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If ever there was a case to illustrate why citizens must assert greater control over our political process, the current debacle with Governor Blagojevich makes the point clearly.
On Friday two suits were filed to have the governor removed from office, both using the same legal theory and Supreme Court rule. The Attorney General’s suit, while certainly a higher profile event, exposes her to charges of conflict-of-interest. Our suit, brought on behalf of citizens, does not suffer from that burden.
We assume that Ms. Madigan is doing her best to be a fair player, but her interlocking interests with insiders make it impossible to act without the appearance of conflicting interest.
Whether it is the fact that she is “Candidate number 2” mentioned in the criminal complaint against the governor, or her role as the Attorney General, or her ambition to become governor or senator, or her relationship to the Speaker of the House, it is obvious that any action she takes will be tainted by the potential conflicts.
Our motivations in filing this suit are simple. First, the people of Illinois are being harmed by the lack of representation in the U.S. Senate during a time of national crisis. Second, the state government in Illinois is in political and functional gridlock. According to press reports, the current situation has already “forced the delay of a $1.4 billion debt sale needed to keep the state's nursing homes open, state troopers' cars fueled and prisoners fed.”
The most important aspect of this situation is that the people of Illinois understand that these suits do not bring finality to the situation. Even if the Court grants the relief asked for, and declares the Governor “disabled” through a “lack of capacity,” their action will only be temporary.
There are only three ways to bring finality to this situation. First, the Governor resigns, second, his term ends, or third, the Illinois General Assembly impeaches him and removes him from office. The first scenario is unlikely, and the second would cause Illinois irreparable damage.
It is for that reason that we first ask the Supreme Court to temporarily remove the Governor, and second, call on the General Assembly to impeach and try the Governor as quickly as possible. This process does not need to take months, or even weeks.
Finally, Illinois government and Illinois courts have long been hostile to citizen action. The good news is that Lt. Governor Quinn is more open to citizen involvement than most of Illinois’ political class. While we might disagree with him on some policies, we are optimistic that he will be breath of fresh air on issues like transparency, recall and other nonpartisan reforms that empower Illinois citizens.
This crisis demonstrates that the time is now for Illinois citizens to reassert control over their government. Our citizen-originated suit is the fastest way to achieve these goals without conflict and without trampling the Constitution.
***In this editorial, Adam is speaking as a private citizen, not as director of For The Good of Illinois.***
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