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unheard of. There's a healthy sentiment in Springfield right now about all of this. I think it's possible for us to capture
that same spirit," he added.
If a three-fifths vote of both the Illinois Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives is achieved in favor of
amending the constitution to allow for a recall provision, Cronin said the resolution would then hit the governor's desk for
his approval. That shouldn't be a problem, he said. Cronin and Franks plan to bring the legislation to the floors of both
state bodies when sessions resume in January.
"When I first proposed this in early August, he (Blagojevich) said he'd be supportive of it, just as he would of term
limitations," Cronin said. "This is in contrast to a few years ago, on the campaign trail, when he was on the record as
saying he would oppose provisions for a recall."
State Rep. Jack Franks, an upstate Democrat from Woodstock, is the Illinois House sponsor of the recall resolution. Cronin
said Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, also a Democrat, supports the resolution, according to Cronin.
Should the constitutional amendment be achieved, step two toward a potential recall of Illinois' governor, he said, would
be to put the question to the voters - the question of whether Illinois should hold a recall election to decide the fate of
its current governor. This would need to be determined via a referendum on the March 2008 ballot, and a simple majority
would be needed.
"If the result of this referendum is in favor of holding a recall election, then we would need to start circulating
petitions among those who voted in the most recent gubernatorial election (of 2006)," said Cronin. "It's my sense that the
tougher part of the process will be that first part - getting the amendment to the constitution made. My sense is that the
petitions would spread like wildfire."
According to state law and the specific text of the resolution, at least 12 percent of those who voted in the 2006
gubernatorial election - 430,521 voters - would be required to sign the recall petition. The petition signatures would have
to come from at least five different counties in Illinois. According to the joint resolution, the required number of
signatures would have to be obtained within 160 days.
If all the signatures are obtained, a special recall election would be called within 60 to 80 days, Cronin said, or the
recall election could be combined with the next regularly scheduled election if one is occurring within 180 days after the
petition signatures are collected and certified.
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If the simple majority vote on the recall election is in favor of recalling the governor, he would be removed from
office, Cronin said. According to the current text of the bill, "if there is a candidate, he or she who receives a plurality
is the successor for the balance of the term. The officer subject to recall (Blagojevich) may not be a candidate."
Although the text of the bill does not specify any more detail as to how the office of the governor would be filled if
the recall were successful, Cronin said it is probable that the lieutenant governor would immediately succeed the governor
on an interim basis until an election were held and a candidate determined.
Without any recall or without a successful recall, Blagojevich's second four-year term as governor will reach its natural
conclusion in January 2011. If the recall were not successful, citizens would have the option of launching another recall
but not for at least another six months, according to the language in the bill.
"Our recall provision and process is modeled after California's," said Cronin. "Recall has been around for over 200
years. Although California, for example, has had the recall provision in its constitution since 1911, it has only been used
successfully once - and that was in 2003 when voters replaced incumbent Democratic Gov. Gray Davis with Republican Arnold
Schwarzenegger."
Cronin said his motivation in taking the lead to make sure Illinois has a recall provision in its constitution - and in
making sure its citizens have the option in real time to exercise such a provision with their current governor - is
motivated by the actions and inaction of Blagojevich.
"As the Republican Party chairman in my county, I really feel a duty to show the difference between our political
parties," he said. "But beyond that, I think all of us in Springfield, regardless of our party affiliation, are completely
frustrated, disappointed and disillusioned with what is going on. Recall is a measured response that should be available to
all of us as citizens of this state. If this governor were the head of a private enterprise, any board of directors would
have thrown him out at this point. Four years is just too long a time to sit back and incur the damage if you've got a bad
chief executive. And sadly, that's what we've got," he added.
Another reason for citizens to support amending the Illinois Constitution, voting in favor of the referendum, signing the
petition and voting "yes" on a recall ballot, Cronin said, would be to curb the growing, uneasy trend of big government that
is catching on in the state rotunda.
"What we saw this past legislative session, and what we will probably see more and more of if a Democratic governor
remains in control, are sessions that last all year long and more and more new, expensive programs with no way to fund
them," he said. "Our state legislature will begin to look more like Congress."
For more information on Cronin's recall resolution, see www.illinoisrecall.com.
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