“Yes” For Illinois

On Tuesday, June 24th, Bruno Behrend, co-founder of the Illinois Citizens Coalition and "Yes for Illinois," attended a debate/forum on the Convention Issue.

Chicago Residents Learn Pros and Cons of a Constitutional Convention

Many of the issues that make the other speakers believe that the constitution should be reviewed include the disparity in property taxes, the inequality in education for Illinois children and even the option to recall or impeach elected officials - a topic recently in the news when the senate did not pass a bill that would allow such a measure to become law.

Behrend pointed out that despite the fact that the current constitution has a balanced budget clause, the state is still $106 billion in debt. The document also has a pension guarantee clause which Behrend said will do no good if the state goes bankrupt. Also, the constitution has a clause that calls for equality in education, which Behrend said is definitely not happening now.

"There is no intelligent sound reason to vote no," Behrend said. He added that the convention could cost between $45 and $100 million, however, in his eyes, not holding a convention would eventually cost much more.