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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: goldworldnet who wrote (283863)	12/11/2008 5:56:30 PM
From: Tom Clarke	1 Recommendation Respond to of 794024

They want Pat Quinn to make the appointment. My first thought was a Democrat named Quinn from Chicago has GOT to be a hack, but maybe he's not so bad. >>In 1980, Quinn led the ultimately successful statewide campaign for the Cutback Amendment to the Illinois Constitution, which reduced the size of the Illinois House of Representatives. Before the Cutback Amendment, three state representatives had been elected from each of 59 districts, yielding a total of 177 members. After the amendment, only 118 representatives were elected from single member districts. Before becoming state treasurer, Quinn was a tax attorney. After graduating from Fenwick High School, he earned an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from Northwestern University. He gained some early fame in the late 1970s by leading an ultimately unsuccessful drive to amend, via a petition drive, the 1970 Illinois Constitution with the "Illinois Initiative". This amendment would have provided people from Illinois with the same power to enact statutes through the process of referendums that is used in other states, notably California. Though Quinn's petition drive was successful, his efforts were blocked by the Illinois Supreme Court that ruled that the Illinois Initiative was an "unconstitutional constitutional amendment", and it was never allowed to be placed before the voters. en.wikipedia.org

To: goldworldnet who wrote (283863)	12/12/2008 6:36:19 AM
From: Tom Clarke	2 Recommendations Respond to of 794024

How to oust Blagojevich from office if he won't resign and the legislation won't impeach him. Ann Althouse Thursday, December 11, 2008 There's this: "I have the opportunity to go to our Illinois Supreme Court and ask them to declare our governor is unable to serve and put in our lieutenant governor as acting governor," [Illinois Attorney General Lisa] Madigan, a longtime Blagojevich foe who is considering a run for governor in 2010, told CNN. What legal procedure is this exactly? I can see that the Illinois Constitution provides, in Article V, Section 6: (b) If the Governor is unable to serve because of death, conviction on impeachment, failure to qualify, resignation or other disability, the office of Governor shall be filled by the officer next in line of succession for the remainder of the term or until the disability is removed. (c) Whenever the Governor determines that he may be seriously impeded in the exercise of his powers, he shall so notify the Secretary of State and the officer next in line of succession. The latter shall thereafter become Acting Governor with the duties and powers of Governor. When the Governor is prepared to resume office, he shall do so by notifying the Secretary of State and the Acting Governor. (d) The General Assembly by law shall specify by whom and by what procedures the ability of the Governor to serve or to resume office may be questioned and determined. The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction to review such a law and any such determination and, in the absence of such a law, shall make the determination under such rules as it may adopt. Does this mean the AG can oust the Governor over the kinds of matters that would also be grounds for impeachment? Is his arrest an "other disability"? That seems to be Madigan's theory according the Chicago Tribune: The Illinois Constitution is vague enough that she could argue the governor's corruption charges are enough to be considered a "disability" — a condition typically associated with physical or mental issues. ... Another portion of the Constitution opens the door to considering whether Blagojevich is "seriously impeded in the exercise of his powers." The argument again is that the taint of the allegations—that the governor sought to trade official state actions for personal gain—means he can't govern. The "seriously impeded" language is plainly left to the Governor's own judgment about himself. So I think Madigan is limited to characterizing the ongoing prosecution as a "disability" -- and convincing the court that this is appropriate. The Tribune continues: "Would Madigan go to court so her father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, can avoid a messy impeachment?" That makes the idea of end-running impeachment look quite a bit worse. From the comments: My understanding is that Ms. Madigan was or wanted to be considered for President-elect Obama's former US Senate seat. So, is this an extortion; give me the job or I go to court to have you removed? althouse.blogspot.com