* Longtime Statehouse reporter Kurt Erickson backs a constitutional convention…

Q: Some pretty well-known and respected special interest groups are trying to convince Illinoisans to vote against the question of holding a constitutional convention. What’s up with that?

A: Everyone likes the status quo. These groups have gotten to be influential under the current system. They help control who’s elected. Why would they want to change that? Remember that when you go to the polls: your voice or their voice.

Q: What would be one reason to vote for a constitutional convention?

A: It should be pretty clear when you go into the ballot box. Because of the way lawmakers have gerrymandered the political map, it makes it nearly impossible for incumbents to lose. Out of 80-some races for seats in the General Assembly, just a handful are actually competitive. Think about what the current crop of incumbents has achieved in the last two years.

* The SouthtownStar’s living legend Phil Kadner also urges a “Yes” vote…

Other states have found ways to support their schools without relying so heavily on the property tax. So can Illinois.

But the state constitution needs to be changed to alter the way that legislators are elected, to threaten them with recall and to clarify the state’s responsibility for school funding.

Despite what people tell you, no changes in the constitution can be made without a final vote at the ballot box.

All the corrupt, powerful forces that have controlled this state oppose the constitutional convention.

If you trust them, vote “no” on Tuesday. If you don’t, vote “yes.”

* Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. will support a con-con today. From a press release…

Today, Tuesday, October 28th at 1:30pm Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., and Alderman Sandi Jackson will join Lt. Governor Pat Quinn in endorsing a “yes” vote on the November 4 Constitutional Convention.

* Rep. John Fritchey tackles the pension issue…

In 1969 and 1970 when the pension guarantee was debated, it was decided that the particulars of how to fund the pension should be left up to the General Assembly. We have seen the profound error of that decision. In every single year since the ratification of the 1970 Constitution, the General Assembly has failed to put in their promised share of contributions to the pension system. More than once they actually attempted (sometimes successfully) to raid those pension funds.

If this was a problem that only occurred in one budget year, it would have long since been solved. This is a systemic constitutional defect that takes place year and year. It allows the state to delay meeting its obligations while the debt keeps on growing and growing. The state is in debt almost $111 billion (or twice the annual state budget) and a large part of that is pension debt. This debt prevents capital projects moving forward, puts a straying on improving education funding, and has drastic effects all across Illinois.

While some argue that the pensions are “safe” now, how could a system that doesn’t require the state to put up its fair share be considered safe? The fact is, the state is going bankrupt because of the recurring deferral of pension payments. Bankruptcy is the only situation when the pensions can be cut because a federal judge will come in and decide what bills can be paid and what can’t, and historically pensions haven’t done well in that situation.

Simply put, there is absolutely no risk to the pensions should there be a constitutional convention. Most importantly, the voters have to ratify any change that a constitutional convention proposes. Not even a single comma can be modified without voter approval. It is ludicrous to believe that voters will approve a “special interests” constitution.

Bethany Jaeger…

Elena Kezelis, former chief counsel for then-Gov. Jim Edgar, says she interprets the Constitution as protecting those who are fully vested in the pension system as having unalterable rights. She points to the back of the state Constitution, where a “savings clause” would protect every contract in place if a new document were approved. If another convention were called and pension benefits were revised, then she says that provision would grandfather in the existing pension contracts. Prudent drafters would include that kind of language again, she says.

The question is, she says, how delegates and how courts would define the point at which current state employees are vested into a contractual right that cannot be taken away from them.

* Jim Edgar urges a No vote…

“Our constitution, regarded as one of the best in the nation, certainly does not require the sweeping rewrite that a convention could produce. Like the U.S. Constitution, it is an enduring, broadly worded document that protects our rights, lays out a sound framework for governing and is insulated from the passions of the moment.”

* Patterson has the top donors to the Alliance to Protect the Constitution…

1) Illinois Federation of Teachers and affiliated: $300,000
(2) Illinois Education Association/National Education Association: $225,000
(3) Exelon: $100,000
(4) Illinois Coalition for Jobs, Growth, and Prosperity: $92,500
(5 - tie) American Insurance Association: $50,000
(5 - tie) Health Care Services Corp: $50,000