OPINION:A bad day for Illinois voters

BY ED COLLINS

”A bad day for good government” the Chicago Tribune headlined in its Sunday, June 29, editorial. And indeed it was.

House Speaker Mike Madigan won again by killing off an attempt to reform the every ten-year redistricting process by taking it out of the hands of the politicians and placing it with an independent body.

Cook County Circuit Judge Mary Mikva saved the bacon for Madigan and his cronies who have remained in power for many years by gerrymandering the political makeup of the state’s political districts.  

In Judge Mikva’s ruling on Friday, June 27, she wrote: “In all, precedent dictates a very narrow provision for allowing the voters to directly enact amendments to the Illinois Constitution of 1970.”

The Tribune said, “Citizens of Illinois: “Your constitution is stacked against you. And there’s not much you can do about it.” And I say, “spot on Tribune.“

They are absolutely correct.

It’s enough to make Lincoln roll over in his Springfield grave. Lincoln made the case for democracy when on November 19, 1863 he dedicated a National Cemetery in Gettysburg, PA by telling the assemblage, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Too bad some of our state lawmakers don’t understand this.

Much shoe leather was spent in trying to get a measure on the November 4 ballot to reform the state’s disgraceful redistricting process. A bipartisan coalition worked hard for months to collect over half a million signatures and campaign funds to correct this political charade we go through every ten years.

A second voter initiative calls for only an eight-year statewide term of office and is probably headed to the Illinois Supreme Court for a decision.  Naturally, Mr. Madigan and other old timers who have served 20 or 30 consecutive years in the General Assembly are adamantly opposed to losing their paychecks and perks. How dare the voters try to limit their public service, they say with a wink and a nod.

Surprising, Judge Mikva indicated that her ruling isn’t a reflection on the merits of either the redistricting or term limits initiatives. The Tribune says, “That’s the real shame.”

“On their merits, both measures would pass, hands down. Year after year, polls have shown consistent voter support for such reforms with growing disgust with the state’s insular political culture,” they said.

“The problem is that the General Assembly has a vested interest in the status quo. Those gerrymandered maps protect lawmakers from the voters,” the editorial points out.

The Tribune indicates that more than half the seats in the Illinois House are uncontested right now. About half of the Senate seats up for election are also uncontested. Not much to vote for is there.

“Lawmakers coast to re-election unopposed, term after term after term. They’re not accountable to the voters. They like it that way. They’re not about to give voters the chance to check their power.”

“Lawmakers have seen the polls. They know all about those signatures. Why do they keep ignoring their constituents? Because they can,” the Tribune said.

Maybe it’s about time that the voters roll up their sleeves and implement their own term limits. Just say no! Let’s get rid of the deadwood, the ones who have been hanging around for decades chomping at the public trough down there in Springfield living off the fat of the land. We know who they are. They take care of their own in their districts to remain in office, but ignore the rest of us except to pile more phony taxes on us.

See you in the voter’s booth on November 4th.