Quinn wants Simon as running mate

By Jamey Dunn

Gov. Pat Quinn confirmed Shelia Simon as his pick for the Democratic lieutenant governor candidate at a Chicago news conference this afternoon.

Simon, daughter of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, is a law professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and served on the Carbondale City Council, as well as Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission. She lost a 2007 race for mayor of the city to Brad Cole, who ran for and lost the Republican lieutenant governor nomination in the primary last month.

Quinn said Simon, a longtime friend, would bring geographic balance to the ticket. "I think it’s important to have downstate balance," Quinn said in Chicago today. "It's important to have a downstater."

While Quinn can make suggestions, he has no vote. The Democratic State Central Committee will choose the candidate tomorrow through a weighted voting system. The position has been open since primary winner Scott Lee Cohen stepped aside. Allegations of violence and steroid use in Cohen’s past led him to drop out as the candidate.

Chicago Rep. Art Turner, who came in second in the primary, told reporters today that the he is still in the game. House Democrats held a news conference yesterday in support of Turner, saying he should be the candidate because he was the voters’ next choice after Cohen. Turner has the support of many House members. Democratic Central Committee members Rep. Karen Yarbrough from Maywood and Rep. Constance Howard from Chicago backed Turner at yesterday’s conference.

The State Central Committee is scheduled to choose the candidate tomorrow morning in Springfield. Check back tomorrow for more information.

Primary date moved back

By Jamey Dunn

Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law today that moves the state primary election back to the third Tuesday in March.

The General Assembly moved the date up to the first Tuesday in February before the 2008 primary, when then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama was running for president.

After low voter turnout in this year’s primary, a push began to move the election back to its original date. Quinn and Sen. Deanna Demuzio, a Carlinville Democrat and sponsor of the bill, said that county clerks and election official asked lawmakers to move the election back.

“I think it is back to the future. It’s much better to have a primary on the third Tuesday in March, and that’s what it’ll be in 2012, a presidential year,” Quinn said.

Supporters said voters will have more time to research candidates. Democrats may be hoping that giving constituents more time to vet candidates might prevent any repeats of a scandal such as the one that surrounded little-known pawnbroker Scott Lee Cohen’s win in the lieutenant governor primary race. Cohen stepped aside after allegations of violence surfaced from his past. The Democrats plan to pick his replacement later this month.

The bill had bipartisan support. “It is important that we not have that election so close after the holidays,” Sen. Dale Risinger, a Peoria Republican said.

Sen. Dale Righter, a Mattoon Republican, said the date should never have been moved in the first place. Righter said the new law would correct “a mistake I think that was made three years ago and [get] us back on track.”

Plan to eliminate lt. gov advances

By Jamey Dunn

Whichever candidate becomes lieutenant governor may be the last person to fill the job.

A legislative committee passed a proposal today for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the office.

House Speaker Michael Madigan said eliminating an office with a nearly $2.1 million budget and few duties, other than replacing the governor if he or she is unable to serve, makes sense when the state is strapped for cash.

If the lieutenant governor’s office were eliminated, the attorney general would be next in the line of succession for the governor’s job. That could result in a shift in party power in the highest executive office when a governor of one party could be unable to serve and an attorney general from another party then stepped into the job.

Republican committee members said they supported the amendment in theory but added they did not want to fill up the ballot with constitutional amendments passed by the legislature and crowd off voter initiative amendments that reach the ballot through petitions signed by voters.

“Politically, it’s possible that if you don’t like an amendment to the constitution that is being circulated by the voters, [you could] fill up the ballot with three questions amending three articles and exempt any voter initiative out there to amend the Constitution, and that is my concern,” said Rep. Michael Tryon, a Crystal Lake Republican.

The Illinois Constitution does limit amendments proposed by the legislature to only three articles of the Constitution. For example, the lieutenant governor amendment would apply to the Executive Article, the amendment that would allow voters to recall the governor that will appear on the ballot in the general election will apply to the Suffrage and Elections Article. So if Madigan’s proposal passes, the legislature will only be able to place an amendment to one more article on the ballot in November.

However the section of the Constitution that applies to initiatives sets no such limits on amendments presented by voters. Initiatives can only amend the Legislative Article of the constitution, but the document does not limit the number of initiative amendments that can appear on the ballot.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross made what is perhaps a more pertinent argument in a letter to Madigan that the legislature should address the redistricting process before lawmakers use up all of their opportunities to place amendments on the November ballot.

When asked whether his proposed amendment was a response to the scandal over Scott Lee Cohen winning the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, Madigan said he has been considering the measure for about six months.

As for replacing Cohen, he said the statewide Democratic committee plans to hold an open hearing where applicants can present their credentials, and then the committee would vote to choose a candidate in a public meeting. He said there is no timeline planned for the hearing, but the committee has an organizational meeting planned for March 15 .

Primary election changes considered

By Rachel Wells

After a primary election that resulted in low voter turnout and a lieutenant governor candidate stepping aside amid scandal, legislators are considering some changes to the state’s election process.

HB 4964 would move primary elections from the first Tuesday in February to the third Tuesday in March – the date used before the General Assembly changed it for the 2008 presidential election.

“This is the date that we had lived with for many, many election cycles, and I think that given the experience of the voters and candidates in the February election, it is a good idea to move it back,” said the bill’s sponsor Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat.

HB 5820 – a bill pairing the lieutenant governor and the governor as running mates before the primary – also passed through committee but not without opposition.

“It’s different, of course, than other ideas that are being floated, [including] one to abolish the office entirely. I think this is a better approach, frankly,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat and House assistant majority leader.

The way the lieutenant governor is chosen has come under scrutiny after candidate Scott Lee Cohen, a pawnbroker accused of domestic battery, won the Democratic primary and then stepped aside amid a media storm over his past. The Democratic Party now gets to choose its candidate.

Another proposal, from House Speaker Michael Madigan, calls for a constitutional amendment abolishing the lieutenant governor position altogether.

“Who do you think Gov. Blagojevich would have picked? Harris?” asked Rep. Monique Davis, a Chicago Democrat, referring to the former governor’s chief of staff, John Harris, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud. “You’re saying that whoever the governor is would have the right to choose his or her successor.”

Lang said voters could consider that fact when choosing their candidates. “[The measure] would solve the problem of – as you heard recently – of candidates not being vetted by political parties, which of course they had no responsibility to do in the first place. But this will solve that problem.”

Board of elections may provide primary info

By Jamey Dunn

Voters may soon look to the State Board of Elections for information on candidates in primary races.

Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat, said that her bill, which would require the board of elections to create voter guides for the primary, is not a direct response to this month’s election and noted that she filed the legislation in January.

However, she did say the election, with its tight races and low voter turnout, underscored the need for voters to be more informed about the candidates. She said including primary candidates in the voter guides — which contain basic information submitted by each candidate — that the board of elections now provides for general elections would be a good start.

“It’s a starting place for voters who want to know more — to figure out that there is a crowded field and who looks like a candidate I might want to support,” Currie said.

The Republican primary race for governor, with a field of six candidates, has yet to produce a winner. Sen. Bill Brady from Bloomington leads Sen. Kirk Dillard from Hinsdale by about 400 votes. Counties finish the count of all their absentee and provisional ballots today, but Dillard said he is not making a decision about concession until the votes are officially reported to the board of elections next Tuesday.

Two relatively unknown candidates won their parties’ nominations for lieutenant governor. The Republican candidate, Jason Plummer, is 27 years old, and some have questioned his experience. The former Democratic nominee, Scott Lee Cohen, announced he would step aside last week after allegations of domestic violence in his past created a storm of controversy. Currie’s fellow Democrats have since been criticized for not properly vetting Cohen.

HB 4842 passed in the House with no opposition today. If it passes in the Senate and is approved by the governor, the board of elections would have to add primary races to the voter guides it already publishes on its Web site. The races the board is required to include are for the presidency, U.S. Congress and statewide constitutional offices.

Daniel White, a spokesman for the board of elections, said that adding more entries to the guide should not add cost because it is published online and the candidates are responsible for submitting their information.

“We’re looking at it in terms of providing another tool for voters. … It certainly would be a good place for voters to begin taking a look at the candidates,” he said.

A look back at recount and the lt. gov's office

UPDATE: Scott Lee Cohen stepped down as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Sunday evening. The Illinois Democratic party will chose his replacement. Check back in the coming days for more updates.

Recount

By Jamey Dunn

Illinois laws relating to recounts may soon be implemented in a state race for the first time since they were passed.

While state Sen. Kirk Dillard from Hinsdale has not called for a recount yet, he is not giving up, either. He said he wants to wait until all the votes are counted before he decides. Dillard is vying with Sen Bill Brady from Bloomington for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

"All of the votes aren't in, and there could be between 5,000 and 10,000 votes still out there," Dillard said at a Chicago news conference today.

The last time a candidate requested a recount was in the 1982 governor's race. Republican candidate Jim Thompson led Adlai Stevenson III by a little more than 5,000 votes. Ron Michaelson, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections from 1976 to 2003, said that gap worked out to less than half of a vote per precinct at the time. “It was an incredibly close election. Probably the closest general election in the history of Illinois,” he said.

Instead of making a decision on Stevenson’s request, the Illinois Supreme Court found the recount law unconstitutional, leaving Stevenson with no recourse. Thompson became governor. The legislature changed the law, and it became what we have today.

“The law was fixed, but for state races, it has really never been used since then,” Michaelson said. He added that Dillard does not have to make up his mind about recount right away. “We’ve got a little time for everybody to figure out if they want to pursue it."

Michaelson pointed out that depending on the final numbers, other candidates also could ask for recounts. “Literally, even today, votes are still being counted,” he said. Concessions do not legally bind anyone to dropping out of a race. However, he said he doesn’t think it likely that anyone who has already conceded will ask for a recount.

Winners in all the races will not be declared until the votes are certified on March 5. Candidates then have five days to request a discovery recount.

Candidates can choose up to 25 percent of precincts for consideration, and they must foot the bill for the discovery recount. The Illinois Supreme Court then decides if the results warrant a sate-wide recount. If the Supreme Court gives the go ahead, the burden of cost then falls on the state.

Dillard said he doesn't think waiting to make a decision will hurt party unity. On the contrary, he said it is a plus for Republicans that the party has two candidates to carry its message.

Lieutenant governor

By Rachel Wells

Walker/Hartigan, Stevenson/Fairchild, Blagojevich/Quinn, and now Quinn/Cohen: Governors in Illinois, with a few exceptions, run a streak of less-than-happy lieutenant governor pairings.

So, while shocking, the latest pairing of incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn -- historically portrayed as a squeaky clean reformer -- and political newcomer Scott Lee Cohen -- a pawnshop owner accused of domestic battery -- isn’t entirely surprising. It’s history repeating itself, and we should have seen it coming, a few political observers agree.

“It could have been avoided,” said Mike Lawrence, retired director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. “When the current Constitution was enacted in 1970, it allowed the General Assembly to determine that the governor and lieutenant governor could be nominated jointly. The legislature has never followed up on that.”

Soon after the Constitution was ratified, alarm bells should have sounded in 1973 with the election of Neil Hartigan and Dan Walker, Lawrence said. As an anti-organization candidate, Gov. Walker clashed with Lt. Gov. Hartigan, a Chicago Machine ward committeeman.

Another warning that has since become infamous came in 1986. Although a slew of candidates organized by extremist Lyndon LaRouche Jr. failed to file complete petitions, the Democratic party, whose banner they were running under, put up no protest. The candidates, including eventual lieutenant governor nominee Mark Fairchild, were not seen as threats. To political onlookers’ surprise, Fairchild won the primary and was automatically paired with powerful former U.S. Sen. Adlai Stevenson III. Rather than partner with Fairchild, Stevenson ran under a specially minted party banner but lost to Republican Jim Thompson.

“It was a nightmare for the Democratic Party,” said Michaelson, the former director of the Illinois State Board of Elections. “Of course, the Republicans swept everything.”

“There was a wake up call in 1986, and the General Assembly continued to sleep,” Lawrence said. “I think it’s absolutely irresponsible that something wasn’t done about this a long time ago.”

Lawrence said tying the two positions together for the primary would be ideal. If the legislature doesn’t take action, Lawrence said, the lieutenant governor’s seat should be eliminated and the line of succession reorganized. Either way would help ensure a smooth transition if the governor became unable to serve.

Constitutional convention delegate Dawn Clark Netsch, now a professor at Northwestern University School of Law, said there was discussion in 1970 of eliminating the position, but the idea didn’t gain enough traction. “Probably the argument most made was [the lieutenant governor’s seat] provided another opening … for allowing people who maybe were not part of the establishment … another place for them to get their feet wet,” Netsch said. But, “I think it’s not that useful in that respect. We’ve got enough state elective offices. It certainly does lend itself to occasional problems, like now.”

“I can’t remember why we were not able to pass it after the ‘86 fiasco,” said Netsch, a former state comptroller and Democratic nominee for governor. “I’m sure there are political motivations, but I honestly don’t know what they are.”

Reaction to the 1986 race wasn’t about changing election policy, though, Michaelson said. “Most of the conversation revolved around the ineptness of the Democrats during the primary season.” Between blaming of the media and the party organization for not exposing Fairchild’s flaws, election policy didn’t get enough attention to effect change. The scandal over Cohen’s nomination is panning out in a similar way. Time will tell if it will move past finger-pointing to statutory change.

Besides the Quinn-Cohen situation, the 2010 primary had the potential for other tumultuous pairings because Republican lieutenant governor candidate Matt Murphy unofficially ran with governor candidate Andy McKenna. Former Gov. Jim Edgar on Thursday explained the problems at a post-election analysis:

Edgar insisted that a governor should have confidence in his lieutenant governor for the position to be at all functional.

In the same forum, David Yepson, current director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, called both Cohen and young Republican lieutenant governor nominee Jason Plummer “a bullet in a chamber.”

“Apparently nobody was paying attention to the office of lieutenant governor, and that allowed people to just go their own way and allowed somebody to put enough money (into the race),” Netsch said. “I think they’re going to be paying a little more attention (now). Of course, I thought that in 1986.”

Michaelson expects to hear more talk of abolishing the lieutenant governor seat. “The state is in a terrible position, but I don’t think it is because there is no lieutenant governor ”

Forsyth Republican Rep. Bill Mitchell is the sponsor of a constitutional amendment to eliminate the lieutenant governor's office. He said the fact that the office has been empty since Quinn became governor shows that it is unnecessary.

“I can think of no compelling reason to keep the office,” Mitchell said. “That being said, I think that recent events make my legislation all the more important.”

UPDATE: Voters would also have the chance to eliminate through constitutional amendment the lieutenant governor position, under a resolution introduced by House Speaker Michael Madigan February 10.

If lawmakers approve HJRCA 50, the measure could appear on the Nov. 2, 2010, general election ballot. The bill calls for abolishing the position in 2015 and would make the Attorney General next in line for the Governor’s seat.

Quinn says Cohen must explain his past

Gov. Pat Quinn said at a news conference in Chicago today that his Democratic running mate, Scott Lee Cohen, "has a lot of explaining to do."

“It’s imperative that the lieutenant governor candidate speak up quickly… and completely about very serious matters that I think all of us are concerned about.”

Cohen was charged with domestic battery in 2005. The charges were dropped when Cohen’s then-girlfriend did not appear in court. The police report alleges that Cohen pushed the woman against a wall and threatened her with a knife. Cohen denies the allegations. In the same month as the alleged incident, the woman pleaded guilty to an unrelated prostitution charge, and Cohen has said that he was unaware that she was a prostitute.

“It was a difficult time in my life. I was going through a divorce, and I fell in with the wrong crowd. I was in a tumultuous relationship with the woman I was dating. We had a fight, but I never touched her. She called the police, however, she never came to court, and the charges were dismissed. I realized this relationship was not healthy for me. I ended it, and we parted amicably,” Cohen said in a written statement.

Quinn said he found out about Cohen’s past yesterday morning. Cohen, a Chicago businessman, was the surprise winner of the Democratic primary. He has no prior political experience and his campaign was almost completely self-funded.

Quinn said that Cohen should be given the chance to explain his past, but if the issue becomes too much of a distraction, he should drop out of the race.

“If the explanations are unsatisfactory, if the conduct is inappropriate, the only way to go is to step aside.”

Since Cohen's past was brought to light, rumors have been swirling that Quinn's campaign may try to pressure him off the ticket. Quinn denied this and said he thinks Cohen will "do the right thing."