The pricetag and our state’s failed politics
appear to be the two biggest arguments against holding a constitutional
convention.
Every 20 years, Illinois voters are given the right
to call a constitutional convention. I want you to vote “Yes,”
but various interest groups are spending millions to convince you to vote
“No.”
The “Vote No” ads claim the projected
cost of holding a convention is too high, especially considering that the
state is running a horrific budget deficit.
They aren’t telling you something.
1) The state constitution itself is partially
responsible for our current budget problems because glaring loopholes allow
politicians to ignore balanced budget “requirements.”
2) Most of the interest groups opposing a
constitutional convention are themselves responsible for our budget
situation. They’ve pushed countless tax breaks and spending
increases.
We can’t afford not to call a convention.
Another argument against a constitutional convention
is: “The same politicians who got us into this mess will be the ones
controlling a convention.”
Right now, both political parties in the Illinois
House are stretching themselves to the limit over eight House campaigns.
They’ve dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into those races and
are struggling to find the money from interest groups to continue the pace.
So, if the powers that be are straining to control
the outcome of eight races, how can they control a process that will elect
118 constitutional convention delegates at once?
Legislators will be allowed to run for delegate, but
they can’t be paid for both jobs at the same time, which will likely
discourage most of them from seeking the position.
The Chicago machine will certainly become involved,
but recent prison terms for Daley’s former patronage chieftains have
hobbled the organization. Besides, the machine elected delegates to the
last convention 38 years ago (at the height of the organization’s
power and strength), but the hacks failed to exert much influence because
they simply didn’t care enough about policy. That hasn’t
changed.
Constitutional convention delegate campaigns have
historically attracted large numbers of young, smart, issue-oriented
candidates, not just in Illinois but all over the country. Also, never
forget that voters get the final say on the convention’s finished
product via referendum.
“But what about the stupidity of Illinois
voters?” some ask, pointing to Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Cook County
Board President Todd Stroger as examples of the danger of putting such an
important decision into the hands of clueless voters.
If Rod and Todd were wildly popular today I would
agree with that analysis. Instead, they are two of the most despised
politicians in all of Illinois history. The overwhelming majority of voters
clearly regret those decisions, and I think they’ve learned from
their mistakes.
If you want to stop state politicians from running
multi-billion-dollar deficits, then vote to spend a relatively paltry sum
to hold a constitutional convention.
If you are afraid of the voters, well, you might as
well just move somewhere else because you’ll be stuck with their
choices for legislators and statewide officials for the rest of your life.
If you don’t want any change, then vote
“No.”
I can’t promise you massive amounts of change
if we do get a constitutional convention. I can promise, however, that
nothing will change without one. Please, vote “Yes.”
Rich Miller publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political
newsletter, and thecapitolfaxblog.com.
This article appears in Oct 23-29, 2008.
