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When Illinois voters step to the voting booths on November 4th, they may be surprised to find a referendum on a constitutional convention. According to the Illinois Constitution, this referendum question must be placed on the ballot every 20 years, giving the electorate the option to call a convention to come up with a new constitution for the state.
State Rep. Jay Hoffman, a Democrat from Collinsville, opposes the idea and says voters should vote “no” on Election Day.
“I don’t think anyone would entertain throwing out the U.S. Constitution,” Hoffman said. “That’s what ours is based on. Our constitution, like the United States Constitution, has methods of amending it through referendum. From my standpoint, instead of throwing out the entire constitution, if there are specific articles or sections that people have problems with, they ought to look at the amendment process as opposed to a constitutional convention.”
According to Hoffman, 10 amendments have been passed specific to the constitutional provisions since 1970.
A broad coalition of varied interests called The Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution has combined together to try to defeat the referendum in November. The Illinois State Chamber of Commerce is a member of the Alliance. Doug Whitley is the Illinois Chamber’s president.
“The Alliance started out with basically big labor and big business,” said Whitley, “but all kinds of organizations have chosen to align themselves with the Alliance. For whatever reasons, they independently came to the conclusion that a new constitutional convention was not necessary. The Alliance did not go out of its way to recruit members; members actually volunteered to join The Alliance, which I think is kind of a unique phenomenon. It’s made up of all kinds of organizations: business, labor, nonprofit organizations, community groups and civic groups - all of whom have come to the conclusion that a constitutional convention is not a good idea.”
The last convention was held in 1970 and resulted in the current state constitution. Pursuant to that constitution, the question of holding another convention was placed on the ballot in 1988 but it was defeated. It requires a 60 percent approval to pass.
According to Whitley, The Alliance is concerned that the people of Illinois are frustrated with the state legislature, and they may choose to take out that frustration on this issue.
“We think that’s a misdirected solution to voter frustration,” he said. “It’s not the constitution that’s broken. It’s the political system that’s broken, and the best way to fix that is to change the personalities. There’s an old expression in politics: ‘If you can’t change the thinking, then you need to change the thinkers.’ That’s exactly where we are here. The solution to that is in the ballot box, but it’s on the individual candidates who are running for office…not changing the constitution.”
Whitley says another reason that voters should oppose a constitutional convention is the cost. The Alliance estimates the price tag at over $70 million and claims that it could go as high as $100 million.
In addition, Whitley says, there are other reasons that businesspeople should oppose it. One is that the current constitution does not provide for initiatives - a measure that is prevalent in some states.
“From a businessperson’s perspective,” Whitley said, “the initiative process that’s used in other states - like California - tends to be driven by people who are trying to target business interests with their initiatives. So the business community ends up spending millions of dollars every year in California just to defend itself against initiatives. The last thing we want to have in Illinois is another California initiative kind of process.”
The other reason businesspeople should be wary of a new constitutional convention, according to Whitley, is the income tax. The 1970 constitution set up an income tax structure that tied individual and corporate tax rates together in a 5 to 8 ratio. Taxes on businesses cannot be raised without raising taxes on individuals - and, if raised, they must maintain the same 5 to 8 ratio.
Whitley says that with the current climate in the state capitol, there could be a real push on shifting a greater portion of the tax burden to businesses.
“There are more threats to businesses than there are benefits to businesses by having a constitutional convention,” said Whitley.
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, however, is a proponent of holding the convention. He says that, for example, Illinois’ tax system has been found by independent entities to be one of the 10 worst in the country - and that Illinois’ lax ethics laws have resulted in one governor in jail and another one under federal investigation. Quinn says a convention is the only way that something like recall will have a chance at getting into the constitution, because otherwise the powers that be will simply kill it as they did in the most recent legislative session.
“I think the convention is healthy because it forces the apostles of the status quo - the insiders - to realize that they just can’t run government,” said Quinn. “The government doesn’t belong to them. It belongs to the voters of Illinois. If the voters decide that they’re not happy with the way their government is running, the voters can change the basic architecture of the constitution. It’s a unique way to break the gridlock and give the people of Illinois a chance to get reform that they’ve been seeking but have been unable to get through the normal legislative process.”
Quinn says he realizes that there are powerful forces lined up against the referendum in the body of The Alliance - and that they will probably spend millions in an effort to defeat it.
“They should call it ‘The Alliance to Protect the Status Quo,’” Quinn said. “They’re made up of all the lobbyists and people who are kind of on the inside of the system. They’re about the last people in the world that would be for a constitutional convention. We think this is a way for voters to send a message to Springfield - a message to people in higher office - that the voters are not happy with the status quo. If you want to change the system, you would be well advised not to listen to that group,” he added.
“The status quo artists intend to spend millions of dollars urging people to vote no,” said Quinn. “We’re going to have our hands full against them, but I believe we have the right message…and even though we’re out-spent, I think we can win the day.”
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