Part-Time Pundit

Preparing for an Illinois Constitutional Convention

One of the chief arguments against a constitutional convention is the statement that there has been no preparation for the upcoming question that will be on the ballot in November. In 1968 and in 1988, preceding the question being on the ballot there were several committees, organizations and legal groups that produced numerous reports on various aspects of the constitution and what the advantages and disadvantages are of several reforms. None of this preparation has been present for the upcoming 2008 vote, it is true to a small degree.

Largely, the preparation for a constitutional convention has been done by the same two individuals (with the valued assistance of many other individuals) who are pushing for a yes vote on the con-con question: myself and Bruno Behrend. We’ve been talking about this for years, identifying the flaws in the current constitution, the reforms that are sorely needed in Illinois to stem corruption and ways to truly empower the voters to make their voices heard. Admittedly, this is a less than ideal situation.

In addition to a book we’ve written that will be coming out in May called “Illinois Deserves Better: The Ironclad Case for an Illinois Constitutional Convention”, we’ve written a draft constitution which we think covers the deficiencies in the current constitution, reforms those aspects of the constitution that assist corruption and truly empowers the voters.

You can view our work at http://www.myillinoisconstitution.org and comment on each section of our draft constitution individually. It is time to open up the political process to the public so that we can truly participate in the governing process and that should start with the drafting of our new constitution (or the amendment thereof). Feel free to leave comments and feedback, we want to know what you think.

April 22nd, 2008 Posted by John Bambenek | Illinois, Illinois Consitutional Convention, Illinois Constitution, Politics, con-con | no comments

Can a Constitutional Convention Fix Illinois’ Broken Government?

Illinois voters will be presented with an historical opportunity to fix the structural problems that plague Illinois government and fix deficiencies and loopholes in our current constitution. There are problems that can only be fixed in a constitution but the entrenched interests have come out saying a convention is unnecessary. Here is why they are wrong.

There are two arguments that a constitutional convention is inadvisable: the necessary changes can be made through other means (i.e. electing better politicians) and that there is no way to ensure that reform-minded delegates get elected. Skipping past the individual merits of these arguments for a moment, the arguments perfectly illustrate the problem. On one hand, we need to elect better politicians (I agree); on the other hand, we can’t enough elect good politicians to make a difference (I also agree). The opposition to a convention presents no solutions, just another intractable problem.

Fixing the balanced budget loophole that allows the state to count debt as “income”, ending gerrymandering, allowing binding citizen referenda, creating recall elections, enabling open ballot access and term limits all have to be done in a constitution. There exist only three ways to amend the constitution. The legislature can do it, citizens can have a referendum to amend the legislature article only, or a constitutional convention must be convened.

Currently the General Assembly is required to pass only one bill per year, the state budget. They could not even do that without being months late and still engaging in chicanery. HB 1, one of the many state ethics reforms bills in the General Assembly was passed 116-0 in the House and has 47 Senate Cosponsors. You would think that a bill that is not only supported by 80% of the Illinois Senate, but actually sponsored by 80%, would be law. One Senator, Emil Jones, has killed the bill and that is that.

The General Assembly cannot pass simple reforms right now, much less the constitutional changes that are required to fix our broken government. There are amendments in the General Assembly that contain many of the reforms that Illinois citizens want, they’ve been declared dead on arrival.

Citizens could initiate referendum, but only on the legislative article of the constitution and then only the “structural and procedural” items it contains. Some good reforms could be made this way, but it would not fix the deep-seated structural problems (like counting “debt” as “income”) in the Constitution because those referenda would not be allowed.

That leaves the only option to fix the structural problems with our government and the current constitution is a constitutional convention. This is the precise reason why such a provision was put into the current constitution; to allow the people to take control and reform the government when all other avenues have failed.

The state is in dire shape with over $106 billion in debt, a failing pension, government officials on every level being investigated or indicted on federal corruption charges, and the needs and interests of citizens routinely being ignored. Illinois deserves better.

Electing good politicians would help, but there are structural problems in our constitution and laws that close the political process to “outsiders”. Third party and independent candidates, for instance, have to get 10-15 times the number of signatures as “established” parties, for instance. More importantly, constitutions are written to restrict the harm bad politicians can do. That’s why there are “Bills of Rights” and “checks and balances” with a mind of keeping the level of harm as small as possible.

If a convention happens, it will take work to identify and elect reform-minded delegates and it won’t be easy. However, sitting by and hoping things get better means the state gets driven to bankruptcy, more politicians get indicted and the needs of the citizens continue to be ignored. This November, citizens have the power to take back their government and effect the changes that are needed before it’s too late. The General Assembly has failed; now it falls to us.

April 2nd, 2008 Posted by John Bambenek | Columns, Illinois, Illinois Consitutional Convention, Illinois Constitution, Politics, con-con | no comments

On the Road to an Illinois Constitutional Convention

Earlier on this website, news was reported about HRJ0111 that creates a committee of 8 legislators to help prepare the materials for the con-con question that should be put on the 2008 ballot. This has highlighted a simmering debate in the background about whether a con-con would be good for Illinois or not, and there are a variety of perspectives on that. Other media discussions on the con-con this week include an article by The Southern, a talk radio show on the subject by Peoria Pundit, and video from CAN-TV discussing the con-con.

The interesting thing about the debate on this issue as a travel across the state is two-fold. First, honest grassroots people of all political stripes generally agree that both Illinois is in serious constitutional trouble and generally agree about the package of reforms needed. Second, those opposed to a convention do not debate the reforms that are needed, they simply argue that a convention would "make things worse" or that it simply would not be successful.

It is important to point out, my push for a convention is not meant to enshrine conservatism in the Illinois Constitution. While every reform I am pushing is amenable to conservatives, progressives and moderates agree also. A constitution isn’t a place for policy debates, it’s a place to deal with fundamental rights and governmental structure in which amazingly everyone more or less agrees. For instance, recalling elected officials, open ballot access, binding citizen referenda, open government and ending gerrymandering all enjoy majority support in both parties among the grassroots.

If such a push for a convention were meant to establish conservatism as the supreme law of the land, it would fail. Let’s be honest, conservatism isn’t particularly welcome in the Illinois GOP. The push for a convention would allow for people of all political stripes (including conservatives) to freely advocate for their ideas in a meaningful way. An as an aside, I firmly believe that the future of the ILGOP depends on convincing voters of their reform credentials and supporting this convention is about the only way they can assume any real power in this state again.

The push for a convention is meant to open up the political process so people besides entrenched interests can influence the debate on issues. The corruption in the governor’s office is enhanced and incentivized by a constitution that gives him a great deal of power he ought not to have. The governor should not be able to create legislative benefits that no one asked for, no one wants but no one can do anything about. We should not have a chief executive who can establish laws by fiat.

The corruption in the General Assembly is a factor of a legislative structure that insulates the ILGA from public influence. Districts are gerrymandered to make races uncompetitive. Elections push out third parties and independents. The primary system reflects a political reality that hasn’t been true for many decades. Lastly, the legislative leaders (the four tops) have complete control over the legislative process. We do not elect and pay the salaries of 118 representatives and 59 senators just so Sen. Jones and Rep. Madigan can make all the big decisions. Those two can and have unilaterally killed bills, just take a look at HB1 to see how a unanimous bill in the House with 47 Senate cosponsors can be stopped because of one man. We vest too much power in this individuals and we see the logical result… rampant corruption.

Normal Illinois voters see this and are disgusted. They see their friends, families and themselves taxed out of their homes for "pay-to-play" politics. They see government at every level in Illinois under federal investigation. They see other states thrive while Illinois is left behind. Most importantly, the issues important to Illinois voters are left by the wayside.

Not every problem facing Illinois needs to be addressed in a constitution, but many elements of the 1970s constitution (for instance, creating a strong governor) have directly lead to the constitutional crisis we are in now. There exists no other avenue with which to effect these reforms and waiting 20 years ensures that the crisis will grow to the breaking point. This is the last, best hope for normal Illinois voters of all political persuasions to enact the reforms we so desperately need. Illinois deserves better. Join me in making it happen.

March 14th, 2008 Posted by John Bambenek | Illinois, Illinois Consitutional Convention, Illinois Constitution, Politics, con-con | no comments

Illinois Constitutional Convention Tour Stop in Peoria

Well… Kinda. Bill Dennis over at Peoria Pundit had me on his radio show to talk about the Illinois Constitutional Convention and some of the reforms that could take place. You can listen to the show below.

March 11th, 2008 Posted by John Bambenek | Elections, Illinois, Illinois Consitutional Convention, Illinois Constitution, con-con | no comments

Illinois Constitutional Convention Tour Dates

Ok, so it’s not exactly a tour, but I will be speaking about the prospects of an Illinois Constitutional Convention at the following locales:

Feb. 8th, 8:30am-9:30am, 409 Senate, Illinois State Capitol for the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation.

April 25th, 12-2pm at the Chicago Bar Association.

Hoping to finalize the book and have it to publisher on Monday, we’ll see.

February 8th, 2008 Posted by John Bambenek | Illinois, Illinois Consitutional Convention, Illinois Constitution, Politics, con-con | no comments

The Case for an Illinois Constitutional Convention

Governor 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.

The ability to throw a politician out of office after he or she has be shown unwilling or unable to govern according to the public interest is popular among the voters and is growing popular among politicians who want to take revenge against Blagojevich. Yet a convention should include more than just recalls. While throwing public officials out of office that has shown themselves to be a complete failure is a good start, revising the constitution should produce an overall solid framework for good governance.

There are many good reforms that should be considered and factor into a complete rewriting of the Illinois Constitution. The practice of gerrymandering needs to be eliminated. There are disturbingly few uncompetitive races throughout the state. Democrats have their seats, Republicans have theirs and often they do not even try to compete for the other party’s turf. Politicians should not be able to choose their voters; it should be the other way around. Take a look at the map of Illinois Congressional District 4 to see how ridiculous gerrymandered maps can be.

Along with gerrymandering, it is time to consider term limits for every elected and appointed office in the state. Far too many politicians rule “for life” without any real means for the voters to make them responsive to their needs. Every elected office on all levels should be limited to a maximum of 2 terms or 8 years. Likewise, appointed officials who hold a great amount of power who are not directly accountable to the people need to have their terms of office limited as well.

Open ballot access should be implemented. Every person should have equal ballot access regardless of political affiliation or non-affiliation and a true democracy requires nothing less. The freedom to vote does not mean much if there is no real choice. Independents and third-parties often have to get over 10 times the amount of signatures as established parties do. This system has led the federal courts to repeatedly rule against our election system.

Citizens should be allowed to put binding referenda on the ballot. When state lawmakers refuse or are unable to come up with solutions to problems, the citizens should have a means to bring them up directly. Such referenda, to be effective, need to be binding and not subject to overturning except in rare circumstances.

There are those who are against a constitutional convention because they think the current constitution is fine. To show how the current constitution is not “good enough”, take a look at Article VIII Section 2 of the Illinois Constitution which requires that the budget for the state be balanced.

Yet, according to the Commercial Club of Chicago, a prominent business group, the State of Illinois is in about $106 billion worth of debt. Being thoroughly disabused of the notion that a balanced budget requirement in the Illinois Constitution has produced a balanced budget, we can go forward with discussing rewriting the document.

This November, the citizens of Illinois have a great opportunity to take bake their government from the corrupt and entrenched politicians who rule with their “pay-to-play” politics. A convention, however, should not touch on solitary reforms but to reform the entire constitution to create a foundation and framework for good governance in Illinois. Illinois deserves better than this.

January 27th, 2008 Posted by John Bambenek | Columns, Illinois, Illinois Consitutional Convention, Illinois Constitution, Law / Legal Issues, Politics, con-con | one comment

Where in the World is John Bambenek?

So it’s been almost 2 months since I put anything on here and one may be tempted to think I’ve stopped blogging. To be fair, I’ve been tempted to stop blogging too. But mostly I’ve been working on paying gigs lately, writing courseware for SANS and I’m writing a book for The Illinois Citizens Coalition which will be pushing for a yes vote on the question whether to have a constitutional convention in Illinois when it is on the ballot in 2008.

I’ve also published the following articles:

What you say online can be used against you about social networking, government snooping and privacy.

iptables as a replacement for commercial enterprise firewalls which is obviously a technical article.

How Redstate.org is Responsible for the CNN/YouTube Republican Debate Screw-up which is kind of old news now.

I’m still here, stay tuned.

January 15th, 2008 Posted by John Bambenek | Blogging, Illinois, Illinois Consitutional Convention, Illinois Constitution, con-con | no comments