Why did SB 2412 need to pass on May 2, in the middle of the election cycle, weeks after the primary election but still well ahead of the November general election? Many candidates had already started the complicated process of petition gathering and paperwork under the old rules. What justifies changing those rules in the middle of the game?
By Hilary Gowins | Illinois Policy Institute
Who’s afraid of a little competition? In Illinois politics, the answer seems to be: Incumbent state lawmakers.
To that end, just weeks after the primary, Springfield legislators passed a bill to protect incumbents from the threat of newcomers in the current election cycle. The measure affects races in 78 districts, which will not be contested in November.
How does all of this work? As political writer Rich Miller of Capitol Fax summarized, aspiring political candidates used to have three routes to get on the ballot:
“1) They can circulate petitions and run in the primary; 2) They can run as write-in candidates during the primary; or 3) They can wait until after the primary and be appointed to the ballot by local party chairs, or committeepersons in Cook County, after passing petitions.”
Senate Bill 2412 changed that by eliminating the third option, which allows candidates to get access to the ballot through party officials – a process called “slating.” Candidates using the slating process were still required to go through the regular petition and paperwork requirements to get on the ballot, but if they were in a district with no primary opponent, slating made it possible to get on the ballot for the general election.
Why does this matter? As Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, pointed out, anyone who wants to run after the primary can still do so as an Independent or third-party candidate. “They would no longer be able to appeal to the local party bosses to have them installed as the candidate of a major political party.”
Fair point. As bill sponsor state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, noted, slating was a favorite tool of disgraced former House Speaker Mike Madigan. On the other hand, fair rules that give people a choice of candidates at the ballot is a good thing.
But why now? Why did SB 2412 need to pass on May 2, in the middle of the election cycle, weeks after the primary election but still well ahead of the November general election? Many candidates had already started the complicated process of petition gathering and paperwork under the old rules. What justifies changing those rules in the middle of the game?
Those questions led four Democrats to oppose the bill. State Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, was one of them.
“That’s problematic for me because as an elected official in Illinois, I’m constantly trying to rebuild trust in Illinois government and politics that many of the people I represent…don’t have,” she said to Capitol News Illinois.
Now, 66 House districts won’t be contested. And in the Senate, 12 districts face no competition.
Read more here.
Related: “Candidates feel ‘cheated, violated, robbed’ after Pritzker enacts law ending slating,” “Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs election bill that would favor Democrats in November,” “(With cheshire grins) Democrats muscle through changes to ballot access, advisory questions”
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