Illinois Constitution targeted
Nicholas Kerr
Issue date: 10/27/08 Section: News
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For the second time since it was enacted in 1970, the current constitution is up for re-election.
According to Dr. Joseph Gazino, an associate Political Science professor at Lewis University, a constitutional convention is, "calling a group of people together in order to rewrite the constitution. The idea would be to change the bad parts of the Constitution." Gazino mentioned that most of the functions of the Constitution ,in terms of the powers granted to the governor and the legislator, will stay intact.
According to Gazino, if the Constitutional Convention question on the ballot fails the next time there can be a "Con-Con" question on the ballot is 20 years from now. The reasoning for this according to Gazino is, "because a generation is considered to be 20 years and it has been said that every generation should write their own constitution."
The constitution that is drafted by the convention can be voted down by the voters, according to Gazino. Under this scenario, the current constitution would be intact for the next 20 years.
One of the concerns for most voters in the state is ethics reform, given that former Gov. Ryan was convicted of corruption and currently Gov.Blagojevich is under suspicion for also abusing his power. When asked if a new constitution is the best way for the state to enact ethics laws, Gazino stated, "No, the best way to get ethics reform passed is by the legislature. The problem with getting ethics reform passed is, first getting the law passed and second, getting the people who are unethical to act ethically. In Illinois, we have not had success at either."
When asked if a new constitution is needed, Gazino stated, "The current constitution has been around for 40 years and we can live with it." Gazino mentioned that the costs of having a new Constitutional Convention as a reason people are against it. According to Gazino, the costs of holding the convention could be $78 million.
Replying to a question about what he'd like to tell Lewis students about the convention question he said, "You should know that this is a very political process if it is passed. We should pay attention to what is wrong with the current constitution. We have a chance to do innovative stuff, like changing the tax structure for educational funding or making us an energy efficient state."
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