bipartisan 75-33 House vote was a symbolic show of no-confidence in the governor, who has long been at odds with fellow Democrats who control the legislature. But the measure to add a recall provision to the state constitution is more likely to falter in the Senate, where President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) has been a staunch ally and several of his top lieutenants have not embraced the concept.

Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), who tailored his proposal after the California system that elevated action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger to governor, said Illinois citizens should be empowered to toss their elected officials because of the state's history of corruption.

"How many of our governors have to go to jail before we wake up?" Franks said, citing the conviction of Republican George Ryan and the ongoing federal corruption investigation of the Blagojevich administration.

One of Blagojevich's closest former advisers, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, is on trial on federal charges that he used his close ties to the governor to shake down kickbacks and campaign contributions. Another top fundraiser, Christopher Kelly, faces a tax fraud indictment. Blagojevich has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

"If any state needs" the recall provision, Franks said, "it's Illinois."

Recall opponents raised the specter of future candidates like "Diff'rent Strokes" star Gary Coleman and "Hustler" magazine publisher Larry Flynt, who ran in California's 2003 recall.

"Let's not make a mockery of the electoral process," argued Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville).

Hoffman, the point man for the governor in the House, told colleagues: "Don't do this because you don't like one man."

A Blagojevich spokeswoman reaffirmed his support for the recall idea, without commenting on the latest political broadsides leveled against him during an hourlong floor debate.

Republicans provided 46 of the votes for the proposal, which got four votes more than the needed three-fifths majority. Many cited Blagojevich's repeated clashes with the House over some of his high-profile proposals, his attempts to enact them despite legislative defeats and his failure to support their budget priorities.

Rep. Roger Eddy (R-Hutsonville) said voters deserve a "mulligan, a do-over" because they are tired of a governor who is "going to do whatever it takes, throw whatever tantrum is necessary, to try and get his way rather than working with the people in the General Assembly on the issues we care about."

Still, some of the governor's toughest critics voted against the recall measure.

House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), who exercised his authority by allowing the measure to be called for a vote, cast a "No" vote when his turn came. Madigan said the idea of recalling elected officials was rejected when he served as a member of the state's last constitutional convention nearly 40 years ago.

"The problem is not the constitution," Madigan said. "The problem is the governor of Illinois."

"He is not a dictator," Madigan said. "He'd like to be, but he's not."

House approval is only the first of many major steps that need to be taken before a recall could become a reality.

If the Senate also approved the measure, voters in the November general election would be asked to consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow them to recall the governor, other statewide elected officials and state lawmakers.

If the constitution were amended, the earliest a recall effort could be put on the ballot would be April 2009. But it would take more than 400,000 signatures of registered voters to put the recall question on the ballot. Along with the recall question, a special election would be held simultaneously to decide who should replace the governor.

The recall movement was born more than a century ago in California, and in 2003, voters there replaced a hugely unpopular governor with Schwarzenegger. Only two states of the 18 that allow voters to recall statewide officials have successfully recalled a governor, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan research organization.

In the Senate, Democratic leaders immediately cast doubt on the fate of the measure.

Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) dismissed the idea as "stupid," saying voters can kick out officials in elections.

Jones said he did not know how the bill would be received in the Senate, brushing aside questions by saying he still wanted to read the measure.

But Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) said he would support the recall measure, saying dissatisfied citizens "ought to have the ability."

Although impeachment is an option lawmakers already have if they wish to remove an officer, Franks said it is rarely used and would require a higher threshold than the recall, which does not require voters to give specific grounds.

"Sometimes, waiting for the next election is waiting too long," he said.

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