John Bambenek's blog

According to today's News-Gazette:

CHAMPAIGN – The Champaign school district's consent decree should be extended another three to four years to accomplish its goals, the lawyer for the district's black families told the judge overseeing the consent decree earlier this month.

Carol Ashley, lawyer for the plaintiffs in the case, said the district needs more time to reach its goals in several areas, including special education, discipline and student achievement.

This was said during the "private" hearing that became public at a late hour before the hearing...

In short, the Chicago lawyers apparently don't think enough "progress" is being made... progress being defined as getting enough money out of the hands of Champaign taxpayers, out of the hands of Unit 4, out of our classrooms and into the pockets of some Chicago aristocrats. This gravy train will not end gracefully.

Today's News-Gazette published a guest commentary from me on the question of an Illinois Constitution Convention which I am in support of (N-G doesn't put guest columns online, sorry)...

Gov. Rod Blagojevich has done something remarkable in Illinois. He has managed to unite people across the political spectrum to create consensus that he absolutely stinks as a governor. Illinois deserves better than Rod Blagojevich. Because of his low approval in both parties and the budget fiasco of last year, legislators (even those in his own party) are talking about amending the constitution to allow recall votes of sitting politicians. The timing for such talk is opportune because on the November ballot this year there will be a question on whether to have a constitutional convention for Illinois to rewrite or amend the state constitution.

The ability to throw a politician out of office after he or she has been shown unwilling or unable to govern according to the public interest is popular among the voters and is growing popular among politicians who want to take revenge against Blagojevich. Yet a convention should include more than just recalls. While throwing public officials out of office that have shown themselves to be a complete failure is a good start; revising the constitution should produce an overall solid framework for good governance.

Discuss.

As required by the current constitution, in 2008 there will be a referenda that will ask voters if they want to convene a constitutional convention to rewrite our current constitution.  There has been some preliminary talk about pushing for this, usually based on one issue or another.  Here are some items I think would be good additions to our current constitution...

• The ability to recall any politician
• The ability to put binding referenda on the ballot
• Term Limits
• Equal ballot access regardless of political affiliation or non-affiliation
• Open primaries (i.e. voters don't have to declare party to get a ballot) w/ run-offs

What a con-con shouldn't be is an attempt to enshrine a pet issue into the constitution.

What are your thoughts?  Con-Con good or bad idea?  What changes?

Plane in Columbia kinda missed the runway... not exactly the same thing as getting stuck in the mud at Willard, but still not good for your career.

Talk radio host Bruno Behrend of the Extreme Wisdom radio show will by on campus Thursday at 4pm giving a talk on reforming Illinois and the prospects of a constitutional convention for Illinois in 2008. Illinois leads the nation in bringing political corruption up to an art form. Each day it seems those in the state capitol in Springfield Chicago are more and more disconnected from voters across the political spectrum. Illinois is over 45 billion in debt and problems keep getting worse.

Illinois requires that every 20 years a ballot referenda be held on whether there should be a constitutional convention. Behrend will speak on the prospects of that happening, what the reforms would look like, and what it would mean for Illinois.

The talk will be held at Talbot Lab in room 103 Thursday at 4pm.

Because no one else got around to it first...