SPRINGFIELD—With the legislature’s return to Springfield for the 2009 Veto Session, State Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) renewed his effort to reduce the Cook County Board’s veto override threshold from a four-fifths majority to a three-fifths majority.

"The people of Cook County deserve better," Kotowski said. "The county board president has too much authority. It takes almost unanimous consent to override his vetoes. We need to restore authority to the elected representatives of the people." Yesterday, the Senate Executive Committee passed Senate Bill 588, Sen. Kotowski’s government reform measure. The legislation reduces the Cook County Board’s veto override threshold from a four-fifths majority to a three-fifths majority with an immediate effective date.

"More than once, the county board has fallen just one vote short of overriding the president’s veto by a single vote," Kotowski continued. "Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of the board members

Kotowski firmly believes that the current veto override threshold is unreasonable. At a four-fifths majority, it takes a higher percentage of votes to override the Cook County Board President than the President of the United States or the Governor of Illinois.

"This measure protects the voice of the people and the power of the executive," Kotowski said. "We need to do everything we can to restore power to the voters and protect the pocket books of the taxpayers."

Senator Kotowski expects his bill to receive a vote from the full Senate before the end of business today.