It seems everyone has something they would like to change in the Illinois constitution. They just disagree on whether they would call a Con-Con in order to make those changes. Sydelle Moore and Rob Runyan examined some of the issues and the accompanying debates that are likely to come up if a Con-Con is called. Then they placed them along an interactive road to good intentions for you to check out.
Illinois voters will get the opportunity in November to call for the first constitutional convention since 1970 when the current constitution was written. Although voters turned down the last Con-Con vote by a 3-to-1 margin, convention proponents like their chances better this year. They count the myriad items they say need to be addressed in a Con-Con, but one issue, recall, seems to resonate above the rest with voters. The chance to recall elected officials, such as Gov. Rod Blagojevich, may give Con-Con a chance, but naysayers warn it is a dangerous motivation for revisiting the entire constitution. Which argument will be more convincing won’t be known until November.
Voters are fed up with their governor and persistent budget blow-ups. According to the Illinois constitution, a vote on holding a constitutional convention must be held every 20 years. Now citizen groups and the Con-Con ballot initiative may give voters a chance to take back their government. But when it comes to strategy, the question for these groups isn't just how, but how many people and how much money?
Interview with Dawn Clark Netsch, law professor, former Illinois state comptroller and delegate to the 1970 Constitutional Convention, who shares her memories of helping to write the state constitution that stands today. She talked with Rob Runyan about how the convention worked then, how it might be different today and why she thinks voting for another convention in order to recall the governor is a dangerous motivation.