[CitizensTruth] Protect the Incumbents Act??? [Fwd: ILGP ACTION ALERT: HELP DEFEAT HOUSE BILL 723!]

[Geri Perry]

-------- Original Message --------

A hearing on HB723 – the "Protect Incumbents Act" – will take place
before the Senate Elections Committee on Tuesday, April 28 at 1:00 pm
in Room 400 of the Capitol.  Greens and others across the political
spectrum who are tired of top-down party boss politics are urged to
take action.

* Testifying at the hearing is the best step that we can take.  If you
are in or near Springfield and can make it on Tuesday, call Dan Kairis
at 847-695-3195 to coordinate meeting up with other Greens there.

* Call the Senators on the Senate Elections Committee and ask them to
vote No on HB723.  A list of Senators on the committee is included at
the bottom of this message.  If you live in one of these Senators'
districts, it is especially important that you call.  Emailing is
alright, but calling gets a lot farther.

* Spread the word.  Although the bill seems to be especially targeted
at Greens, it's not just Greens who are adversely impacted by this
legislation.  It's aimed all across the political spectrum at anyone
who isn't currently in power.  Forward this message to as many groups
as you can.  The fight to defeat this bill will likely last past
Tuesday.

HOUSE BILL 723:  PROTECTING INCUMBENTS, TARGETING GREENS

House Bill 723, the "Protect Incumbents Act", is a
bipartisan-supported bill specifically aimed at the Green Party and
all other "political outsiders".  Currently, if no candidate runs in
the primary for a given office, Illinois law allows an established
political party to "slate" a candidate onto the general election
ballot.  If HB723 passes, then "slating" would have to be accompanied
by collecting a massive amount of signatures in a short, cold time
frame, effectively ending the practice.  The bill passed the House
earlier in April, so we need to try and get it shut down in the
Senate.

The ability to slate is essential because of other strange aspects of
Illinois law, including a very early primary (first Tuesday in
February), and very difficult petitioning requirements for state
legislature.  These requirements aren't a problem for incumbents and
other candidates connected to the big party machines, but for Greens,
these are extremely burdensome requirements.  And as it so happens,
the requirements are also burdensome for the Republicans in places
like Chicago where the Democrats exercise one-party rule, and for the
Democrats in places like DuPage County where the Republicans exercise
one-party rule.  The bill is designed specifically to protect
incumbent state legislators, regardless of which party they belong to.

The Green Party in particular is a clear target of the bill.  The
Daily Illini in an April 14 editorial wrote:

"While the bill's sponsor, Rep. Mike Fortner (R-95), says the
initiative is to even out the playing field for all candidates, this
legislation would make it extremely difficult for a Green Party
candidate to get on the ballot; the bill comes off as a direct attack
against smaller parties."

Read the entire editorial at:
http://www.dailyillini.com/opinions/editorials/2009/04/14/house-bill-723-attacks-underrepresented-parties

In November 2008, 59 of 118 Illinois House seats and 20 of 40 Illinois
Senate seats were unopposed in the general election – one-half of all
legislative seats!  This is a longstanding black mark against
Illinois, a sure-fire sign of bipartisan political corruption.  And if
HB723 passes, the number of unopposed seats will increase
significantly.  The incumbents don't just want to make sure they win;
they don't even want to have to run against anyone.  But if Senators
hear from constituents and others, there is a good chance the bill can
be stopped - just like a similar bill was stopped in the same Senate
committee last year.

Contact these members of the Senate Elections Committee on Tuesday morning:

Maggie Crotty (D-19) (Chair)
708-687-9696
crotty at mccrotty.info

Terry Link (D-30) (Vice-Chair)
847-735-8181
senator at link30.org

Michael Bond (D-31)
847-752-7004
info at michaelbond31.com

James Meeks (D-15)
708-862-1515
senmeeks at sbcglobal.net

Louis Viverito (D-11)
708-430-2510
viverito at senatedem.state.il.us

Dale Righter (R-55) (Minority Spokesperson)
217-235-6033
drighter at consolidated.net

Randall Hultgren (R-48)
630-682-8100
district48 at senategop.state.il.us

David Luechtefeld (R-58)
618-243-9014
sendavel at midwest.net

Dan Rutherford (R-53)
815-842-3632
danrutherford at danrutherford.com

For more information on House Bill 723 and other information about
election reform in Illinois, please contact the Illinois Green Party:

Phil Huckelberry, Chair
chair at ilgp.org
309-268-9974

Patrick Kelly, Media Coordinator
media at ilgp.org
773-203-9631