Springfield, IL – Representatives Raymond Poe (R-Springfield) and Rich Brauer (R-Petersburg) expressed disappointment today with the failed passage of a Senate Joint Constitutional Amendment that would have given voters the opportunity to decide if they want the authority to recall elected officials. Senate Joint Constitutional Amendment 70 failed to garner the three-fifths majority required for passage by three votes.
“I was hopeful that this Amendment might have a shot, but I was not surprised to hear that the measure failed in the Senate,” said Poe. “Regardless, it’s disappointing that the Senate Democrats were unwilling to allow the people of Illinois the right to recall public officials that are unfit to continue their duties. I am hopeful that we will be able to address this issue again in the future.”
Senate Joint Constitutional Amendment 70 allowed for recall of a larger number of public officials than the House approved recall that was approved in April. Under the Senate Amendment, judges and elected local government officials who get salaries would have been added to the list of statewide officials and members of the legislature that were originally included in the House recall Amendment.
“I think the Senate vote today goes to show that, while people like Governor Blagojevich publicly supported the recall effort, there was a big push behind the scenes to make sure the measure failed,” said Brauer. “While this measure is dead for the time being, I don’t see this issue going away anytime soon.”
Sunday, May 4th is the deadline for the legislature to act on proposed constitutional amendments. As a result, there is little chance that a recall proposal will be placed on the general election ballot this fall.
