“Yes” For Illinois

CONVENTION FORUM TO BE HELD AT OAK PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Changed from Sept 10th to Sept 30th

A forum open to the public on whether or not to convene an Illinois Constitutional Convention will be held in the Veterans’ Room of the Oak Park Public Library, Lake Street and Grove Avenue, at 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on September 30th.

On November 4, voters in Illinois will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” to convene the convention. According to article XIV of the 1970 Illinois constitution, Illinois voters shall decide every 20 years whether a constitutional convention shall be convened for the purpose of drafting a new constitution. The most recent convention occurred in 1970. Other Illinois constitutions have been written in 1818, 1848, and 1870.

The participants include Bruno Behrend and a representative from the Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution to be announced later. Behrend, a River Forest attorney, is host of the “Extreme Wisdom” Radio Talk Show and co-founder of the state-wide grass roots organization “YES for Illinois.” He is the co-author of “Illinois Deserves Better” and favors convening Con Con. The Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution opposes convening Con Con.

Proponents and opponents of a new constitution argue whether a new constitution is needed to address abuses in the Illinois political landscape.

Among issues to be addressed in the forum are the ability of the present constitution to effect term limits, reform in divorce law, recall of elected officials, proliferation of the number of taxing bodies in Illinois (8000 compared to 5000 in the runner-up state of Pennsylvania), dissolution of the township form of government, gutting of tax caps by use of unlimited “life safety” bonding power by school districts, abuse of zoo, exotic, and carnival animals, judicial retention, merit selection of judges, inappropriate tax-increment funding districts, ethics reform, legislative pay increases, professional prerequisites for legislators, imposition of special service area taxes without representation, and legislative district gerrymandering.

The forum will include a question and answer session.

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