SPRINGFIELD (CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS) – Democrats in the state Senate on Thursday approved a measure that would put three nonbinding referendum questions to voters on the November ballot, along with blocking established parties from putting candidates on the ballot if they did not go through the primary process.
Supermajority Democrats in the House quickly pushed Senate Bill 2412 through their own chamber the day before. Republicans in both chambers voted “present” on the bill in protest, while a handful of Democrats voted against it or skipped voting altogether.
Republicans criticized the bill as a targeted attempt to block a mid-cycle GOP opponent for Democratic Rep. Katie Stuart of Edwardsville, whose 112th House district in the Metro East did not see a Republican run in the March primary. Both parties have used the slating process to strategically place a candidate on the ballot if they perceive the winner of the other party’s primary as beatable.
The House Republicans’ political arm last month announced Jay Keeven, the former Edwardsville chief of police, would challenge Stuart in the November Election. On Thursday, the party apparatus panned the measure as the “Katie Stuart Protection Act” in a statement announcing Keeven had collected hundreds of signatures in order to file his nominating petitions with the State Board of Elections “within just 24 hours” of the bill’s passage in the House. Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said Republicans’ concerns about the measure’s quick introduction and passage in the middle of a campaign cycle were misplaced. He said the bill would “end a corrosive practice,” alluding to the use of slating by the former powerful Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, who’s awaiting trial on federal corruption charges unrelated to elections.
“I want to emphasize we’re not taking this away from Republicans; we’re taking this away from-everybody,” Harmon said. “We Democrats won’t be able to slate candidates for the Senate in any districts where your members are running unopposed. It’s a problem with the practice.”
One of the three nonbinding advisory questions that would be put to voters in November under the bill would ask whether they’d favor civil penalties for any candidate who “interferes or attempts to interfere with an election worker’s official duties,” providing kindling for Republican State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield.
“It’s very ironic that a motion that contains a referendum on election interference actually interferes with a pending election,” he said. “That’s what this bill does.”
Asked at an unrelated event Thursday whether he’d sign the bill into law, Gov. JB Pritzker didn’t specifically answer but instead characterized the measure as “actually an ethics bill.”
“It really does make sure that we don’t have backroom deals to put people on the ballot and run as a result of, you know, some small group of people in a smoke-filled room making the choice,” he said. “To me, more transparency is better.”
In addition to the question about civil penalties for candidates who break election laws, voters would also be asked whether health insurance plans that cover pregnancy benefits should be required to cover in vitro fertilization and whether the state should adopt an additional 3 percent tax on income over $1 million “for the purpose of…property tax relief.”
Below are statements released by our local state lawmakers after the measure passed.
State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) said, “If you ever wanted proof of an attempt to steal an election, you found the perfect example with Senate Bill 2412. This massive change to our state’s election process was filed and passed out of the General Assembly in just 24 hours. You may ask why the rush? Well, the answer is simple – it is to ensure that the Majority Party’s preferred candidates can avoid having to face the people this November. This legislation is an absolute abuse of power by Democrats and without a question undemocratic.”
State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) said, “Senate Bill 2412 is a direct blow to the democratic process of our state and I refused to vote for legislation that is so clearly undemocratic. By proposing to change the rules mid-election cycle, Democrat lawmakers are essentially dismissing the hard work and dedication of local candidates working to serve the people of this state. This isn’t just about updating processes. It’s a calculated move to manipulate the playing field in favor of cherry-picked candidates, depriving Illinois voters their voice in the election process and eroding trust in our electoral system. We cannot stand for such blatant power plays; we must instead stand to ensure our election process remains free and fair for all Illinoisans.”
State Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) said, “Illinois already has the highest taxes in the country, and the most corruption arrests and convictions in the country. With this legislation, we can add election interference and the direct denial of democracy to the citizens of Illinois to the list that defines the current Democrat party. This legislation lacks all transparency and stinks of self-serving political corruption. The referendum questions being added to the ballot to drive up Democrat turnout in the November election should be addressed by legitimate legislation. Instead the integrity of our election has been harmed due to Democrats playing partisan politics.”
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) said, “The process that lead to this legislation passing through the House in just a single day is shows just how far the Democrats will go in flexing their political muscles under the Statehouse dome. A bill like this that changes so much about our elections, adds questions on major issues to the ballot, and stifles the power of the minority party to appoint candidates to the ballot deserves thorough debate. This legislation was barely on the calendar before it cleared the House. This is not the best that we can do for the people of Illinois. The change proposed to the slating process in SB 2412 will have the impact of making our elections even less competitive. That is the opposite of the direction that we should go in as a state. Incumbents already enjoy advantages, and this legislation will increase that advantage and stifle competition.”
State Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) said, “Some of the ideas in the bill merit debate, but that’s not what we got today. I continue to be disappointed and perplexed by the way Democrats run the House, the Senate and the State. The people of Illinois deserve to know what their legislature is working on and to have a chance to weigh in through a fair committee hearing process. Today Democrats rushed through a major elections reform bill in a single day. I joined my colleagues in protesting the process by which this bill was passed. The super majority is facing political headwinds because of the failures of President Biden, rampant inflation, out-of-control illegal immigration, and anti-Semitic activity in major cities and on college campuses. It is no wonder they are working to take the legal right away from the minority party to slate candidates against them.”