MUNDELEIN - Within days of Governor Pat Quinn signing into law a bill allowing online voter registration, Lake County officials filed suit Tuesday in reaction to a little-discussed provision in the same law which requires the county to set up a new election commission. The provision in HB 2418 was so under the radar that the two Democrats that sponsored the legislation say they have no idea how it was added in, and who is responsible for the addition.
The Tribune asked House sponsor State Rep. Andre Thapedi and Lake County State Sen. Terry Link about the addition. Thapedi, a Chicago Democrat, said he didn't know how the clause was added. Link, a Democrat from Lake County, said that he supported the idea but again denied he was behind the clause. "And I have zero idea who it was," he said.
The section of HB 2418 that sets up an election commission and strips authority from longtime Republican Lake County Clerk Willard Helander specifies Lake County indirectly with stipulations only Lake fulfills, stating:
The section, beginning in the Illinois Election Code at (10 ILCS 5/6A-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 6A-1), then goes on to give a Lake County judge the authority to pick two persons representing the two major parties and a fifth at the judge's discretion. That would give Lake County Democrats new election power they haven't previously won from local voters.
At the end of May, Clerk Helander hinted the county would not take the action lying down.
"This seems to be ripe for a class action that voters in Lake are singled out and shut out with extensive new costs and no vote on wanting a new layer of government," Helander told Illinois Review.
With the passage of HB 2418, the Democrats take over Lake County via legislative fiat, she said, "Blue takes Lake by legislation."
The question remains, how did that get into HB 2418, and why will no one take credit or responsibility for it being added?
After unanimously passing the House in April as a "shell bill," State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) - also floor leader and House Speaker Mike Madigan's top lieutenant - shepherded the bill into State Senator Don Harmon's (D-Chicago) began amending HB 2418 just days before the end of regular session. On May 28th, Harmon introduced three amendments, which contained the Lake County change in Amendment 2. Amendment 2 and 3 went to the rubber stamp Senate Executive Committee, where it passed along party lines, all ten Democrats for, the five Republicans opposed.
On May 29th, the bill passed the Senate 32 to 20 (no Republicans supported) and went back to the House the next day for concurrence, where Amendment 2 passed 66 to 49 (no Republicans supported).
Governor Quinn signed it into law 60 days later on July 29th, despite appeals from Lake County officials.
