McHenry County Blog

A press release from State Rep. David McSweeney:

McSweeney Moves to Abolish Lt. Governor Position Approved by Committee

Springfield – Illinois voters will hopefully have the opportunity to decide whether the state should have a Lieutenant Governor.

State Representative David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) filed House Joint Resolution by Constitutional Amendment (HJRCA 18) as chief sponsor, a measure that would abolish the post as part of his effort for greater government efficiencies.

McSweeney has garnered bipartisan support, including 28 additional house members to sign on as co-sponsors.

Representative Jack Franks (D-Marengo) and Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) are the chief co-sponsors of the legislation.

McSweeney’s legislation passed the State Government Committee today by a vote of 16-4.

“We need to have the courage to make our government leaner, smarter and more efficient,” said McSweeney.

“We are in a fiscal crisis and we can’t afford the luxury of having a Lieutenant Governor.”

According to House Republican staff, the state could save approximately $2 million a year by doing away with the office.

“I urge my colleagues to join me and get this done,” added McSweeney. “A meaningful budget cut to the bureaucracy is a great start to prove that we’re serious about cutting spending.”

HJRCA 18 accompanies other cost reduction legislation filed by McSweeney. To date, McSweeney has declined a legislative pension, proposed to end all legislative pensions and has voluntarily cut his own pay and district office expenses by 10%.

If HJRCA 18 is approved, it would be placed on the 2014 ballot for voters to decide.

Under the legislation, the Attorney General would be next in line to assume the duties of Governor if necessary.

What would happen if a candidate ran for township office pledging to abolish the government for which he or she seeks office?

Attorney and future McHenry County Board member Mike Walkup considered the question and came up with the following:

Can this be done?

Many people are under the impression that townships can no longer be abolished one at a time.

This is due to legislation that was passed amending the Township Code when former McHenry County State Representative Ann Hughes chaired a special committee that had been formed following the unsuccessful attempt by Bob Anderson to abolish all of the townships in McHenry County in 1994. I will refer to this as the “Hughes Act.”

The issue at the time was that in a county like McHenry, where some townships have much larger populations than others and are also mostly incorporated into municipalities, a referendum to abolish all townships in the county could be carried by those more populous townships where the residents didn’t feel that they needed township services, notwithstanding the desires of the more rural township residents to retain that form of government.

I represented Bob Anderson at the time and helped him get the question on the ballot. It scared the heck out of the townships at the time.

The Hughes Act is as follows:

ARTICLE 25. DISCONTINUANCE OF TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION

(60 ILCS 1/25-5)

“Sec. 25-5 Petition and referendum to discontinue township organization. Upon the petition of at least 10% of the registered voters of each township of a county, as determined by the date registration closed before the regular election next preceding the last day on which the petition may be filed, that has adopted township organization, the county board shall certify and cause to be submitted to the voters of the county, at the next general election, the question of continuance of township organization. ” {a lot of stuff next about how the signatures all have to be collected 90 days before the last day for filing the petition and how to establish that on each petition sheet}.

“Sec. 25-10. Cessation of township organization. If it appears by the returns of the election that a majority of the votes in at least three-fourths of the townships, containing at least of majority of the population in the county, cast on the question of the continuance of township organization are against the continuance of township organization, then township organization shall cease in the county as soon as a county board is elected and qualified.”

This referendum can only be presented at a general election at which members of the General Assembly are elected, so it cannot be done in connection with a Consolidated Election, which is the one next year.

The entire County Board is then replaced by 3 County Commissioners!!

Many legal experts have been advising township boards that this is now the only way to abolish townships.

This is incorrect.

The power to abolish townships by referendum created by citizen petition is derived from the 1970 Illinois Constitution. Section 5 of Article VII thereof states as follows:

” SECTION 5. TOWNSHIPS

The General Assembly shall provide by law for the formation of townships in any county when approved by county-wide referendum. Townships may be consolidated or merged, and one or more townships may be dissolved or divided, when approved by a referendum in each township affected. All townships in a county may be dissolved when approved by a referendum in the total area in which township officers are elected.” (emphasis supplied).

The State Constitution supersedes any legislative enactments which are inconsistent with it.

Bob Anderson formed a group known as “S.T.O.P.”, (Send Township Officials Packing), which I also represented, and which challenged the Hughes Act in DuPage County on the grounds that the second paragraph, which required a super majority, violated the “one person one vote” rule.

We lost at the county level and decided not to appeal.

Bob subsequently filed to abolish McHenry Township separately.

He did not have enough valid signatures and tried a second time.

This time McHenry Township Supervisor Donna Schaefer decided not to file an objection and it made it to the ballot, where it lost.

No further attempts have been made.

Therefore, I am of the opinion that you can get a binding referendum on the ballot to abolish an individual township, notwithstanding the Hughes Act provisions, which I believe apply only where someone is attempting to abolish all of the townships in a county at one time.

How many signatures would then be required and at what elections could it be presented?

The Hughes Act requires ten percent of the registered voters. However, it does not address the requirements for single township abolition.

I believe these would therefore be determined by the Election Code.

This would fall under Section 28, Submitting Public Questions.

It provides as follows:

“The method of initiating the submission of a public question shall be as provided by the statute authorizing such public question, or as provided by the Constitution. …..

If such statute does not specify any of the foregoing petition requirements, the corresponding petition requirements of Section 28-6 shall govern such petition.

“Sec. 28-6. Petitions; filing.

“(a) On a written petition signed by a number of voters equal to at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election by the registered voters of the municipality, township, county or school district, it shall be the duty of the proper election officers to submit any question of public policy so petitioned for, to the electors of such political subdivision at any regular election named in the petition at which an election is scheduled to be held throughout such political subdivision under Article 2A.”

Therefore, I believe that only 8% of those who voted in the 2010 gubernatorial election (combining vote totals for all Governor candidates) within the township is needed and that it can be placed on the ballot at any upcoming election, including either the Consolidated Election in April or any primary election prior thereto.

There you have it.

The rest, if anything, is up to you.

The deadline for filing for the general consolidated election is December 24th. I believe for a primary there is an earlier date.

= = = = =
Those wishing to file for township office must do so from November 19-26.

Happy Thanksging.

It was this Catholic’s discovery that Dee Beaubien is not Pro-Life.

Read the whole story at Andrew Gasser’s Blog.

The upshot?:

“He then walked out and pulled the Beaubien sign out of the ground.”

Gasser’s advice to conservatives?

We conservatives must be fearless.

Two sections of the Concord Banquet Hall in Lake Zurich were filled by Pro-Life supporters of the Tri-County Pregnancy and Parenting Center Thursday night.

The night was held for the purpose of replenishing the treasury of the ministry, which operates offices on the street where the McDonald’s Playland is located in Crystal Lake and in Grayslake.

Board Chairman Dennis DeMoss remembered giving the pitch twenty years ago when the group did not have the money to pay for the dinners.  This year, donors picked up the tab prior to the event.

Besides pledges and donations made at the dinner, churches set out large plastic baby bottles that bring in about $40,000 a year.

And a thrift store earns $600 a week.

But expenses are high for the two locations, both of which Tri-County is purchasing, rather than renting.  That saves money because under not-for-profit ownership they are property-tax exempt.  There is also no hassle with landlords.

The price to operate the two offices four an half days a week is $4,300 a month.

One day is dedicated to the Spanish speaking population.

By attending classes, clients gain points to purchase items needed by babies, diapers.

One featured speaker, 38-year old Gloria Farber, couldn’t attend because she gave birth today.  Her doctor concluded that the child was not getting enough nourishment in the womb and decided an early delivery would be best.

Staffers don’t usually assist with births, but one of the worker bees for the dinner had agreed to do so and when she got a call just as she was about to leave to help prepare the banquet hall’s decorations and silent auction, Farber called and said it was her time.

Since she was supposed to speak, a written statement was induced.

Farber told of having lost her job, the father being an hour away and showing little interest in her being pregnant had led her to consider “terminating the pregnancy,” as she put it.

She looked up Planned Parenthood locations, but turned to Tri-County for a free pregnancy test.

Tri-County helped her to clarify her feelings and she decided to keep the “fetus,” as she described her child.

As one who has been on both sides of the abortion issue (Pro-Choice during my 8 years in the Illinois House in the 1970′s, Pro-Life during the 8 years I served in the 1990′s), I was struck by the Pro-Choice language I heard in the written testimony.

Nevertheless, the Pro-Life servants of the Lord at Tri-County helped bring Farber’s child’s soul into the light of day.

One couple who spoke this year, Rebecca and Jonathan Brown even managed to locate a woman who would help them with a home birth, thus avoiding hospital costs.

“We didn’t go broke.  We have money in the bank,”  he revealed after explaining that the family’s health insurance would have still left them with a big bill had they went the tradition hospital birth route.

Another new father, Tyler Schneiderman told of his and mother Angela’s having taken every class possible to earn points.

When the birthing process began, he was pressed into service to hold his wife’s leg.  He indicated that was more than he had signed on for, but there was a shortage of personnel at the hospital.

The father whose child was born at home could identify because he ended up holding the mother’s leg during birth, too.

Neither seemed to have relished the task.

Imagine my delight with Grayslake’s Lord of Glory Lutheran Church Pastor Brian Davies’ benediction was the blessing that I give my son every night:

Pastor Brian Davies announced his family's newest pregnacy for the first time at the dinner.

“May the Lord bless and keep you.

“May the Lord make his face shine upon you.

“May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

He added some additional thoughts as well.

To set the stage, Davies recalled how the children of God won battles when Moses hands were held high, even when his closest followers were holding up the tired arms for him.

He told those in attendance that they were holding up the arms of staff and volunteers who served in Tri-County’s mission.

You know I look for politician types at events.  This time the only one I saw was District 3 McHenry County Board candidate Mary Alger.  One of Dave McSweeney’s advisors, Charlie Johnston was in attendance as well.

It’s time to agree with Grafton Township Administrator Pam Fender.

At least as far as this goes:

“Today’s (9-21-10) Editorial is another example of the Northwest Herald not doing it’s homework.”

McHenry County Blog wrote earlier of the requirements to abolish township government.

After Wonder Lake’s Bob Anderson’s countywide referendum failed and after his referendum to abolish McHenry Township failed, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law making it impossible to abolish a single township.

That new law requires the abolition of all townships in a county.

Getting rid of a single township at the ballot box is no longer possible.

In light of the dysfunctional Grafton Township government, there have been questions about whether it can be abolished.

The technical answer is “Yes.”

But the real world answer is “No.”

After Wonder Lake’s Bob Anderson got enough signatures on the ballot to force a referendum on abolishing all township governments in McHenry County, which failed, township officials decided they didn’t want that sort of a vote again.

So they prevailed upon the Illinois General Assembly to make it more difficult for uppity citizens to upset their apple cart.

I don’t remember the new petition requirements, but they really don’t matter.

What matters is that state law says that a 75% favorable vote is needed to abolish township governments.

Note that I did not say “a township government.”

The law, incredibly upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court requires a countywide approval of 75% of those voting.

Anyone in their wildest dreams think that will ever happen anywhere in Illinois?