FWIW (nothing) that is the single fact that ultimately swung my vote to ‘yes’. Plenty of special interest groups will take a hard run at the thing, and the process will be expensive, no doubt about that either. But the draft will be required to pass a vote in a general election.
Hey, I’ve got a great idea! Maybe Blago can sell another of his planes! That would help offset the cost! Oh wait, probably wouldn’t help.*
*He owns several, since he has never spent the night in the governor’s mansion in Springfield. He flies back and forth to Chicago instead, at public expense, of course. Recently he was forced to sell one for funds to stop closure of a long list of state parks. Huge public outcry–too bad he promptly refused to release the money from the plane sale. It’s nice Chicago geriatrics like him because he loathed, and I mean hated, downstate.
Illinois government has reached levels of corruption not normally found outside of Nigeria or Uzbekistan. Three of the last six elected governors have gone to jail, and it’s just a matter of time before Blagojevich makes it four out of seven.
(Jim “the Skim” Thompson could have made it five out of seven, but he flipped and turned state’s evidence against Conrad Black.)
However, if we hold a Con Con, the first thing it will do will be to repeal the constitutional ban against a progressive state income tax, and Big Government will have opened up yet another teat by which to milk me.
I’ll believe that this will lower my admittedly humongous property taxes when my fellow pigs sprout wings.
Yeah, I live in the ghetto of Dupage County, so I’d LOVES me some lower property taxes, but I don’t see that coming, via either a Con Con or torches and pitchforks at County Farm and Manchester.
Yeah. But don’t blame me. I voted Green for Gov. - Rich Whitney - he was the one actually discussing moving school funding to income tax from property tax. And the underreported news of that election was that the Greens got over 10% of the vote!
The Green showing really was more representative of how piss poor the other choices were. Not love of the Green Party. We tend to vote for Governor based on the individual more than the party here. Lisa Madigan (highly probable as next up) will likely keep the disaffecteds in the tent.
Mrs Haven (active in League of Women Voters for Illinois) says it’s a waste of time and money. Yes, there are things that need to be fixed, but fix them one at a time through the legislature. Otherwise, the special interests will “compromise” – you give me this one, I’ll give you that one. And any amended Constitution will have to be offered to the voters, 'tis true, but it will be an all-or-nothing vote.
Heck, if ever a Constitutional Convention were required, it’s at federal level – do away with the electoral college, re-write the “right to bear arms” in a way compatible with the 21st century rather than the 18th, etc.
In fact, the Constitution provides for a convention, if called for by 2/3 of both houses of Congress or by 2/3 of the state legislatures. It’s never been done, though.
Jefferson, I believe, said the Constitution should be completely discarded and a new one written every 20 years or so, on the grounds that you cannot expect a man to wear a boy’s jacket.
+1; if they want to make changes, let’s do so deliberately and clearly, one issue at a time. There’s nothing Con Con can accomplish that Amendments can’t.
Plus, a very personal reason I’m voting “No”: my mother’s a schoolteacher, only 3 years away from retirement. She’s terrified that if the Con Con happens, her pension’s going to be taken away. If that happens, she’s got nothing - Illinois schoolteachers are not allowed to collect Social Security (although I think they still pay into it.) I’m voting “No” because, as much as I love my mother, I really don’t want her to have to move in with us in three years!
We have the same thing on the Connecticut ballot, but it’s really just so they can add a marriage definition. Not that they come out and say that in the commercials asking you to support it, of course.
I’m very ambivalent, tho tending towards no. As others said, any problems could be addressed through legislation. Basically, I’m so scared of the bums we have top to bottom, that I don’t trust them to not screw things up worse. Pretty sad.
I’d be against it - I guess I’m Con-Con-Con-Con - and against released felons from joining my cause - Con-Con-Con-Con-Con - We can do that can’t we? Yes we Con!
None, but the point is that they have not been accomplished in the nearly 40 years since the last constitution took effect. They have a much better chance of being enacted if we write a new constitution.
I am a teacher as well, and our union is using this line of thought to get us to vote no. However, our pension is a valid contract and is therefore protected by the federal constitution. No future Illinois constitution can legally break this contract.
Which leads back to my question: how are delegates to the convention chosen? Why do you, for instance, believe that a convention will provide you better results than your elected representatives have not for 40 years?
