IACCE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

Committee Description: Responsible for the Government Affairs issues including annual survey, legislative summit, and acts as a liaison to the Illinois Chamber and U.S. Chamber on legislative matters.

IACCE's Government Affairs Division had a conference call on Monday, March 3.  Key topics included with this call were a Legislative Summit Wrap Up as well as a discussion about the Con-Con issue (Constitutional Convention in Illinois). 

In an effort to keep IACCE's membership updated on issues, the government affairs division has launched a page letting our membership know the status of the local chamber push to oppose the Con-Con as well as other issues.  Visit www.iacce.org/governmentaffairsdivision.php. 

Chambers officially opposed to the Constitutional Convention:

• Illinois Chamber of Commerce
• Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce (The Heartland Partnership)
• 
  

*E-mail IACCE/Illinois Chamber if you have come out in opposition or support of the Constitutional Convention by emailing lkerns@ilchamber.org. 

Background of the Constitutional Convention

Download the Illinois Business Roundtable's book about the con-con issue at:  http://www.icjl.org/subhead_studies.htm

Constitutional Convention Study Group by Laura Minzer, Illinois Chamber of Commerce
The 1970 Illinois Constitution provides for two methods of revision: 1) by a Convention approved by
voters or 2) by constitutional amendments approved by the General Assembly. The Constitution
requires the question of whether to call a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) to be presented as a
referendum to voters at least once every 20 years. A new convention does not require a complete
rewrite of the state’s constitution, but rather, it presents an opportunity for unlimited, minimal or
substantial revisions. The last Con-Con referendum was put to voters at the 1988 general election.
Illinois voters will get another opportunity to decide on the question at the November 2008 general
election.

If a majority of the voters at the 2008 general election decide in favor of a new Constitutional
Convention, the General Assembly, at a session following the general election, must provide for the
election of two delegates from each legislative district and the meeting schedule for the Convention.
The Convention is responsible for preparing and discussing any constitutional revisions or
amendments. Once a majority of the Convention delegates sign off on a particular constitutional
revision and/or amendment, the Convention’s recommended changes must be approved by the voters
at a subsequent election. Any revision or amendment proposed by the Convention must be published
with explanation at least one month prior to the election at which the Convention’s proposed revisions
and/or amendments are presented on a separate ballot, and only upon a majority approval of the voters
will the revisions and/or amendments go into effect.

When the vote for convening a new Constitutional Convention occurred in 1988 the measure was
soundly defeated by a three-to-one margin. The fallout from a recent legislative session and a budget
crisis of historic proportions, however, carries the possibility of re-energizing the support necessary to
approve a new Constitutional Convention when the next mandatory vote takes place in November
2008.

The political gridlock that plagued the 2007 legislative session inspired a bipartisan effort to advocate
for a new Constitutional Convention in early June. The adoption of House Resolution 25 specifically
cited frustrations with lack of movement to address critical issues such as education funding reform,
ethics reform, and the property tax assessment process as evidence of the need for a constitutional
fresh start. Over the course of the regular legislative session, legislators also proposed a variety of
constitutional amendments, offering a glimpse of some of the possible pressure points of crafting a
new Illinois Constitution.

The following highlights some of these issues that may be up for consideration, should voters choose
to convene a new Constitutional Convention:

Initiative and Referendums:

• Unlike California and (fill in the number) other states the Illinois Constitution does not
  currently provide for voter initiated laws, unrestricted Constitutional amendments or other
  forms of referendum.
  

Education Funding Reform:

• The current Illinois Constitution declares that the state has the “primary responsibility” for
  financing the system of public education. The Illinois Supreme Court, however, ruled in
  1973 that “primary responsibility” does not require the state to provide at least half of
  school funding, as many education advocates argue the state should.
• Since that time, education advocates have faced an uphill battle in securing funding
  reform, which includes altering the state constitution to require the state to be the
  preponderant source of funding for K-12 education (providing 51% or more).
• Currently, state funding represents only about 35% of total education funding, while
  property taxes imposed by local school district boards represent over 56%.
  

Tax Reform Issues:

• Income Tax- Various proposals have called for altering the constitution to provide for
  graduated tax rates under the presumption it would be easier, to create support for income
  tax increases to fund increased spending.
• A significant risk for corporate taxpayers would be the elimination of the existing
  protection from unilateral and indiscriminate rate increases by a provision in the 1970
  Constitution that assures the flat tax rates on corporations and individuals may not exceed
  a ratio of 8:5.
• Property Tax- The current constitutional provisions regarding real property taxes
  attempted to create fairness in property taxation, but since that time, the General
  Assembly has passed numerous laws that have arguably and severely disrupted this
  uniformity.
  In particular, Cook County’s exception to the requirement for uniformity in real estate
  assessments and sanctioning classification is authorized in the 1970 Constitution. The
  consequence is higher property tax bills for commercial and industrial property owners in
  Cook County than required of similar property in 101 other counties.
• Home Rule Authority- Under the current constitution, as well as an expanding number of
  laws, home rule authorities are given a considerable amount of flexibility in their ability to
  tax various entities. Business and labor groups have long argued that home rule
  provisions should be modified to curb double taxation.
  

Executive and Legislative Powers:

• Suggestions on reforming executive and legislative powers include, implementing recall
  provisions for constitutional officers (as well as judges, should the election of judges
  continue), establishing term limits for legislative offices, and collapsing
  Treasurer/Comptroller into one office.
  

Tort Reform:

• Although the buzz surrounding medical malpractice reform has quieted, some believe that
  a new Constitutional Convention would give rise to the opportunity to amend provisions
  to provide constitutional protection for caps on damages.

Employee Pension Benefits:

• The Illinois Constitution currently guarantees state employees’ pension benefits from
  being altered or diminished in any way; however, the state’s pension debt continues rise,
  which is compounded by several legislative decisions to defer pension payments.
  Furthermore, decisions to defer pension payments have arguably placed the state at odds
  with constitutional provisions regarding state debt.
  

Judicial Merit Selection:

• This issue was considered at the 1970 Constitutional Convention, but the proposal to end
  the election of judges failed to gain sufficient support among the delegates..
  

Ethics/Campaign Finance Reform:

• Governor Blagojevich originally campaigned on ending the patronage practices of former
  administrations; however, during Blagojevich’s tenure, “pay-to-play” politics has only
  appeared to propagate, while ethics reform has remained largely an issue of rhetoric.
  

Revenue/Debt Service Issues:

• Although the Illinois Constitution currently prohibits appropriations for a fiscal year from
  exceeding funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year,
  watchdog groups have argued that the provisions should be modified to ensure the state
  budget is balanced each fiscal year. Furthermore, several proposals have been put forward
  in recent years to refine the state debt provisions so as to discourage practices of
  borrowing against long-term obligations for short-term expenses.
  

Redistricting:

• Several proposed constitutional amendments introduced during both the current and
  previous General Assemblies have suggested turning the responsibility of drawing a
  redistricting map over to the State Board of Elections, thereby eliminating the process of
  selecting a Legislative Redistricting Commission.

This is only a partial list of controversial public policy decisions that might be addressed during the
course of a Constitutional Convention. The focus of this list has been to identify issues that may be of
particular concern to employers and business owners. A new convention would undoubtedly also
entertain dozens of additional topics such as state government structure and responsibilities, local
government consolidation, as well as, social and moral issues.

Sample Government Affairs Committee Information

Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce: Government Affairs Council

Goals & Objectives: The Division of the Government Affairs shall utilize the Chamber resources to influence governmental decisions, which affect our area’s business climate and economic growth. The Chamber shall continuously foster working relationships with legislators, administrators and their staffs through invitations to appropriate Chamber functions and regular meetings with officials. The Chamber shall continuously communicate its pro-business position to the general public, as well as to the elected officials.

Purpose: The Government Affairs Committee, a Committee of the BARRINGTON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, shall identify and monitor proposed legislation, develop resolutions and/or position papers on issues of importance, educate lawmakers and encourage Chamber members to contact legislators and other appropriate officials promoting the Chamber’s pro-business position.

Goals:  The Government Affairs Committee shall set the following goals to address the issues directly affecting the Barrington community and the BACC membership. 

• Shall survey members for opinions on specific business issues prior to meeting with legislators, administrators and staff.
• Shall interact with BACOG and other Chambers on issues of common concerns.
• Shall develop effective methods of communicating information regarding key business legislation to the general public and membership. These efforts will be a credit to the BACC membership for being informed and taking the lead.
• Shall hold twelve meetings a year.
• The Committee will be formed with no less than ten BACC members with diverse business backgrounds, elected officials/staff of the local, state and national governments, and other key stakeholders including the educators and health care representatives.
• Shall cooperate with other organizations, i.e., Illinois State Chamber, Illinois Retail Merchants Association, Illinois Manufacturer’s Association, DCCA (Department of Commerce and Community Affairs) and the Illinois P.A.C. (Political Action Committee Contribution Solicitation) and develop alliances with BACOG.
• Shall participate in the annual Illinois State Chamber’s Legislative Conference and Business Day in Springfield.