92 Comments - Apple - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:02 pm: Meh. Sure. - Nieva - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:04 pm: Simple solution is to have election on a holiday such as Presidents Day. No kids in school and being a federal holiday more people can vote. - Anon - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:05 pm: A sad reactionary response to Sandy Hook. Has a voter ever committed violence against a child while voting at a school in Illinois? In the country? If someone truly wanted to commit a heinous act like that, would not having a polling place at a school really deter them? If they are truly motivated, they could simply break a window or gain access in some other way, with ease. A policy that would not have any sizable impact on security while providing major inconveniences to voters and those who organize polling place locations is an incredibly shortsighted and unnecessary policy. I’m shocked it’s even being discussed. There are real solutions and strategies for preventing atrocities, and this is very clearly not one of them. - frustrated GOP - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:07 pm: Idea, have election day be a non-student attendance day. Just have an inservice day. - ChicagoR - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:10 pm: A recent study showed that people who vote in schools are more likely to vote for school funding. So I say, vote in schools, and just make the schools safer - year round. - Stones - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:10 pm: If we don’t use schools then there needs to be some sort of viable alternative. Shouldn’t this be decided on a local level as it is now? - Apple - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:10 pm: Anon, Whether or not a mass tragedy has *already* occured in a school on Election Day strikes me as an insufficient justfication for inaction on something that just might save a life. - wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:12 pm: No. I can’t imagine how this is a response to Sandy Hook. I’m not aware of any acts of violence, certainly not shootings, at schools during polling. The schools used as polling places in my neighborhood are able to lock out the voting public from the areas where the kids are. I don’t know that’s possible everywhere. Still, I can’t figure out where this idea came from, or what it’s supposed to address. - Susiejones - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:14 pm: No. pandering idea; we have more people attending high school basketball and football games, and most of them are students, than we have voters on election day. we need to keep our students safe, yes, but changing polling places doesn’t make any sense to me. OK if a precinct wants to do it and there is another suitable place to set up polling places, but we don’t need a law. the General Assembly needs to spend its time figuring out the pension problem! - Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:15 pm: No. If this is such a big deal, which it’s not, give the kids a day off. Of course, someone will whine about that being inconvenient and some parents will have to take off work, and Tuesday is a bad day for a school holiday, so could we have Monday off too, and do we have to bargain for this, and yada yada yada. Why the heck can’t we vote over the Internet? - CLJ - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:18 pm: Based on the logic that violence could happen, might as well ban polling places from senior centers/homes, parks, or any other public place as well. - Kasich Walker, Jr. - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:19 pm: Those who don’t vote by mail should only be allowed to vote at gun shows. - L.S. - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:19 pm: I think using Sandy Hook as a reason for this is exploitative and reactionary. Truth is many voters who vote at schools have been doing so at the same location for years. Changing the location will only cause confusion, especially for seniors. - wordonthestreet - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:20 pm: Geeezo! I’m afraid to go outside now. How can people even come up with stuff?? - Cheryl44 - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:21 pm: This is unbelievably stupid. Nobody would ever be shot again if we call just stayed home all of the time. Under our beds. Cowering. - Apple - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:21 pm: CLJ, Not quite a logical assumption there. The other places you cite don’t likely have secure buildings that would otherwise have restricted access on a daily basis. - Apple - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:21 pm: That said, I think having an “in-service” day makes more sense. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:22 pm: Absolutely not. When I taught Middle School, I brought my students (even though I was a Science teacher) into the Gym to show them the process. I would then have a discussion about how important it was to vote as a civic duty. - Wensicia - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:23 pm: I don’t believe there are enough public buildings to serve voters without the schools. However, this is an inconvenience for voters and school staff/children alike when voting takes place during a school day(very little available parking). I don’t know of any threats, though security is relaxed on voting day. I’d rather see elections held over the weekend. Sunday would be great as many churches help members to the polls on voting days. - Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:25 pm: Wow Jack, Really??? Even for you this is incredibly stupid. Tell you what, how about you grow a pair, vote for the actual issue of equal marriage, and stop wasting your time with made-up nonsense like this. Good grief. - whattheheck - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:26 pm: The kids don’t need the hectic day at school or the added traffic in the school parking lot. State offices are usually closed on voting day, why not have a polling place at state buildings? - House of Lords - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:26 pm: Let’s abolish voting. We’ve demonstrated how the public can’t be trusted anymore. They have Honey Boo Boo, let the big boys govern. - RonOglesby - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:31 pm: No. How does voting have ANYTHING to do with Sandy Hook. invoking that for something this far from that event is sad and borderline disgusting. Some of those on the anti-guside of the issue may disagree on lots of responses to Newtown. But I hope we can agree that using that tragedy for almost anything related to schools is simply stupidity. - Anon - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:31 pm: Apple- Of course there’s no need to do such a huge policy shift when nothing has happened. Think about it. Every year for…. centuries… hundreds of millions of people have voted in hundreds of thousands of different schools. Not once has someone used that to their advantage to commit an act of mass murder. Of the billions of votes cast, not a single time did this happen. So we should make this huge change, inconveniencing voters and clerks, because it MIGHT happen? Nevermind the fact that no one committed to doing an act of mass violence will not do it because there’s no polling place that day. Look to every mass shooting ever committed in the history of the world for empirical evidence on that. Is that seriously your logic? Just think about it for a second. - xxtofer - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:34 pm: Personally, I don’t think voting should be done at churches. I have to vote at a church, and as a non-believer, I don’t like implicit endorsement. That said, I’m not ready to introduce a bill about it. - ??? - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:36 pm: What a dumb proposal. I don’t see how anyone can link voting in the schools to the next Sandy Hook. Crazies shoot at people in all kinds of venues. I agree with those who say this exploits the Sandy Hook tragedy. - Just Observing - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:36 pm: === State offices are usually closed on voting day, why not have a polling place at state buildings? === Um… First, state offices are not usually closed on e-day; second, it seems like you are under the incorrect impression that there are thousands of state offices throughout Illinois. - I don't want to live in Teabagistan - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:37 pm: I live in McHenry County. I vote in a church. - Just Observing - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:39 pm: Silly. Anyone that wants to shoot up a school doesn’t need to do so on election day. Let’s not pretend that on a non-election day, Gertrude, the school receptionist, is going to stop someone intent on entering the school. - ??? - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:45 pm: Just read the full article. Franks says there are “other places people can vote…even the post office.” Um, if I’m not mistaken, post offices have had their share of shootings, too. - Apple - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:46 pm: Anon, Your argument falls short again — especially the faulty premise that this is some huge policy shift. Finding a different polling place hardly shakes up the nature of our democracy, like you appear to imply. I don’t see the inconvienience for voters at all, polling places change with regularity in my neighborhood — and county bureaucrats always complain about any idea that makes them do anything. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:48 pm: No. Schools are perfectly appropriate and safety has never been an issue. In the 47th Ward, there are two taverns that serve as polling places. While I suspect it is easier to find poll watchers to cover them, it makes it interesting for under-21 voters to cast ballots there. Does Franks have some new locations in mind? How much do the boards of elections pay for polling place usuage? Something isn’t right about this proposal. Also, wasn’t Franks insistent on fixing pensions before we deal with anything else? - Boone Logan Square - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:54 pm: What is she thinking? - Endangered Moderate Species - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:54 pm: Saturday voting would address this concern. It would also help increase voting numbers. - Apple - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:55 pm: 47th Ward– Tune in to session. Franks was actually just debating one of pension packages they’re discussing today. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:55 pm: I say no. The only person to be afraid of on election day is Martin Sandoval. - Jake From Elwood - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:55 pm: In the event you have a jittery school superintendent or school board, let them decide for themselves if they want to deny use of their building as a polling place. Why does the State need to butt in? - Excessively Rabid - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 12:56 pm: ==This is unbelievably stupid== That’s the understatement of the day. Is the intention that all the mass homicides at polling places (has there ever been one?) are OK, we just need to keep them away from the schools? What on earth is this even supposed to be about? - frustrated GOP - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:01 pm: SO that everyone understand, the current law is: Schools can not refuse a request for a polling place from the election authority because of the shortage of places to put polling places. Some private schools don’t have school on election day to allow for voting. Btw, if we are worried about school safety, Mr. Franks should actually consider ways to get money into schools to pay for safety upgrades instead of his continued attempts to cut funding and as in this case, make sure his efforts are seen above the fold of the daily in his district. What has he done in his career except waste lobby time and money? - wishbone - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:01 pm: “Whether or not a mass tragedy has *already* occured in a school on Election Day strikes me as an insufficient justification for inaction on something that just might save a life.” Is it at all possible for you to think through the implications of that statement. No probably not. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:09 pm: Thanks Apple. I’ll tune in, but I was referring to this classic Jack Franks quote: ===Franks said that Illinois is in an “absolute fiscal crisis” and focusing on the issue of same-sex marriage would be taking the focus away from the “important issues.” “I have encouraged the sponsor not to call the bill,” Franks said. “Nothing else matters but fixing our pension crisis.”=== Nothing else matter except pensions and polling places I guess. - Loop Lady - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:15 pm: I am not worried about shootings. BTW, where does a registered sex offender vote if they forget to early vote? Doesn’t their presence at a school violate the terms of their release? Get back to the real problem guys and gals…pensions - Cheryl44 - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:19 pm: What happens in tiny towns where the only place that could handle the crowd is the school gym? - Orzo - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:20 pm: This is a bad example of letting the news story du jour (albeit a horrific one) dictate public policy. There is no relationship between the polling place location and the potential for violence. It’s a stupid idea. Plus, I always thought that both the students and the voters gained something positive from what they observe on those election days. - school architect - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:25 pm: Yes. Every school I go to, and I go to many, is jammed to capacity. Polling takes up lots of square footage, the equipment takes days to move in and out and it is a burden to staff. School administrators don’t like the polls and have ways to discourage them: turning down the heat, filling up parking lots, etc. - Anon - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:26 pm: Apple- To see the effect this would have on elections, please reference the statement by the county clerk in Frank’s district. “If we don’t have schools, we won’t have polling places” There’s a reason nearly every school is a polling place on election day- there just aren’t many other options. - Exhausted - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:29 pm: It is not just finding a suitable polling location, but the location must also be handicap accessible. - Liberty_First - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:29 pm: The real question is who exploits issues best? Loop lady, registered sex offenders can vote by absentee ballot. - Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:32 pm: 47 is exactly right. Jack is being a profile in courage on marriage by hiding behind the “nothing is more important” meme while proposing this inane idea. It’s Jack beng Jack. Gee, maybe Joe Walsh in the House wouldn’t be so bad… - VanillaMan - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:34 pm: You bet! Start with schools, then expand the ban as needed until we end up voting online and via mail. 21st century people-pretend it, at least. - Liberty_First - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:38 pm: According to the Center for Disease control, 5.7% of students carry a weapon at school so it seems more likely the voter is the one at danger in school. But since most violence seems to be in certain Chicago neighborhoods, I won’t worry much. - Hank - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:48 pm: Still, I can’t figure out where this idea came from, or what it’s supposed to address…. It’s called legislation from “my heart of hearts” - BleugrassBoy - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:50 pm: (Sarcasm alert!) It’s not just about safety. It’s an educational and religious issue. Voting in the schools apparently creates a major distraction from fragile learning environment we’ve worked so hard to establish. Everyone can see that test scores are down. The Voting Distraction must be eliminated! Also, Believers are not really allowed to pray before they vote in a public school. - zatoichi - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:55 pm: Don’t have concerts, drop those church services, get rid of all public gatherings/parades, close all post offices, and limit the number of people in any retail store to under 10 because another Sandy Hook might happen anywhere. Let’s just live in constant fear of another mass shooting. Locally, elections are done in senior centers, Extension offices, fire departments, schools, and any accessible building that could handle 20-30 people at a time. They all work. Guess they could all be targets, but so can any restaurant at lunchtime or a grocery store on Saturday morning. - Atbat - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:56 pm: This is a terrible idea. We have to stop fearmongering on all levels of our public discourse - to paraphrase B. Franklin - those who trade liberty for “temporary safety” will lose both. - Vote Often - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:57 pm: It seems like this is best resolved at the local level. No need for state legislation, although I think that schools may not be able to opt out of being polling places, which I could see being a problem. We’re all vulnerable pretty much all the time. Cherry picking places to ensure “safety” is an endless legislative scheme. - the Other Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 1:59 pm: If a crazed person is intent on shooting a bunch of people at a school, they will do it regardless of whether the school is a polling place or not. If a crazed person is intent on shooting a bunch of people at a polling place, they will do it regardless of whether the polling place is a school. What we lose in this proposal is the ability of voters to actually see a public school and its condition; and the ability of students to observe what we all claim is an almost sacred rite of voting. - Cheryl44 - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:00 pm: ~~limit the number of people in any retail store to under 10 ~!~ It will have to be less than that. How many people were killed in that Lane Bryant store? - MrJM - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:07 pm: “Should polling places be removed from schools?” No. Voting in schools teach kids about the value of elections. Removing polling places from schools teaches kids a different lesson about cowardice. – MrJM - Tommydanger - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:18 pm: What a nauseatingly stupid idea. - Allen Skillicorn - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:20 pm: I’m more annoyed that school adminstrators think the 1st amendment doesn’t apply to them. Every election I have to call a county states attorney to stop them from tossing my candidates signs or restricting my ability to legally electioneer. That includes McHenry county too. - Cook County Commoner - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:22 pm: No, unless the proponents present verifiable facts linking voting in schools to school violence. What I’m interested in is what prompted this suggestion from Topinka and others. Do they have information or well-grounded suspicion that polling places may begin attracting violence? This sounds like third world stuff. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:32 pm: I voted no. We can have “Sandy Hooks” in any public place. I live very close to a school that is my polling place, and I like the convenience. - soccermom - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:34 pm: This is just ridiculous. - Vote Often - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:43 pm: You don’t have a first amendment right to put a sign on property that’s not yours. The only reason you can in Illinois is because it’s part of state law. - Anonish - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:47 pm: Not every community has the resources to relocate polling places. If we close schools on Election Day we place an additional burden on parents to find care for their children. I’m all good for moving Election Day to Saturday. - titan - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:50 pm: Registered sex offenders are required to vote early/absentee if their polling places are somewhere (like a school) which they’re not permitted to go. Schools are also “gun-free” zones. The law was changed to require schools and other public buildings to allow use as a polling place because there weren’t enough (a) handicapped accessible and (b) willing - private locations (not to mention the rental cost of private locations). Some jurisdictions have a quarter to a third of their polling places in schools - with their good handicapped accessibility, ample parking, and well known locations. If you figire just 20% of them state wide are in schools, you’d need 2,000 new accessible, ample parking, findable, willing alternatives (and pay for the ones that don’t waive compensation). - OneMan - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:52 pm: Well I can say out by us we are going to have some real problems with publicly accessible polling places that are ADA compliant that are not schools. Largest ward in Aurora might have one building that fits that bill perhaps two. Going to be a problem ADA wise in many areas. - BehindTheScenes - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 2:53 pm: There are NO polling places in K-12 schools in Sangamon County. There is one at LincolnLand Community College. Churches host the vast majority of polls. A move a few years ago to make polls accessible took almost all polls out of private homes, basements and garages, to where there is now only one, I think. I don’t see a safety argument here. - Jaded - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 3:29 pm: =This is just ridiculous= Yep. Save that quote. You can use it for about 90% of what goes on in Springfield between January and June (and two weeks in the fall). - Shemp - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 3:30 pm: No schools, no churches, no businesses. Let’s just poll on street corners. - Bitterman - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 3:42 pm: silly bad idea, schools are fine, any public place without armed guards (often with them) can be a “sandy hook”. - mongo - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 4:04 pm: I voted no. I think, during polling, the “stranger and safety” issue is minimized. I know that seems counter-intuitive, but it is my belief. I acknowledge that at some polling places, tensions rise, and that could result in physical incidents. I guess it could escalate to gunplay. But I have to say I have never heard of the latter happening. Honestly, I think I am more concerned about the polling place being in a church. What is I am a _____ (insert your own faith), and I have to exercise my constitutional right to vote in a place of worship that offends me or does not welcome me? - new anon - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 4:07 pm: at least here in Chicago, the problem is moot, because the schools are CLOSED on election day anyway! Just a timewaster piece of legislation, IMHO - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 4:21 pm: I heard 9/11 happened on election day. Maybe we should just cancel elections. We are governed by people unqualified to handle to complexity of modern society. My the Flying Spaghetti Monster save us! - Ellen Beth Gill - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 4:24 pm: @Allen Skillicorn The schools tossing your electioneering material may not be violating anything. Private schools and churches may choose whether to declare their entire property as a no-electioneering zone. Public schools, private businesses, as well as private schools and churches may boot the electioneering material out the door even if the 100 foot zone is within the building. - Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 4:25 pm: ==Has a voter ever committed violence against a child while voting at a school in Illinois? In the country?== Rather than solve real problems, politicians seem to be looking for problems plausible enough that they seem like they could happen… and then the politicians can figure out some way to spend money–naturally it will go into their friends’ pockets–to fix the problem that never existed in the first place. Now that I’m thinking about it, with religious denominations would make significant money from this “fix”? The Roman Catholics? Episcopalians? Methodists? - titan - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 4:37 pm: Mr. Nyborg - “Now that I’m thinking about it, with religious denominations would make significant money from this “fix”? The Roman Catholics? Episcopalians? Methodists?” To the extent that they don’t waive the rental paid to private property polling places (and many churches do waive that payment), all of them might benefit. - Lil Squeezy - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 4:46 pm: Be afraid, be very afraid…..of most things….even if they have never happened before. Seems like we hear a lot of that today. Instead of having elections on a weekend or holiday to increase opportunity to vote AND save the children from a so far non-existent threat, they propose this. Keep up the good work. - Marty - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 4:58 pm: sounds like pols in search of a “problem” they can “do something about.” Or, business as usual at all levels of government, these days–the real problems are too hard, let’s just pretend… - Just The Way It Is One - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 5:21 pm: No–it’s a public area that often has enough space to accomodate a big group of voters, andthe area where the kids are is almost always separate. Many schools already have police officers present. If not, the local force can provide one to add to any security maters help keep the peace. C’mon folks. Please continue to work earnestly on and finally pass pension reform as time better spent, instead, and let’s not get TOO extreme in our response to Newtown… - Amalia - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 5:25 pm: pretty soon we will be voting under a giant tent in the middle of a field with armed guards at the end of the road that leads to the parking lot by the tent. enough. - Give us a break Jack - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 5:39 pm: Jack, please! - Six Degrees of Separation - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 5:45 pm: I’ve told those pols a thousand times, stop exaggerating! - jake - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 6:06 pm: This proposal is so stupidly and transparently exploitative of tragedy for a publicity hit that it almost makes me physically sick. - Irish - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 7:21 pm: Our elementary and high school districts actually did this on our own about six years ago when I was still on the elementary board for school security reasons. It was no big deal. Why take the chance? - Irish - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 7:24 pm: Adding, it was not so much to protect against shootings but also against having strangers in the schools and out front as kids arrived and left. It is a good policy - RNUG - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 8:24 pm: Let’s just mandate every precinct committeeman has to host a voting booth in their garage … the GOP and DEM for each district can draw straws to see whose turn it is. And before you laugh too much at this proposal, I know of a number of private garages that DO serve as polling places … - BryanE - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 9:13 pm: No. If the threat of a shooting at a school during an election is a serious issue and extremely likely to occur, than we as a society have massively failed each other and our children. - Ryan Evans - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 9:46 pm: The vast majority of schools do not have students in attendance those days. They instead hold teacher institute days which are mandated by school code. Thus, only staff is present in the building. This bill is truly a waste of time, efforts and energy that could be placed elsewhere. Further, if they wanted to keep kids out of school those days than have the state board of ed mandate that schools must hold institute days on election day. No law makers necessary. Get to the budget and pensions. That is truly what hurts kids!!! - Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 7, 13 @ 11:10 pm: I have a question before I can answer: Will drones be flying around overhead by then? - Belle - Friday, Mar 8, 13 @ 8:12 am: There are alternatives outside of civic-owned properties. In the East Village, they use a bar (owned by ex-city workers) and a restaurant in Bucktown. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.