Time to shake up the power structure in this sausage factory

July 09, 2007

By Cynthia Canary

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"If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made."

 

That warning, made by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck long before YouTube and 24-hour news channels, has held true for many decades.

 

But the inaction of state legislators and the governor is beginning to turn Bismarck's truism upside down in Springfield, where the weak of stomach have been spared much activity for months. If the state Capitol were a sausage factory, only the pigs would be happy.

 

The legislative process has never been pretty or easy in Illinois or pretty much anywhere else in America. But given that Democrats have a majority in the Illinois General Assembly and occupy every elected statewide office, they should have been able to agree on an annual state budget long before the fiscal year began on July 1.

 

It's not just the budget. Other major concerns like the quality of public schools, public transit, skyrocketing electric rates, pension debt and even ethics are debated but not resolved.

 

It's no wonder that a recent poll found 90% of Illinoisans believe changes are needed in the way we govern and practice politics in this state.

 

We should begin by shaking up the power structure and rules that help determine who gets a vote in Springfield.

 

By drawing legislative district lines to maximize election victories for the party in power, incumbents have a great advantage, the pool of possible opponents is thinned and no ideas are debated in campaigns. Taking political leaders out of the redistricting process would open campaigns to more candidates and interest more voters.

 

Similarly, limiting the size of campaign contributions would force candidates to reach out to more ordinary citizens for small contributions, and citizens would be less likely to give up on a system because they see it as a government for sale.

 

Limits also should be applied to legislative leaders, who controlled more than $12 million in campaign contributions to legislative candidates in the last election. To a large degree, control of such large campaign bank accounts also gives the leaders control over the future elections of the rank and file. That check-writing power can produce timid legislators who avoid confrontation.

 

Of course, only state government leaders can change the way we elect state government leaders.

 

That's not quite the equivalent of Jimmy Dean allowing the pigs to determine the future of the sausage factory. But if the sausage factory ever shuts down due to lack of a budget, the pigs may get the chance to do just that.