Here is the story behind the headlines. According to the Illinois state
constitution, voters must be given the opportunity every twenty years to vote
for or against having a state constitutional convention that can be used to
amend the constitution or rewrite it altogether. Considering an incredibly long history
of public corruption you would think that Illinois voters would be inclined to give
serious thought to how they could improve their government by means of a state
constitutional convention. Many
prominent people and groups worked hard to educate citizens why they should vote
in favor of a constitutional convention.
In November, two-thirds voted against having a convention. Twenty years earlier they also voted
against one. But even with twenty
more years of public corruption, Illinois citizens could not be convinced to
pursue a path to political reform free from the chains of their corrupt state
government. The last convention was
in 1970.
Those advocating passage of the convention measure included: Lieutenant
Governor Pat Quinn, the Chicago Tribune, the Springfield State Journal Register,
state representatives Mike Boland and Jack Franks, former state treasurer Judy
Baar Topinka, political journalists Rich Miller and Scott Reeder, and several groups with
websites.
Back in January 2008 this is what John Bambenek, who wrote a book
supporting the convention, had the good sense to say: “Gov. Rod Blagojevich has
done something remarkable in Illinois. He has managed to unite people across the
political spectrum to create consensus that he absolutely stinks as a governor.
Illinois deserves better than Rod Blagojevich.
Because of his low approval in both
parties and the budget fiasco of last year, legislators (even those in his own
party) are talking about amending the constitution to allow recall votes of
sitting politicians. The timing for
such talk is opportune because on the November ballot this year there will be a
question on whether to have a constitutional convention for Illinois to rewrite or
amend the state constitution.” Like
other pro-convention advocates, Bambenek wanted to return power to Illinois citizens. Most of them did not listen.
A key argument in favor of convention was that the cost of a no-frills
convention (around $23 million) would surely be repaid by the savings to
taxpayers of constitutional amendments that could get the state out of the
lobbyist-run budget crisis it was in.
Not to mention the possibility of an amendment that could make it easier
to get rid of corrupt governors and other officials by, for example, recall by
citizens. How sensible, considering
that even before the charges against the current governor three previous
Illinois
governors had been convicted of crimes.
Otto Kerner (D) governor 1961-1968 was convicted on 17 counts of bribery,
conspiracy, perjury, and related charges. He was sentenced to three years in
federal prison and fined $50,000.
Daniel Walker (D) governor 1973-1977 was convicted of improprieties
related to a savings and loan association. He reportedly received over a million
dollars in fraudulent loans for his business and repairs on his yacht. He pleaded out to three felonies and was
freed after 17 months in prison because he was supposedly frail and chronically
ill, but is still living 20 years later and living near the ocean in
Mexico. And George Ryan (R) governor 1999-2003
was convicted on 20 federal counts that included racketeering, bribery, and
extortion
And
consider this amazing statistic: From 1995 to 2004, 469 politicians from the
federal district of Northern Illinois were found guilty of
corruption.
And then there was the famous case of Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D) who was
indicted in 1994 on 17 felony charges, including the embezzlement of $695,000 in
taxpayer and campaign funds.
The
longtime powerful House ways and means committee chairman plea-bargained his way
down to just two counts of mail fraud and served only 17 months in a
minimum-security prison.
So what did the opponents to the convention use to sway
voters? And why did they oppose a
convention? They lied a whole lot
and tried to instill fear, and succeeded.
But what they feared was losing political power that they had used for so
long to corrupt state government.
Opponents included most of the state's influential
lobbying organizations: American Insurance Association, Associated Fire Fighters
of Illinois, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Chicago Urban League,
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Citizen Action/Illinois, Illinois Association
of Convenience Stores, Illinois Association of School Administrators, Illinois
Business Round Table, Illinois Civil Justice League, Illinois Education
Association, Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Manufacturers Association, Illinois
Petroleum Marketers Association, Illinois Retail Merchants Association, Illinois
Retired Teachers Association, Illinois State AFL-CIO, Illinois State Chamber of
Commerce, Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Trial Lawyers
Association, League of Women Voters of Illinois, Lincoln Park Chamber of
Commerce, National Federation of Independent Businesses/Illinois, Peoria Area
Chamber of Commerce, Police Benevolent and Protective Association of Illinois,
SEIU Illinois, State University Annuitants Association, Taxpayers’ Federation of
Illinois, Tooling and Manufacturing Association, Union League Club of Chicago,
Illinois Rifle Association. The
convention was also opposed by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) and former
governor Jim Edgar (R) who both represented the corrupt status quo political
establishment.
There is an important lesson from what happened in Illinois and several
other states, as well as why the U.S. Congress has refused to obey Article V of
the federal constitution that prescribes a convention of state delegates to
propose constitutional amendments when two-thirds of states ask for one, which
has happened long ago. It is this:
those with political power fear constitutional conventions that can truly reform
our corrupt political system. What
Americans need to constantly remember is that “we the people” must use
constitutional conventions to improve our government and political system. All constitutions are meant to be
revisited and amended if necessary.
We must not depend on electing individuals to public office to truly
reform the system. We have a
corrupt two-party plutocracy. It is
time to stop believing the lies of both Democrats and Republicans. We can keep putting many of them in
prison, but all that happens is that more corrupt and dishonest politicians get
elected. Just as it has happened
for the Illinois governorship.
Finally, you might ask whether Illinois Senator Barack Obama supported
the 2008 convention proposal. What
do you think? Obama’s key advisor,
David Axelrod, who crafted his “change” message, shared a multimillion dollar
contract provided by opponents to the convention who feared change.
Contact Joel S. Hirschhorn through www.delusionaldemocracy.com