Recall amendment down to wire

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Supporters of amending the state constitution to allow for recall elections quickly are running out of time to put it before voters in the November election. State Rep. Jack Franks, the Woodstock Democrat who drafted the bill, and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn are asking voters to call their state senators to pressure them to get the amendment to the Senate floor. It currently sits in the Senate Executive Committee, where Quinn and Franks allege it is being held to die by one senator who opposes it. "It's imperative that individual members of the Senate, Democrats and Republicans alike, make clear to the leadership that this constitutional amendment is important, that it's imperative the Senate take a position on it and vote on it," Quinn said. Franks' bill, which would allow voters to collect signatures to force recall elections for statewide officials and General Assembly members, cleared the House earlier this month with the needed three-fifths majority. But its chief sponsor in the Senate is state Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, who told the Chicago Tribune that the idea was "stupid." The Senate must approve the bill by a three-fifths majority, or at least 36 of its 59 members, by May 4 for voters to be asked the question on Election Day. "It's not over yet, let's say it that way," Franks said. "I still think it's 50-50, depending on what pressure we can put on these guys." The bill is widely seen as an effort by Franks, a vocal and frequent critic of unpopular Gov. Rod Blagojevich, to remove him from office. Quinn has steered clear of the issues surrounding the governor, but has long been an advocate of recall elections, which are allowed in 18 other states. After a contentious and insult-filled Executive Committee meeting last week pitting Franks and Quinn against the bill's opponents, Trotter did not bring the bill forward for a vote to move it to the Senate floor Ñ a bill's sponsor has the power to move it forward or hold it back. "They're entitled to their point of view," Quinn said, "but if they put up a roadblock, it becomes undemocratic." Trotter is an ally of Senate President Emil Jones, who is a close ally of Blagojevich. Jones broke with General Assembly leaders last year to back Blagojevich's amendments to the state budget. Shortly after Trotter became chief sponsor of the recall bill, Franks petitioned the Senate Rules Committee to change the sponsor to his choice, pro-recall state Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Highwood, but the committee denied the motion 3-2. Franks said he has filed motions for the committee to revisit his request. Trotter said his intent is not to kill the bill but to improve on it. He said he will have several amendments to propose once the Senate reconvenes Tuesday, although no Executive Committee meeting has yet been set. "I believe I've been very clear," Trotter said. "I don't like the bill, but there's a lot of bills I don't like. This is a chance to make a bad bill better." Any successful amendment would kill the bill's chances of being approved by May 4, because it would have to go back to the House, Franks said. State Sens. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon, and Brad Burzynski, R-Clare, has voiced support for the amendment. State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, who has been overtly critical of Blagojevich, has indicated he would vote in favor of the bill.State Reps. Jerry Mitchell, R-Sterling, Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica, Donald Moffitt, D-Gilson, and Mike Boland, D-East Moline, voted in favor of the amendment when it was in the House. Regardless of the outcome, voters this November will be asked whether they want to call a convention to rewrite the constitution. The 1970 constitution requires that voters be asked once every 20 years since the last constitutional convention in 1968 whether they want to call one.