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It’s just a bill, but it’s interesting

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Illinois

* Considering that we have a Republican governor and all but one other statewide constitutional officers are Democrats, Rep. Tryon may be doing the Democratic Party a favor with this bill…

In response to the appointment process that followed the death of Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka last year, State Rep. Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) has filed legislation that would outline how a replacement would be chosen. […]

“There was a great deal of confusion surrounding the appointment process for Judy’s successor, and my House Bill 3094 clears up some ambiguities in the current statutes,” said Tryon.

“The bill simply states that in the event of a vacancy in a statewide elected office, the Governor must appoint a successor from the same political party as the individual who previously held the post. Pat Quinn put a Democrat in a seat that had been held by a Republican, and I think that was wrong.”

Your thoughts?

* Other bills…

* Illinois bill would name planned I-74 bridge in Quad Cities for late US Rep. Lane Evans

* Illinois Lawmakers Will Soon Consider Cameras in Nursing Homes

* Illinois Senate bill would update DCFS investigator training for first time in history

* Rep. Flowers: Medical cannabis makes state bank necessity; committee hearings could feature school choice, professional licensing, Link card photo ID and more from INN Radio

* State Sen. Chapin Rose introduces bills to change MAP grant rules

* Barbara Flynn Currie introduces legislation to increase access to campus police information

* Conroy Introduces Legislation Recommending Civics Education Requirements

* Illinois House panel backs painting of toy guns

* State House passes resolution supporting map-making agency move to Illinois

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 9:57 am

Comments

===“The bill simply states that in the event of a vacancy in a statewide elected office, the Governor must appoint a successor from the same political party as the individual who previously held the post. Pat Quinn put a Democrat in a seat that held the post.===

“I don’t like that.

Signed,

Jim Edgar
Illinois state Representative
Secretary of State Designate”

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:04 am
If Rep Tryon proposed bill had been law when Alan Dixon (D) was elected US Senator in 1980 would we have ever heard of Jim Edgar (R)?

Comment by don't always wish for Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:05 am
“Illinois House panel backs painting of toy guns”

Great fix if you believe that 12-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot because of the color of his toy.

– MrJM

Comment by MrJM Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:12 am
I think this makes a lot of sense. I would go one step further and at this level let the party choose the replacement, not the govenor. After all it was the parties candidate; not the govenors. Exception, the govenor can appoint the lt gov.

Comment by Ghost Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:16 am
Terrible idea. Essentially eliminates anyone from consideration that does not belong to one of the two major parties, and in the event that a third party candidate was elected to a statewide seat, the pool of possible replacements would be even shallower.

Comment by veritas Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:24 am
So, if I paint my real gun like that of a toy gun, is it less dangerous?

Comment by Sunshine Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:28 am
Nope. Party, frankly, should have nothing to do with it. Appoint the best person. Period.

Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:30 am
The “Lane Evans Bridge” should be a layup, and rightly so.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:37 am
No go. How do you determine whether someone is “from the same political party,” unless they’re already an elected official?
There’s no party registration.

Independents need not apply?

The political game in Illinois is already plenty rigged for the two major parties. They don’t need any more help.

Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:41 am
Bad idea. To specify a party for filling a Constitutional office shouldn’t be in the law or the Constitution. A better clarification might be needed on term, not party.

Comment by walker Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:51 am
== Appoint the best person. Period. ==

LOL

There are many, many people who would qualify as “the best person”

==How do you determine whether someone is “from the same political party,” unless they’re already an elected official?==

If you really wanted to go this route, you would need to handle the appointment the same way vacancies in the GA are filled. I think it would be a mess.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:53 am
Does Rep. Tryon expect Rauner to be a one termer?

Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:56 am
Sen. Rose’s attempts to fix MAP are nibbling around the edges and don’t do much to help the most students. I was hoping for a bill that would reserve a portion of the MAP dollars for Community College Students. The dollars go a lot farther and help more financially needy students when they go to CC students. Unfortunately, incoming freshmen at CC’s make their decision in April or May when all of the money is long gone. A set aside for CC students would be a big help and would spread the money around more. The other fix would be to limit the individual grants to students at private schools, which tend to be higher cost. None of Rose’s bills address these issues.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 10:59 am
Agree with Wordslinger. What would happen if by some outside chance a popular individual who is elected as an independent (or worse: a minor 3rd party?) then dies. Are you going to force the governor to pick someone who has never voted in any party primary (or who voted in a 3rd party primary)? Talk about slim pickings.

Comment by Numbers Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 11:00 am
Appointing someone from the same party is a pretty standard procedure in many instances (county board, legislative, etc). It makes sense.

Comment by Ahoy! Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 11:01 am
The Governor gets this privilege by being elected Governor. They can pick who they want. Sometimes it works for you, sometimes against. If another Constitution officer can’t complete their term, Rauner chooses. The confusion was over the length of term, not who got to choose.

Comment by A guy Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 11:12 am
===The dollars go a lot farther and help more financially needy students when they go to CC students.===

I don’t necessarily disagree with that, and you’re right that it’s usually CC students that miss out on MAP. But local taxpayers support CCs, which is why tuition is low. And a lot of people take courses at CCs without pursuing an Associates degree. I think it would make more sense to devote a new stream of job training funds to CC students who are getting vocational ed, or certificates, or some training that won’t lead to an Associates Degree (or to a transfer to a four year).

Bottom line, this is another form of rationing at a time when we should be investing.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 11:13 am
I am with A guy, the governor makes the appointment, need to clarify the length of the appointment.

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 11:26 am
The first updated investigator training in history at DCFS? That sounds like an exaggeration.

More importantly, everybody always loves more training, but I hope somebody with some degree of objectivity is looking at the contractor and the training materials, if the training is to be purchased. Hopefully, the contractor isn’t some politician’s friend or a crony of the new DCFS director. How much will this cost. Has the training been tried out in other states or counties, and is their evidence of
improvement. How was improvement measured. And so forth.

And if the training is to be developed and provided in house, what, exactly, is new about it and how many new employees will be hired into the training division to implement it.

Comment by Cassandra Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 11:49 am
I think the party restriction is silly. Voters can already influence the likely party affiliation of constitutional officer successors through their vote for governor. And imagine the level of gaming that would go on if an unwilling Republican governor were required to appoint a Democrat, or vice versa.

Comment by Forgottonia Republic Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 12:21 pm
I spend a fair amount of time around gun ranges and I’ve seen firearms that are Pink, Red, All kind of different Camouflage Patterns and yes even a Hello Kitty Rifle.

I’m not sure saying a toy firearm must be a given color is going to solve the problem of people being shot by the police.

I think some training of kids, young adults & parents is in order. If you have something that looks like a gun in your hand and you don’t want to be shot you should drop the item.

Comment by Kevin Highland Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 1:20 pm
Tryon’s bill is dumb. Not much else to say about it.

Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 1:21 pm
Rep. Tyron has a great idea. Other states have similar laws. About five years ago, Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) died. Because of a Wyoming law, their democrat governor was required to appoint a Republican, and I didn’t hear that any Wyoming Democrats complained.

Comment by Conservative Veteran Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 1:25 pm
=== JS Mill - Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 11:26 am:

I am with A guy…====

Be careful. Some days that can get you killed around here! lol.

Comment by A guy Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 1:42 pm
If they don’t pass Tyron’s bill, then will they remove the same requirement for local governments?

Comment by downstate commissioner Wednesday, Mar 4, 15 @ 9:33 pm