CUMULATIVE VOTING
Want to go plunking again?
A controversial representational system that once elected Republicans from Chicago and Democrats from DuPage County to the Illinois House will be debated this year. But some observers doubt whether voters are interested in returning to the so-called "cumulative voting" system used until 1982 to elect Illinois' representatives.

Under cumulative voting, each of the state's 59 House districts sent three representatives to Springfield. Voters were asked to decide whether to give all of their votes to one of the candidates, called bullet voting, sometimes plunking, or split their votes between two or three candidates.

Usually, one of the three winners was a member of the minority party in the district, or a maverick from the majority party. Under the system, there were 177 representatives in the House, instead of the current 118.

The system allowed for more diversity, says Dawn dark Netsch, who served stints as the state comptroller and as a state senator from Chicago.

"It allowed independents to challenge the Democratic machine in Chicago," she says. "And a downstate Democrat or a Chicago Republican could put their views to their own [party] members and be heard."

Activists are gearing up for a debate on reinstating that system. And a task force led by former Gov. Jim Edgar, a Republican, and political veteran Abner Mikva, a Democrat, has been formed to review the pros and cons of cumulative voting and other representational systems.

The 1980 Cutback Amendment to the state Constitution eliminated the cumulative system. The amendment's proponents said it was expensive and confusing to voters. The changes took effect two years later. Now, each of the state's 59 Senate districts has been apportioned into two House districts. Those districts each elect one representative.

Critics of the current system charge it encourages uniformity and concentrates too much power in the hands of the legislative leaders.

But House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, doesn't think cumulative voting will be reinstated, according to spokesman Steve Brown.

"The speaker has not spent 30 seconds pondering cumulative voting because it isn't realistic that voters will put it back into place," he says.

Lawmakers wouldn't have to look far to find the cumulative system in action. The Peoria City Council uses cumulative voting to elect five at-large members and five members from individual districts. But a proposal introduced last year by Chicago Democrat Sara Feigenholtz to reinstate cumulative voting failed to get a vote.

Mikva, who served in the General Assembly, acknowledges change may be difficult because Madigan and Senate President James "Pate" Philip would have to yield some of the power they now hold.

The Mikva/Edgar hearings will coincide this summer with the release of a study by James Kuklinski, professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Joyce Foundation of Chicago is funding the forums and Kuklinski's research. Kuklinski says his study will examine voter turnout under the current system and legislators' votes on major issues.
Burney Simpson

8 / February 2000 Illinois Issues

Minority employment in Illinois government
Gov. George Ryan's record for minority hiring came under fire late last year when the Straight Talk Economic Round Table, an African-American business group from Chicago, argued the governor should have more than four African-American top administrators. (The group made its announcement before Howard Peters stepped down as Human Services secretary) The criticism came despite Ryan's October executive call for a more diversified state work force.

In response to Straight Talk's assertion, a Ryan spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune minority hiring is at 26.3 percent, up from 25.9 percent a year ago. But the Illinois Association of Minorities in Government argues that minority employment in state government lags behind equal employment requirements under state law and minority state workers are unevenly represented across agencies, working predominantly in social service fields.

The chart to the right shows that the state's record for minority hiring has generally improved since 1993. But the figures also support the contention that minority hiring tends to take place most often in the state's social service agencies.
Josh Bluhm

* Reflects statistics of the Department of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities prior to creation of the Department of Human Services

** Reflects statistics prior to creation of the Department of Human Services

Note: These figures account for fiscal year 1993, the middle of former Gov. Jim Edgar's tenure; fiscal year 1998, Edgar's final year in office; and through September 1999, Gov. George Ryan's first nine months as chief executive.

THE LEGAL LEXICON More than a "technicality*
Essay by Frank Kopecky

Here's a multiple-choice test. In three cases last year, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled the General Assembly violated the Single Subject Rule of the Illinois Constitution. In each of those decisions, the justices found major revisions of criminal laws unconstitutional. Following the last decision, Gov. George Ryan called a special session to re-enact the 1994 Safe Neighborhoods Act, and a stalemate ensued among politicians over whether carrying a concealed weapon should be a felony or a misdemeanor.

But in describing the special sessions last December (three in all), the media also faced a challenge: How to describe what the Supreme Court did in a summary fashion. Three approaches were taken, only one of them accurate.

See how well you would do. Which is the preferable way to complete the following sentence? The Supreme Court declared the Safe Neighborhoods Act invalid because of:

A) a legal technicality

B) a procedural requirement

C) a constitutional requirement. In my opinion "C," a constitutional requirement, is the correct choice. Here's why. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word "technicality" as "something meaningful or relevant only to a specialist." As an example, the dictionary uses "a legal technicality." The fine print of a contract comes to mind when the phrase is used.

Yet the Single Subject Rule is much too important to be labeled a "technicality."

In fact, the Illinois Constitution contains several provisions lawmakers must follow while passing legislation. These include requirements that bills be read by title three times in each chamber, that committees provide notice of bills that are to be heard, that final votes be recorded and that no bill relate to more than one topic — the Single Subject Rule.

These requirements were included in the Constitution to increase accountability, openness and an orderly process for legislating.

The phrase "procedural requirement" is more accurate, but it is not the most preferable.

Unlike many of the other requirements that govern the legislative process, the Single Subject Rule addresses the content or subject of legislation. While the legislature may enact complex and lengthy legislation amending several statutes in a single bill, all of these changes must relate to a single purpose. This requirement prohibits the practice of putting together unrelated popular and unpopular pieces of legislation to assure passage of the latter.

It also increases the likelihood that legislators, the press and the public will know what the legislation contains. One would not expect to find provisions dealing with mortgage foreclosures, environmental fees or hospital liens in bills that are described as measures relating to criminal matters. Neither does the Supreme Court, for it has ruled in recent years that such combinations violate the Single Subject Rule.

The importance of such constitutional requirements is underscored by a quick review of the legislative history of the Safe Neighborhoods Act.

It started out and was passed by the Senate as a simple bill to require mandatory community service as a sentence for certain offenses. It remained such a bill until the third (and final) reading in the House when, late in the legislative session, it was amended to include several other criminal justice provisions. When the Senate did not concur with these changes, a conference committee — a panel including lawmakers from both chambers — was called. Several bills and amendments were brought together in this conference report.

The next day the bill — by then more

continued on next page

Illinois Issues February 2000 / 1 9

BRIEFLY
Lexicon Cont.

than 157 pages long and containing several criminal justice matters, including the Safe Neighborhoods Act — passed both chambers with limited debate.

The bill, however, also included provisions to regulate fraud in a welfare program and to license secure

facilities for juveniles. The inclusion of these provisions led to the Supreme Court's ruling.

It would be interesting to know how many people in the Capitol that day — in the pressbox, in the gallery and on the legislative floor — knew what was in the bill. Maybe if constitutional

requirements were not referred to as "legal technicalities," the legislative process would be improved for the benefit of all.

Frank Kopecky is a professor of legal studies and public affairs with the Center for Legal Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW
Tax relief tops
the political agenda
The action gets underway this month when Gov. George Ryan delivers his combined State of the State and budget address. But the usual fireworks could be kept to a minimum. Lawmakers are supposed to confine them- selves to budget matters during even-numbered years. Besides, they have political campaigns to attend to. They're scheduled to wrap up business on April 14.

Still, the debate over spending tobacco settlement funds could generate some smoke. Such topics as school safety and child care could get lawmakers' attention, too.

Several tax relief proposals are in the works. Because of the election "there are strong incentives for both parties to want to do it," says Charles Wheeler, director of the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield. And fee increases instituted to pay for Ryan's public infrastructure program, Illinois First, will soon be hitting voters' pocketbooks. "People are going to start feeling the license tax increase now," says Wheeler. The annual license fee for cars rose from $48 to $78 last month.

The strong economy has prompted several states to consider cutting taxes, says Arturo Perez, senior policy specialist with the National Conference of State Legislatures. Minnesota, Oklahoma, Georgia, Maryland and Colorado are among those considering tax relief. "Large year-end imbalances seem to be one issue these states all have in common," Perez says.

With an extra $1.35 billion currently on hand, Illinois continues to raise more than it spends. With that much in the bank, "there is a grab bag of potential tax breaks," says Rep. Tom Ryder, a Republican from Jerseyville.

House Minority Leader Lee Daniels has proposed a tax-relief package that would double the income tax credit for some homeowners and establish the credit for businesses. Daniels, a Republican from Elmhurst, also wants to give seniors a tax credit on some health care costs and expand eligibility for a state program that reduces certain prescription drug expenses.

Small business owners could see an estimated $150 million in tax relief under a proposal by Rep. Terry Parke, a Republican from Hoffman Estates. Parke's plan calls for the elimination of the rate-building portion of the unemployment insurance tax, arguing there's a surplus in that fund.

Meanwhile, Senate President James "Pate" Philip has suggested a "tax holiday" that would suspend the sales taxes on certain goods for a limited period. The Wood Dale Republican's spokesperson Patty Schuh says he also is considering an income tax rebate and property tax relief.

Democratic Sen. Lisa Madigan of Chicago plans to offer a child care tax credit for working families, though the proposal is still under discussion. "Right now, we're just looking for something that everyone can agree on," she says.

Social issues are capturing the attention of other lawmakers, as well. Democrats are interested in using the tobacco funds to support health and social issues. And Sen. Donne Trotter, a Chicago Democrat, wants to expand children's mental health programs. His agenda includes hiring counselors trained to identify troubled children before they end up in the juvenile justice system.

Here are a few other potential issues:
School safety. In the wake of the Columbine High School shootings, legislators are increasingly attentive to violence in schools. At the same time, the recent expulsion in Decatur of six students for fighting has some wanting to make anti-violence policies uniform statewide.

Freedom of information. Attorney General Jim Ryan plans to promote his proposal to create a unit in his office that would enforce the law. He would also strengthen penalties for those who refuse to comply.

Racial profiling. Trotter, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, says that group wants a statewide study of racial profiling. Civil libertarians charge law enforcement officials target people of color for searches and traffic stops. "Racial profiling is the way that you harass individuals to make sure that they don't come back to your community," he says.

Parole reform. Democratic Rep. Tom Dart of Chicago wants a "more inten- sive" parole system that would step up monitoring.

And, of course, guns will remain an issue. The Senate's failure to re-enact the Safe Neighborhoods Act last December was a disappointment to many on both sides of the aisle. Bloomington Republican Sen. John Maitland says his party "hope(s) that the major portion will pass." But some lawmakers continue to object to making illegal possession and transport of a gun a felony.

With an election, a shortened schedule and a budget, lawmakers may find passing extraneous legislation a tall order. "You'll see lots of political posturing," says Ryder, but "I think that we'll be focusing on the dollars."
Heather Nickel

10 / February 2000 Illinois Issues