Progress Illinois

Hopes for long-overdue reforms in Illinois property taxation, school funding, and stronger political ethic laws were dashed with the November 4, 2008 defeat of the Illinois Constitutional Convention Referendum by a 62-38 percent margin with 99% of the precincts reported.

Prejudicial wording on the ballot measure confused voters, and opponents sewed the seeds of fear that killed the initiative – one that comes before voters once every 20 years.

Dusty politicians, union and political lobbyists suggested that the best way to institute needed reforms was to wait on our legislators or elect new legislators to grapple with these issues. We should trust that these legislators will not be influenced by special interests, burdened by reelection requirements or be subject to the leadership, as the architects of perpetual gridlock.

Three prominent thinkers endorsed a vote yes on calling a citizens convention. Paul Vallas, nationally recognized former CEO of the Chicago Public Schools for raising test scores and balancing budgets. And Cook County Assessor James Houlihan and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.---all know a thing or two about the dire need for more equitable systems for taxation and school funding.

Unfortunately, their support, along with the efforts of under funded grassroots organizations (left, right and center), was not enough to bring the national mandate for change in alignment with local needs for action.

Chicago minority communities strongly supported the referendum, while communities with higher number of union and public employees tended to oppose it. In Chicago, for example, minority communities cast the highest number of yes votes for the constitutional convention --- between 48% to 55% of the electorate.

50% or greater voted yes for a con con referendum in communities like Englewood, West and East Garfield Park, Lawndale, Chicago Lawn, Chatham, and Greater Grand Crossing. These are neighborhoods with citizens that have seen first hand the inequities of our school funding and tax systems. These communities voted on faith and not fear in spite of a $600,000 radio and TV anti-Con Con ads.

In Mt. Greenwood and Jefferson-Edison Park, with heavy populations of public employees and retirees, voters heard their pensions might be threatened, and they voted against Con Con by 70%.

The wording on the ballot, crafted in back rooms by our legislators, was so prejudicial that the courts declared it unconstitutional and ordered supplemental clarification language to be handed to each voter. The court ordered constitutional referendum clarifications to be made available to voters varied greatly from precinct to precinct, as did the methods of posting the same in or around the voting booths. The only thing that was consistent among voters was the confusion and misunderstanding about what this referendum called for.

When the Illinois legislature can stop school funding reform, and true property tax reform, and then taint the ballot language on an historical public policy issue that comes only every 20 years -- there is something fundamentally broken in our government.

The 1,739,366 yes votes for a Con Con was, at the very least, a demand for a more equitable tax system to better educate our children and to keep our property tax bills payable.

A huge price was paid for the no vote stealthily orchestrated by union bosses and well connected political consultants. That price was a continuation of under funded public school system in areas that have low to modest priced homes and of course, higher property tax bills in the future.

Let's see how our legislators solve the largest district-to-district educational funding gap in the nation in the coming years.

Andrea Raila

I guess that the author of the above does not have a pension at risk by this proposed con-con. Any government employee, including teachers, firefighters, and police officers, pensions are protected under the present constitution and the Illinois Municipal league wants to change that because it costs them money. Their lobbyists have been after these pensions for a long time, and a short time ago they got their hands on the teachers penson fund, drained it, and turned it back over to the teachers saying "Oops". Is that fair? These employees contribute to these funds as well as the cities and school districts. What if your employer was able to raid your 401K or Roth IRA anytie they wanted and then just turn around when it was drained and hand it back to you and say "Oops"? Think about that and how underpaid our teachers are to begin with, and now you are going to take away the one thing that keeps teachers coming to the state? Take away the security of the cities because of the loss of the police officers and firefighters because they don't have the security of their pensions? And remember, as a private sector employee you have the benefit of Social Security that these public employees that have a public pension, don't get. Think about that before we approve opening the Constition to the lobbyists and legislature that we are saying is flawed to begin with!

I believe the people have spoken in regard to the question of the Constitutional Convention. With the newspaper articles, pamphlets send via USPS explaining the pros/cons of this question, news on all television channels, advertisements for and against this question, I believe the people clearly knew what they were responding to when they were voting. The blue flyer itself, was unnecessary, we the people understood the question. Legal jargon, a way for those who did not get the result that they wanted want to pursue a court case wasting more time and money that should be spent on worthwhile efforts, such as the school funding that they continue to feel is needed in this state.

If there are issues that need to be addressed with the Constitution, amendments can be added in many ways without spending the money (that we do not have in this state) and recreating an entirely new constitution.

One would ask, do we need to redo the Constitution of the United States? I think not! So, why do we need to redo the Illinois Constitution? To lay the blame for mismanagement on the state constitution or the leaders???