* In the wake of yesterday’s House passage of a constitutional amendment providing for recall of state officials, Statehouse reporters went over some various obstacles today to getting the amendment on the November ballot.
* SJ-R…
Both Senate President Emil Jones, who could block the idea or ensure its defeat, and Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson said they needed to review the measure before deciding its fate.
Halvorson is running for Congress and the Rules Committee that she chairs is already bottling up a major ethics bill. If Rules blocks the recall amendment, this would definitely be an issue in her race, so I think it’s a big reason why it might actually make it to a standing committee, where it may die.
* The Senate only has until May 4th to approve the amendment, and the Sun-Times looks at the history of constitutional amendments in Illinois…
The last time a constitutional amendment passed either chamber was eight years ago.
The last time a proposed amendment was acted on by both the House and Senate and went before voters was 1998.
And the last time all of that happened and the state Constitution actually was amended was 1994.
* Despite all this, the Tribune editorial page continued its drumbeat…
That said, Jones and his Democrats have so many ways to game this: They can bury recall legislation in a dead-end committee, they can change it in ways the House won’t accept, they can ignore it.
Or Jones and his fellow Democratic senators can give Illinois citizens a voice. If the senators, or the citizens, don’t want this amendment, they’re free to vote against it.
What Jones and Co. aren’t free to do is ignore the overwhelming majority of Illinois voters who expect to see a recall amendment on the ballot when they go to the polls Nov. 4.
* And the Sun-Times editorializes against it…
This is not a defense of Blagojevich. We’re as disgusted by the stalemate in Springfield as everyone else. But recall powers, which first require approval by the General Assembly and then Illinois voters on Nov. 4, would stick around well after Blagojevich leaves office, undermining effective government.
* Read the proposal here.
* Meanwhile, the bad blood over Blagojevich is bringing more possible gubernatorial contenders to the fore…
State Sen. Dan Rutherford said Tuesday he is considering the possibility of running for governor in 2010.
The Chenoa Republican has previously said he wants to run for a statewide office, and Tuesday said he hasn’t ruled out a bid for the top spot.
‘’That’s not an announcement for governor,'’ Rutherford said. ‘’But it’s also a statement saying that we’re not excluding that as an option.'’ […]
Republican state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington has said he’s planning to run again for governor in 2010.