by Lucinda Gunnin

Created on: December 15, 2008

Under the Illinois Constitution adopted in 1970, only the governor of the state can appoint someone to replace an officeholder who cannot finish their term of office.

Clearly, with the corruption in Illinois, this is a problem. But the arrest of current Governor Rod Blagojevich is only one reason to consider changing the law and allowing the vacant Senate seat once held by President-elect Barack Obama to be filled via special election.

The simple truth is that the current manner of replacing an office holder puts too much power in the hands of one man. With three of their last six governors arrested or convicted of federal crimes, the people of Illinois can no longer expect the governor's mansion to be a place that is corruption free. I suppose the mansion may currently be free of corruption since no one ahs lived there since Rod Blagojevich was elected, but the office most certainly is not.

In addition to concentrating too much power in the hands of one man, the current means of replacing an officeholder who cannot finish out his or her term may not reflect the wishes of the people of Illinois. There is no provision in the law that requires the governor to choose a replacement from the same party as his predecessor. Thus, if he wanted to or if a Republican were in office, the governor could name a Republican to take over the seat that Obama held, even though Obama, a Democrat, won the seat with something more than 70 percent of the popular vote.

After the American Constitution was changed to provide for the direct election of Senators, the office of United States Senator became the highest office in the land where the officeholder is a direct representative of the voters. If we continue to allow the Illinois law to stand and the governor to have the sole right to appoint the new senator, then we are removing the right of the people of Illinois to have a say in their government.

With accusations of disenfranchisement running rampant, changing the law to allow the people of Illinois the right to name their new Senator is the best way to assure that the system works as it should and that the people are represented in Washington, D.C.

With four years left in the Senator's term of office, it is only right that the state of Illinois hold a special election to select the replacement for the President-elect Obama. The people of Illinois have been battered and bruised by their politicians for too long. We deserve better!

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