The IL State Senate passed legislation this week, offered by State Sen. Kwame Raoul, which seeks to pair lt. governor and governor candidates beginning before their party’s primary election.

House Bill 5820 would require candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor to campaign jointly beginning with the state’s nominating petition process. Running-mates would circulate petitions as a ticket and be voted on together in the state’s primary. Currently, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run separately in the primary and then run as a ticket in the general election.

Sen. Raoul gave his thoughts on the legislative measure in the April Edition of the Illinois Business Journal. Below is his submission:

The Office of Illinois Lieutenant Governor
Significant changes to the office can be made without abolishing it

At 5:40 p.m. on January 29, 2009. Pat Quinn succeeded Rod Blagojevich as Governor of Illinois, leaving the lieutenant governor’s office vacant.

Since that time the office has remained unfilled, leading to questions of its necessity and legitimacy. For decades, the office has been labeled a “do-nothing office” by the media, the citizens and even by those who have served in the post.

The winners of this year’s primary election contest haven’t helped glorify the office either. The Springfield StateJournal-Register noted “Neither party distinguished itself this year in picking the person who would be Illinois’ second banana. Democratic primary victor Scott Lee Cohen had to drop out of the general election because of his checkered past. Republican voters have nominated 27-year-old Jason Plummer, whose government experience basically consists of a few internships.”

It’s no surprise that legislators and voters want to remove the headache associated with an office that is currently vacant. At first, I was in support of eliminating the office entirely. However, after deliberation and dialogue with my colleagues and respected academicians, I realize that the constitution doesn’t need to be changed to make the office work for the people of Illinois. We can make significant changes to how the lieutenant governor’s office functions without its abolition. I am sponsoring legislation that will change how candidates for the office are elected. Senate Bill 377 requires candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to campaign jointly beginning with the state’s nominating petition process. Running mates would circulate petitions as a ticket and be voted on together in the state’s primary.

The spirit of the constitution calls for trust between the two offices. The constitution instructs the lieutenant governor to execute powers and duties “that may be delegated to him by the governor and that may be prescribed by law.” Gubernatorial candidates and their running mates should be forced to sincerely illustrate how the tandem would coexist through a thoroughly vetted party primary. In the event that a gubernatorial candidate cannot fulfill the duties of the office of governor, voters should be assured that the running-mate is prepared and can fulfill a like-minded vision.

During previous election cycles, lieutenant governor candidates in both parties chose not to endorse a candidate for governor due to wariness of political repercussions. This notion is at best confusing to voters and if this legislation is signed into law, candidates would have to be honest about not only who they think can win but also who they’d like to serve with. Ultimately, the Illinois Constitution dictates that a lieutenant governor serves at the pleasure of the governor.

If a lieutenant governor candidate doesn’t share the mission and views of a gubernatorial nominee, the system fails. Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to finance an office in which this system is compromised.

If the attorney general would take over in the event of a vacancy, the same hypothetical would be presented. Not only could the attorney general disagree with the governor’s policies, the two could likely represent opposite political parties. In such a scenario, if a popular governor dies in office, the attorney general could reverse the course of the state by imposing the views of his or her political party rather than the people of Illinois.

I know that our current budgetary constrictions force us to make tough decisions about where we can eliminate waste in state government. Projections state that eliminating the office and staff of the lieutenant governor would be in excess of $2 million. Many say the statutory councils which the office is in charge of are unneeded, and quite frankly, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been working with my colleague, Sen. Dan Kotowski, to modernize the way we fund the office.

The premise behind our work is simple: if the lieutenant governor is truly supposed to serve at the pleasure of the governor, the governor’s office should fund the duties assigned. While the lieutenant governor would keep his constitutionally required salary, the perks of an independent office and excessive staff would be eliminated from the state’s budget. The governor’s office would be responsible for assigning staff and resources from its own budget to streamline efforts. I am convinced that if voters believe cost should be the driving force behind eliminating a constitutional office, the lieutenant governor’s office shouldn’t be the first on the chopping block. Sufficient analysis should be placed towards merging the offices of comptroller and treasurer. I’ve proposed a Constitutional Amendment that allows the treasurer to assume the comptroller’s check-writing duties. For decades this concept has been discussed, but never been placed on the ballot for voter input.

While these two offices are dictated more responsibility by the constitution, there may still be room for savings. According to the Illinois Legislative Reference Bureau, a similar constitutional amendment cited a savings of $10 million to $12 million per year due to duplicative functions. The proposed legislation never made it to the ballot. The savings were reinforced in early 1998 when then-Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka and then-Comptroller Loleta Didrickson reported savings at $12 million. Twelve years later, I’m certain that these cost savings would at least be comparable if not greater.

Ultimately, our frustration with the state’s current financial situation and the winners of the primary’s lieutenant governor race should not outweigh the need for succession in the event of gubernatorial vacancies. But reforms can be made that ensure efficiency and restore trust in our state’s government.