I can’t recall…
Published by Al Adomite on April 16th, 2008
By Al
What a fitting topic for a first post than the (dramatic) debate this afternoon in Springfield regarding the proposed recall provision (HJRCA 28) to be added to our State’s constitution. The debate (Rich Miller has audio if you’re a Capital Fax subscriber) included a lot of grandstanding from all sides, as well as some thoughtful discussion and questions from southern Illinois senators Dale Righter and Jim Clayborne.
The fact that it took the Senate Committee 30 minutes to settle down into the debate might be enough for citizens to support a recall provision (I’ll post more about the general civility in Springfield later), but some of the debate centered around whether local and county officials should be added to the recall bill.
I’m a local official and I wouldn’t be shy about saying I would have no problem seeing a recall provision for local officials. Not that I could cite any local examples of officials needing to be recalled, but I think the greater authority in the hands of the voters is a positive thing. Especially since our State Constitution is woefully inadequate in providing the opportunity for citizen-initiated referenda (or at least binding referenda). Missouri is dramatically different.
That leads to my question, which might not receive as much attention due to the infancy of our blog, but…What do you think about giving voters the ability to recall politicians?
Filed under State Issues
April 20th, 2008 at 11:56 am
I personally think that this would be a positive step in restoring the power of government to the people. I also think that it is time for all meetings whether city, county, state, or school boards, be open to the public and agendas published in such a manner that the public knows what is coming up for discussion.The next and perhaps more important step, beyond the control of the legislators and government officials, is for the people to become more intimately involved in the day to day workings of government. Unless there is a willingness on the part of our elected officials to make government more transparent it will be difficult for the people to discern when and whom should face a recall petition.