Illinois Members; Constitutional Convention?

[scout26]

And this current Daley is even more entrenched than his father. If only the Feds would do something right for once and lock this little fascist up. It would make me so happy, and would take the pressure off of gun owners in this state

No chance. If (or when) Daley does the perp-walk, which 2A/RKBA friendly pol takes power: Jesse, Jr ??? Luis Gutierrez ??? Rahm Emanuel ??? Please..... The only hope for RBKA/2A in Chicago is at the grass roots level and breaking the power hold Chicago/Cook county has on Springfield.

What I really like to see at the concon is a change in the way that State Senators are elected. Currently there are 59 and the districts are "drawn" by population, which is why Chicago/Cook county has 20 State Senators (http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/nsdihome/browse/statewide/senate91b.gif)

How about reducing that number to 51 and have one Senator from every 2 counties ??? http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/illinois_map.html Or have 102 senators, one from every county. Downstate would quickly be the equal of Chicago/Cook county. I think this is what the founding fathers had in mind when they decided that the US Senate would consist of of two Senators from each state, so that large (population and size) wouldn't be able to bully the smaller states which is what we currently have in Illinois, the large (Chicago/Cook) bullying the small (downstate, et al).

But back to the OP and the potential impact of a concon on RKBA/2A here in Illinois. It can't get any worse (well, it always can) and the possibility of getting rid of those four words "subject to police power" makes it a very tempting. It's even more tempting if we get a favorable USC decision on Parker .

The only drawback would be how it's made up and who are the delegates.

I'll vote for it.

 

[Autolycus]

Originally posted by Scout26:
How about reducing that number to 51 and have one Senator from every 2 counties ??? http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/illinois_map.html Or have 102 senators, one from every county. Downstate would quickly be the equal of Chicago/Cook county. I think this is what the founding fathers had in mind when they decided that the US Senate would consist of of two Senators from each state, so that large (population and size) wouldn't be able to bully the smaller states which is what we currently have in Illinois, the large(Chicago/Cook) bullying the small (downstate, et al).

They did have that in mind but they also felt that states with a smaller population should not necessarily be equal to the big states so they also created the house of represenatives. Should smaller populations which produce less get as much as a larger population that produces more was their reasoning as well. So the idea that laws must be passed in both the senate and the house was the only logical answer.

 

[Autolycus]

I for one am up for the idea that Scout26 describes but at the same time it is not fair for Cook County residents since they make up the majority of the population. Redistricting is not a bad idea in my opinion though and creating a fair way to do that.

Look at the history of the districts in Georgia and you will see there was a lot of it done on racial lines as well as economic lines. I believe the Georgia state politicians had to change things so that they made more sense and we did not get these crazy lines and districts.

 

[Jim K]

Jeff White wrote, "The only way that RKBA in the Illinois State Constitution could get worse is to eliminate it entirely."

Nope. Eliminating it would only leave things up in the air. If the liberals stack a convention, you could end up with a statement to the effect that "No person other than an agent of the state or federal goverment on official business shall possess any kind of weapon" or words to that effect.

Jim

 

[scout26]

My proposal would only change the Senate districts to either one or two counties, it would still leave the State House of Representatives districts to be drawn based on population.

 

[IllHunter]

I'm interested...

First off,

to spend like a drunken sailor on leave in Hong Kong on payday

, I resemble that remark! And it reeks of a certain ...familiarity?

Second, the latest counties to rebel...

Today at the June meeting of the White County Board, members voted unanimously to approve a resolution in support of the Second Amendment rights of White County citizens. By passing the resolution White County joins Brown, Hancock, Pike, Johnson, Schuyler, and Randolph counties which have passed similar resolutions. Many more counties are considering the proposed resolution.

The county-to-county movement to recognize and voice support for the Second Amendment was sparked by the extremely restrictive firearms legislation continuously being introduced at the State Capitol by legislators from Chicago and Cook County. The city of Chicago has banned the possession of handguns for decades and in November of '06 the Cook County board expanded their "assault weapons" ban to include large numbers of rifles and shotguns.

Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley vowed during his most recent inaugural speech to "rid the state of guns" and he makes no distinction between lawfully owned firearms and those used by criminals. Daley's form of gun control has not been received well by Illinois gun owners who own firearms for hunting, sport, and self-defense. Many White County gun owners have taken exception to Cook County politicians exerting their legislation on the rest of the state.

Around 1,500 Illinois gun owners made the trip to the State Capitol in Springfield this last March to lobby against any legislation that would infringe on their Second Amendment rights. The County Board resolution is another step in reinforcing that opposition.

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights states, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Anyone interested in presenting the resolution to their county board can contact Mike Rowe at [email protected] or Mark Mountain at [email protected].

Third, I can live with the vagaries for the RTKB if a con con is held but I would put all my resources into pushing term limits. Madigan is as much of a problem as Daley.

 

[FTA84]

How is the Ill constitution even legal? If I am correct in my history, no state constitution can overwrite our national constitution.

We have the right to keep and bear arms, and it shall not be infringed.

The state constitution of Ill says you have the right to keep and bear arms, subject to infringement (by the police)? (If I am reading your post correctly)

I just don't get it...seems like if you combine both it reads you have the right to keep and bear arms, uninfringed, but subject to infringement.....stupid...perhaps this is why I do mathematics for a living....no arguments about 'meaning', everything is either right or wrong.

 

[sctman800]

From things I have read on another site, one of the issues on the con con is taxes and property tax relief, but when it is opened I assume everything is possible. I also like scout26's idea.

"How about reducing that number to 51 and have one Senator from every 2 counties ??? http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/illinois_map.html Or have 102 senators, one from every county. Downstate would quickly be the equal of Chicago/Cook county. I think this is what the founding fathers had in mind when they decided that the US Senate would consist of of two Senators from each state, so that large (population and size) wouldn't be able to bully the smaller states which is what we currently have in Illinois, the large (Chicago/Cook) bullying the small (downstate, et al)."

As importaint as RKBA is to me this would probably save RKBA and many other things by removing the Chicago lock on legislation. It also does seem to be in line with the founders of our country, Jim.

 

[geekWithA.45]

Good luck, IL.

If I were you, I would seriously consider ejecting CHI from your state.

The civil war settled whether regions could forcibly leave the union, but it did not comment on whether regions could be forcibly thrown out.

 

[Jeff White]

I agree that changing the senate districts is the best way to stop the tyranny of the majority, even if Tecumseh thinks that it's not fair.

Jeff

 

[Brett Bellmore]

How about reducing that number to 51 and have one Senator from every 2 counties ???

I think you'll find that the Supreme court has already ruled that sort of arrangement to be unconstitutional. Somehow the exact same legislative system the Constitution mandates for the federal government is supposed to violate the Constitution if the states use it.

Your first priority for a concon has to be, I think, getting a solid system of ballot proposals and initiatives in place. Once you've got a way to work around the elected politicians, everything else can be fixed in time.

 

[illini52]

Good luck, IL.

If I were you, I would seriously consider ejecting CHI from your state.

Illinois is a nice place if you were to get rid of Chicago and its suburbs. Someone mentioned it earlier, but I would think the only way that there will be any change would be if a) the normal part of Illinois separated from Chicago or b) the state gov't makes such a big foul up (bankruptcy leading to things such as shut down roads, reduced police force) that actually affects the voters of this state. If it's just a story in the newspaper, it will not change the masses, but if something were to affect each person, it would be a good wakeup.