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Saturday, April 7. 2007
TOWNSHIP ELECTORS LIMITATIONS BILL
I arranged for this interview for a reason. A reader had emailed me about a law, HB1607 TOWNSHIP-ELECTORS-LIMITATIONS, which "Transfers specified powers from the electors to the township board, but allows the electors to make recommendations to the township board and sets forth procedures for those recommendations. Provides that specified powers of the electors are not final unless approved at referendum." The reader described the measure using the phrase "a bit of a power grab."
| Sen. Fawghourne: | Hi, Bob. I understand you have some questions. |
| WegoWeb | Yes, have you heard about HB1607? |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | Ahhh. Yes! the TOWNSHIP-ELECTORS-LIMITATIONS bill. Isn't one of the local representatives a sponsor of that? Isn't that the person you should ask about it? |
| WegoWeb | Yes, Representative Ramey is the sponsor. I've talked with him. I tried to set up an interview with him but we seem to have scheduling problems. The township meeting is coming up on Tuesday, April 10th. I want to make sure this comes out before then. So I decided to interview you instead. I had prepared three questions. Would you mind having a crack at them? Basically they address:
However, they were full of big words and subordinate clauses so I could sound smart like the guys in the White House press room. |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | I'm sure the White House press pool tells their editors they spend hours writing those questions, but I suspect they are playing a lot of computer Solitaire. I'm sure that Representative Ramey would understand things better, but I will try. Maybe he could add something later. Let me just go after the topics and see if I can clear things up a bit. Save the pre-written questions for the representative. The annual township meeting, although applauded as the most democratic element of modern America, especially as still practiced in New England, is not, in Illinois, very well attended. I suspect that citizens inside towns, like West Chicago, barely know that the meetings exist, much less that they have the right to show up at the meeting, propose a new law, and have it voted on that night. Some people are concerned that a fairly small number of people could, without warning, stuff that meeting with a dedicated minority of the township and pass a law that the majority would be hard pressed to repair. |
| WegoWeb | Is that like back when some folks were trying to use that to get rid of township government? |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | There have been incidences where groups tried that. However, think smaller. What if 20 or 30 people were a majority of one of those meetings and tried to just dispose of township food programs for the poor. They could argue that the township can't afford it. Nobody likes taxes. Perhaps they could pass it. However, all the poor folks would be put at risk. What if they voted "no" on repair of a bridge when nobody who regularly used it was at the meeting. The power currently rests with the people, but it could be abused by a small number of people. The system worked in the past when we had few people and almost all attended the meetings. Now with tens of thousands of citizens (and no facility in town that would hold them all) and a hundred or less attending, it is not the pure democracy the founding fathers envisioned. |
| WegoWeb | OK, I see the danger of abuse. So this bill would protect against that? |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | Yes. It sets a quorum for the township meeting, depending on the population of the township. If a meeting had enough people in attendance (highly unlikely), its actions would be binding, just like they are now. If the attendance is smaller, more draconian measures would be merely recommendations to the board, albeit one they might be well advised to follow at the next election. Some actions at the meeting would result in items being submitted as referendums. |
| WegoWeb | Ah. That would mean a majority of a larger part of the electorate would be informed and allowed to vote during an election. They thereby still retain the power. |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | Actually, that is not the power that concerns me philosophically. Some power is shifted from the citizenry to the elected board. However, that power is being shifted not by the people themselves, but by the state legislature. That is antithetical to the concept of :"by the consent of the governed." Our entire system is based on the concept that power resides with "We the People" unless we explicitly grant that power to government. In this case, the State Legislature, a representative body, grants power to the Township Board, another representative body, from "We the People." That power should only be transferred by us. We can voluntarily give it up, but it should not be taken from us. |
| WegoWeb | Ewww. Heady stuff! |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | To some of us government, power, and rights are not taken lightly. Although I understand why this bill is being considered. I think it is a good idea and am happy that Representative Ramey has brought it up..We're not living in 18th century agrarian America anymore. I understand that the state is a place where the issue can be brought up and discussed by knowledgeable, interested parties. However, I would prefer that the legislation was permissive rather than mandatory. Allow townships to adopt the new system at their annual meeting rather than forcing it upon them. |
| WegoWeb | So the legislature would have to amend the current bill to permit the township to put it up at a township meeting or allow the voter to decide with a referendum. |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | Exactly. If power is to be transferred from the people, the people should do it. |
| WegoWeb | Thanks, Senator. I think I understand what you are saying. I'll have to shoot your suggestion over to Representative Ramey ... or maybe give his phone number, 630-876-0703, to some friends. |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | I've got a better idea. Bring it up at the Tuesday night Township meeting. "The annual Town Meeting of Winfield Township is at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, at City Hall, 475 Main St. The annual Town Meeting of Wayne Township is at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 10 at the township office, 27W031 North Ave." Have you ever been to one of those? |
| WegoWeb | A couple... but didn't find much that interested me there. If I'm in town, I'll stop by. |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | Well, if you see me there, don't let on. They'll have you locked up. |
| WegoWeb | Bye, Senator. |
| Sen. Fawghourne: | Bye |
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