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| Boland Wants Term Limits on Governor |
A state lawmaker plans to introduce constitutional amendments to place term limits on the governor, and to allow for recall.
Thirty-seven states have term limits for their governors, and State Rep. Mike Boland (D- East Moline ) says Illinois should be No. 38. He will introduce an amendment to limit governors to two four-year terms too keep a governor from being entrenched. He says incumbent governors have a variety of built-in "re-election mechanisms" including patronage, access to the media and the ability to raise money that can limit the ability of the opposition to supplant a governor on Election Day.
Boland also will introduce recall legislation that would allow voters to eject a governor mid-term. A recall measure was considered in Springfield this year. It applied to all state officials. It passed the Illinois House but did not come up for a vote in the Illinois Senate.
Under Boland's proposal, the recall would apply to the governor only, and if the governor is recalled, he would be replaced by the lieutenant governor, saving the cost of a special election, and preventing recall for partisan reasons.
Assuming he is re-elected next month, Boland says he will introduce a constitutional amendment early next year for recall, and another amendment to limit the governor to two four-year terms. He favors a constitutional convention at which these measures could be considered, but if that fails in the Nov. 4 election, he will be prepared with these proposals, with the hope that they could be before voters in the 2010 election.
Thirty-seven states have term limits for their governor, though what those limits are varies from state to state. Eighteen states have provisions allowing for mid-term recall of the governor.
Boland announced his proposals at a news conference Sunday in Chicago, before attending a rally on behalf of the constitutional convention.
(Source: Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 10 12 08 by Newsroom |
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