Posted on 03/09/2005 1:40:57 PM PST by TheRightGuy
Better process needed for electing Illinois Republican Party leaders
The 19 members of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP) State Central Committee (SCC) lead the IRP. By law, all votes taken by the SCC are weighted. Together, six SCC members have more than 50 percent of the weighted vote -- Senator Dave Syverson (Manzullo-Dist. 16 - 9.8%), Dennis Wiggins (Hastert-Dist. 14 - 8.51%), Jerry Clarke (Johnson-Dist. 15 - 8.51%), MaryAlice Erickson (LaHood-Dist. 18 - 8.41%), Ron Smith (Hyde-Dist. 6 - 8.16%), and Dr. William Dam (Dist. 8 - 7.9%).
Recent actions taken by the SCC include the rude and unjustified firing of Gary McDougal as IRP Chairman, replacing him with Judy Baar Topinka who is under federal criminal investigation, filling the Jack Ryan vacancy with Alan Keyes instead of Jim Oberweis, and keeping the IRP platform and by-laws off the IRP website. Many believe that the SCC should have been more diligent in overseeing Topinka and her staff -- some of her staff treated conservatives very rudely. While many are happy that the SCC opened up its process somewhat for filling the Topinka vacancy, many believe it did so only because of pressure from the party's base -- conservative grassroots activists. Many would like to see the SCC post the date, time, location, and agenda of its meetings on the IRP website well in advance of those meetings. Many would like to see the meeting agendas include time for "public comment."
Many believe that certain SCC members were put in place and are kept in place by Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar, George Ryan, and Topinka -- people who argue that conservatives cannot win statewide offices in Illinois, that the IRP platform is too conservative, and that the IRP by-laws are too restrictive. Many believe that certain SCC members are far more responsive to certain elected officials, party leaders, and potential candidates than they are to the Republican voters in their districts. Competition for SCC positions is very limited and many believe the current process for electing SCC members has stifled healthy competition for the positions. Many believe that SCC positions should not be held by individuals who are state senators, representatives, or constitutional officers, or who might run for such offices.
SCC members used to be elected by the Republican voters in each of the 19 congressional districts. But in 1983, to gain even more control over the IRP, Thompson got the law changed to allow for Republican committeemen to elect SCC members instead of Republican voters. Sadly, in many Republican organizations, for a committeeman to advance, they must vote for whoever the head of the organization wants them to.
Republican voters could go back to electing SCC members if they could get the SCC to call a special convention and get a motion passed at that convention. But SCC members who hold a majority of the weighted vote refuse to put the special convention issue on the meeting agenda let alone vote for such a convention. When Oberweis campaigned for the IRP Chairman vacancy, he promised that he would call for a special convention if elected.
Many are very happy that on February 25, 2005 Senator Chris Lauzen introduced SB 2003, a bill that would force the IRP to resume letting Republican voters elect SCC members by taking away the option of letting committeemen elect them. The Illinois Forum and the Illinois Center Right Coalition have passed resolutions in support of the bill. For the bill to be voted on by the full Senate this session, it must be voted out of the Rules Committee by March 17.
Please urge your committeeman; your township, ward, and county chairman; your state and federal senators and representatives; IRP Chairman Andy McKenna, IRP National Committeeman Bob Kjellander, IRP National Committeewoman Mary Jo Arndt; and your SCC member to support SB 2033. Please urge the members of the Senate Rules Committee - Senators Viverito, Cullerton, Hendon, Petka, and Roskam -- to vote the bill out of the committee by March 17 and please urge your state senator to not only vote for the bill, but to immediately become one of its co-sponsors.
With the healthy competition that it would bring, direct election of SCC members will result in better SCC decisions, and therefore, a better IRP. SCC members who support the IRP platform and its by-laws and who have demonstrated their ability and motivation to properly oversee IRP's operations and to take actions that help elect Republicans who support the IRP platform and its by-laws should support direct election and they should have no problem being reelected as SCC members.
It would be great if all the SCC members issued a joint press release that strongly endorsed SB 2033 and called for IRP Chairman McKenna to immediately post the IPR platform and IRP by-laws on the IRP website.
Here's what I want you to do. Make seven phone calls to:
Each member of the State Senate Rules Committee (5)
State Senate Rules Committee Members and contact info
Your own State Senator (1)
State Senator's Roster and contact info
Your current State Central Committeeman (1)
List of Illinois Republican Party Officials and State Central Committee Members and contact info
Ask them to support passage of SB2033!
HINT:
When lobbying the Rules Committee we must make an effort to get the dems to support SB2003 because they control 3 of the 5 votes --- AND, you can bet the entrenched Republican leadership won't be to eager to help us. We can either urge the dems to save us from ourselves or, perhaps posing as dems, urge them to stick it to the GOP leadership. Oh, so much intrigue, so little time, let's get to work!
Please kill this thread, I inadvertently double posted.
I guess it's OK -- apparently you already killed the other one -- thanks.
We've got seven days to go and we need to get 3 votes.
Let's do it!!
Your Illinois ping list may be better than mine, please ping 'em!
Can you help with a little ping-a-ling?
Can you get us some talk show time on this issue?
Subject: Update on SB2033
Introduced by Senator Chris Lauzen on Friday, February 25, 2005, SB2033, the bill which would restore direct, popular election of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, was automatically assigned the same day to the Senate Rules Committee. (Under Senate rule 3-8, all bills are initially referred, automatically, to the Rules Committee, which may then re-assign them to other committees.)
The Illinois House has a standing committee specifically on Elections and Campaign Reform. The Illinois Senate does not have such a standing committee.
The Rules Committee is chaired by Senator Louis Viverito (D-Burbank, 11th District), and consists of three Democrats and two Republicans. Senator Ed Petka (R-Plainfield, 42nd District) in the minority spokesperson (“ranking member”) of the committee. The members of the committee may be contacted as follows:
Senator Louis S. Viverito
Springfield Office:
121A Capitol
Springfield, Illinois 62706
Telephone: (217) 782-0054
District Office:
6215 West 79th Street
Suite 1A
Burbank, Illinois 60459
Telephone: (708) 430-2510
Telecopier: (708) 430-2610
Senator John J. Cullerton (D-Chicago, 6th District)
Springfield Office:
111 Capitol
Springfield, Illinois 62706
Telephone: (217) 782-7260
District Office:
1051 West Belmont Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60657
Telephone: (773) 883-0770
Telecopier: (773) 296-0993
Senator Ricky R. Hendon (D-Chicago, 5th District)
Springfield Office:
627 Capitol
Springfield, Illinois 62706
Telephone: (217) 782-6252
District Office:
2928 West Madison Street
Chicago, Illinois 60612
Telephone: (773) 265-8611
Telecopier: (773) 265-8617
Senator Edward F. Petka (R-Plainfield, 42nd District)
309D Capitol
Springfield, Illinois 62706
Telephone: (217) 782-0422
District Office:
15133 South Route
59
Post Office Box188
Plainfield, Illinois 60544
Telephone: (815) 436-5577
Telephone: (815) 436-8065
Senator Peter J. Roskam (R-Wheaton, 48th District)
Springfield Office:
309 H Capitol
Springfield, Illinois 62706
Telephone: (217) 782-8022
District Office:
315 West Wesley Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
Telephone: (630) 690-4500
Telecopier: (630) 690-4505
Senator Viverito is Assistant Majority Leader; Senator Cullerton co-chairs the Judiciary Committee and is Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee; Senator Hendon is also Assistant Majority Leader and co-chairs the Executive Appointments Committee; Senator Petka is Deputy Minority Leader; Senator Roskam is Republican Whip and minority spokesperson for the Executive Committee. In short, all five members of the Rules Committee are senior leaders of their respective caucuses in the Senate; all are members of the Executive Committee; and each enjoys the confidence of his respective leader (President Jones and Senator Watson).
All five members are intelligent, accessible, and on record, in one context or another, as supporting broad concepts of political and electoral reform in Illinois.
Constituent contacts, encouraging them personally to support SB2033 and to see to it that it receives proper hearings and consideration, are warranted and timely.
Care to share any horror stories about the existing State Central Committee?
Imagine the worst you can imagine, multiply by ten, and you should be getting close...
;-)
Come visit us here!
Can you generate some activity on this downstate?
Can you help beat the drum wherever you are?
Are you still in Illinois? Can you help on this?
bttt
Thanks for the bump, how's sister?
Can you help us or are we supposed to shut up and take it?
Since there's no NHL action this year maybe you'd have time to make a few phone calls on this?
Are you aware that here, in the 9th Congression District, just TWO Township Committeemen (Maine & Niles) wield over 50% of the weighted vote and together can simply select whoever they want for State Central Committee for the 9th District. This needs fixing!
In Chicago, precinct committeemen are appointed by the Ward Committeemen. This fact has no bearing on the legislation that this thread talks about, but again, this is another thing that desperately needs changing.
It was a Republican Governor who created this awful sitution, by the way. He hated the fact that folks at the grassroots had any power. He wanted it all. So he spoiled the system for decades by cutting off the selection of leadership from the average Republican.
This distortion of the process is one of the key reasons corruption and backroom self-aggrandizement reigns supreme in the great State of Illinois now...and we ain't talkin' about the Democrat Party here, folks.
There are a number of things that must be done...not the least of which is the development of new leadership and committed long-term action at the precinct grassroots level...but this step is VERY helpful.
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