Conservative Group to Attempt to Expand Illinois Recall Provision
Former Governor Rod Blagojevich, who probably should have been recalled before he was impeached, but the state didn’t implement a recall provision until 2010. A conservative group is hoping to expand the state’s recall provision through a ballot initiative next year.
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A conservative group is planning to lead a citizen’s ballot initiative next year to strengthen the state’s recall provisions, which have been in statute since 2010.
The Illinois Opportunity Project, which has been tied in the past to Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman and conservative talk show host Dan Proft is expected to announce the ballot initiative next week. They’ll be using a proposed constitutional amendment that’s been drafted by Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) as the basis for the citizen’s initiative next year.
Currently, only a Governor can be recalled, but Batinick’s legislation expands it to all constitutional officers, and he supports including legislative leaders, the Auditor General, all members of the House and Senate, and even local officials.
But, under Batinick’s plan, to get a recall on the ballot, a petitioner would have have 90-days to collect 12% of the number of signatures who voted in the last gubernatorial election. So a petitioner would need to collect some 545,000 signatures just to hold the recall at the next scheduled election.
Batinick says, unlike California, where a Governor can be tossed out of office falling just one vote short of a majority, Illinois would require a 60% vote to remove an elected official from office. There also wouldn’t be a separate replacement election held at the same time. A recall would just create a vacancy in the office. Governor would be filled by a Lt. Governor and another constitutional officer would be appointed.
Batinick tells The Illinoize should have more control over the process than politicians.
“Citizens should have an ability to fire somebody, mid-contract, if they make a mess of things,” Batinick said. “I don’t think recall should be used for purely partisan purposes, recall should be used when people do bad things and people are disgusted with it and want them to go away.”
He hinted that voters should have had the chance to recall Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park), who has continued to serve while under federal indictment.
A spokesperson for the Illinois Opportunity Project says a citizen initiative is one of the only ways to force a public discussion over holding corrupt politicians accountable.
“It will be a grassroots-driven effort to collect the signatures necessary to get on the ballot,” a spokesperson for the organization said. “We’ve talked with hundreds of activists, volunteers, local organizations, local leaders, and elected officials across the state who are excited to be part of a movement to empower voters with tools of accountability.”
It would require around 360,000 valid signatures filed by May 8 to get the proposed amendment on the ballot next year. But the effort could face legality questions, as the state constitution only allows citizen initiatives to change the “structure and function of the General Assembly.”
That clause ended up being the main reason a 2016 effort to install independent redistricting failed to reach the ballot.