Kane County Reporter

Former House hopeful Ben Bierly (R-Lockport) says desperate times in Springfield, now call for desperate measures, according to his account.

“While I am normally loathe to interrupt the term of a duly elected official, I have come to see the necessity of being able to recall elected officials when the people believe that official has acted in bad faith,” Bierly told the Kane County Reporter, in an interview. “This should be the case with all elected officials.”

Bierly states he is among a growing number of GOP leaders now throwing their support behind a proposal. One which would allow voters the power to initiate the recall of their elected official.

While the ability for voters to recall the governor has now been on the books for more than a decade, Bierly states that much of what we’re now seeing in Springfield clearly suggests that voters need to have even greater authority where their representatives are concerned. 

Currently, longtime Illinois State House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) finds himself at the center of a still unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme. At the same, whispers of dissent about Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) handling of the COVID-19 crisis are becoming more audible by the day.

“It’s clear we have a serious corruption problem and I wish it were only in Springfield,” Bierly said. “It’s clear that Mike Madigan has broken faith with voters. Madigan has gone so far as to refuse to call a legislative session to buy himself more time to defeat the opposition he faces in his own party.”

The proposal put forth by Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) and state Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) would require voters from at least 25 counties across the state signing off on a recall petition. In addition, a bipartisan group of current state representatives and senators must also endorse the action.

Finally, to start the recall process statewide lawmakers, the plan would require signatures from 12% of the voters who cast votes for governor in the prior election. The issue would require the vote of at least 60% of all voters in order for an official to be shown the door via the recall process.