SPRINGFIELD – Tuesday, the Illinois House approved legislation sponsored by State Representative David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) to end the requirement for the Secretary of State to mail out information about a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the Office of Lieutenant Governor.
“I have been pushing to eliminate the Office of Lieutenant Governor for a while now because it would save taxpayers about $1.5 million annually,” McSweeney said. “If we get a Constitutional Amendment eliminating the Office of Lieutenant Governor on the ballot, not only can we save taxpayers money by eliminating this office, but with House Bill 348, we also will be able to save taxpayers money by eliminating the mailing requirement. These two ideas are a win for taxpayers.”
Under current law, any proposed change to the Illinois Constitution requires a mailing to all Illinois households informing them of the change as it will appear on the ballot. House Bill 348 removes this requirement for any constitutional amendment aimed at eliminating the Office of Lieutenant Governor. The legislation would add an online notice requirement and still require newspaper notices for all constitutional amendments.
McSweeney said removing the requirement to mail voters about a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the Lieutenant Governor's office would save taxpayers about $1.3 million.
In 2013, the Illinois House voted 83-28 to support McSweeney's measure to eliminate the Office of Lieutenant Governor. Last year, the House overwhelmingly approved a similar McSweeney-sponsored Constitutional Amendment with 95 votes in favor of the measure and only 10 votes against it.
Unfortunately, a former Republican nominee for Governor filed to become the chief sponsor of the measure in the Senate in a hostile move to ensure the Constitutional Amendment was never called for a vote. Senator Tom Cullerton, who supports eliminating the Office of Lieutenant Governor, is the lead Senate sponsor of Representative David McSweeney's HJRCA 5, which is a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the Office of Lieutenant Governor.
“Let’s save $2.8 million total by eliminating the Lieutenant Governor’s office and eliminating the mailing requirement,” McSweeney said. “We need to eliminate wasteful spending."
House Bill 348 passed the House on a vote of 112-0 and now moves to the Illinois Senate.
