Flannery Fired Up: Jan. 21, 2022
CHICAGO - State Senate Republicans have proposed four amendments to the Illinois Constitution that would give voters broad new powers, including:
- Kicking any elected state official out of office, not just the governor as currently permitted.
- Repealing an unpopular state law, including those related to taxes and government spending.
- Having an independent commission draw new electoral districts for lawmakers every ten years.
Minority leader State Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) conceded the proposals may not get a hearing from super-majority Democrats, but added, "If the democrats were smart, they would give us a hearing. They would not shy away from a debate about empowering voters to actually make their voices heard in the way in which this state's governed. At the end of the day, you either believe in democracy or you don't."
Also in this edition of Flannery Fired Up, a longtime friend of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin tells FOX 32 why he supports his newly announced candidacy in the Republican primary for governor of Illinois.
And a conservative activist, 2018 candidate for governor Jeanne Ives, explains why she will support any of the other four Republican candidates, but not Irvin.
And David Greising, president of the Better Government Association, talks about how a joint ownership agreement between the Sun-Times and WBEZ-FM could create America’s largest not-for-profit local news operation. Greising also discusses the five-year, $10 million grant it’s been promised by the Chicago-based McCormick Foundation.
The BGA is currently hiring more investigative journalists, one of whom will be based in the state capitol in Springfield. The BGA will also work to bolster downstate news organizations that have cut their reporting staffs to the bone.