Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Importance of Elections

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

The Illinois Supreme Court has been busy, and while most of the news coverage has been on wills and religion, sex offenders, and the death penalty, let's not forget another ruling that came down this week. In Gardner v Mullins, a unanimous court ruled that units of government cannot manipulate the length of time an appointee serves in elected office in order to avoid the voters. (download a pdf) We applaud the Court for preserving the integrity of the ballot.

The case arose after the death of an elected member of the Winnebago County Board. Mary Ann Aiello's term was to end on December 6, 2010. Her death on June 26, 2008 cut that short, leaving just over 29 months remaining on her term. According to state law, partial terms of more than 28 months can be filled by appointment only until the next General Election which, in this instance, would have been in November, 2008. The Winnebago County Board, however, did not appoint a successor until two months had elapsed, so that only 27 months remained in the term. That appointee then claimed that he did not have to stand for election until 2010.

The ability to appoint members to elected bodies is one of the more delicate powers given to public officials. The goal is to ensure a modicum of public representation until the voters can voice their desires. Special elections can be costly and generally draw low voter turnout; for many offices, Illinois policy is to allow for interim appointments until the next regular election.

But the power can be and has been abused. Most political observers can cite an instance or three of the swapping of one candidate for another after the primary or the substitution of one official for another after the election, all without asking the voters if they approve of the change. Usually, there is no recourse when the new official lacks credibility, except to wait for the next election.

In this case, the Supreme Court has narrowed the circumstances where a public body can manipulate the process to ensure that a favored person becomes a public official. By ruling that the remaining time on the ballot, which determined how soon voters are consulted, is calculated from the start of the vacancy and not the time of the appointment, the Court has appropriately make clear that voters should be consulted whenever possible, and not merely when convenient for the appointers. The unanimity of the ruling, written by Justice Garman, underscores this important point.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

Read more...

Pressure builds for another Illinois politician to step down

By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn today called on U.S. Sen. Roland Burris to resign and once again threw his support behind a special election to fill the seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

Quinn said at a Chicago press conference that the mounting controversy over the circumstances of Burris’ appointment has made him unable to be an effective U.S. senator. He said he would consider a resignation from Burris a “heroic” way for the senator to preserve his legacy.


“I would ask my good friend, Sen. Roland Burris, to put the interests of the people of the Land of Lincoln first and foremost, ahead of his own, and step aside and resign from his office,” he said.

Quinn said that he hopes to see the seat vacated and legislation that would allow a special election within a week.

But Burris is still in office and hasn’t stepped down, despite growing pressure for him to do so, including a strong message from Obama’s press secretary earlier today. And negotiations on the idea of a special election still have a way to go. Quinn supports a bill from Rep. Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat, that would require a special election if the seat became vacant more than 180 days before the general primary.

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, who joined a group of Republicans yesterday to call for a special election, said she wants the primary for the proposed special election to be held with the April 7 municipal general election and the special election to take place 30 days after. She said that would save the state money.

Franks said Radogno is jumping ahead in the process and that a date cannot be set as long as Burris is in office. He said that it would be impossible to hold the primary for the special election in conjunction with the April election because there is not enough time. Franks said he wants a timeline to be set that could be used if the seat became vacant. He proposed a bill that would call for a special election within four months of the vacancy.

However, both Franks and Radogno support reimbursing local governments for some of the cost of a special election.

Franks is counting on Republican backing once all the details have been ironed out, but he said he’s not sure if there would be enough support from House Democrats. When a special election was proposed in December after former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest, Democrats blocked it. But Franks said he thinks that they would be more willing to negotiate now. “At least we’re talking about it, and now it’s much more serious than it was just a few days ago,” he said.

Read more...