* From the AP…
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said today that if he’s made governor, he may opt to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate replacement rather than wait for a special election.
Speaking on NBC’s “Today” show, Quinn said he may have to move quickly to name Obama’s successor because of the country’s economic woes.
“In general I’m for the voters deciding who the next senator would be or any other public official. We may have extraordinary circumstances here,” Quinn said. “Illinois does not want to go to Washington in this time of economic crisis without having two senators.”
With Gov. Rod Blagojevich ignoring calls for his resignation, legislative leaders in the state capital moved forward Wednesday on several fronts to force him from office or rescind his power to name Obama’s successor. The General Assembly will meet at a special session Monday to consider changing state election law to fill Senate vacancies by special election, rather than leaving the decision to the governor.
But holding an election could take months.
* This is apparently a switch in position. From a Tuesday Chicago Public Radio report…
Blagojevich is still the governor of Illinois. And that means he has the power to appoint someone to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn says the legislature has to change that.
* Dick Durbin came up with the idea of a special election, and the Politico had an interesting take this week…
Democratic insiders saw Durbin’s rapid call for a special election as a way to circumvent Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn’s authority to do so, should he take over for Blagojevich. Quinn is not close to Durbin, and their relationship frayed after they were rivals in a contentious Democratic Senate primary in 1996.
* Durbin and Majority Leader Harry Reid appear to be on opposite sides…
The momentum for a special election to replace President-elect Barack Obama ran into a major hurdle late [yesterday] afternoon in the form of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) who penned a letter today to scandal-tarred Gov. Rod Blagojevich making clear he would prefer the incumbent step aside and let Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn make the appointment.
* Back to Politico…
If a special election were held in mid-2009, the governor’s arrest would still be fresh in voters’ minds. Democrats would likely face a crowded primary with the risk of the eventual nominee being tied to the corrupt Blagojevich administration. And Obama’s Senate seat would remain vacant for months, giving the president-elect one fewer Democratic ally in the Senate.
* Barack Obama, U.S. senators, state officials urge Rod Blagojevich to resign
* Tips and leaks: If the governor were to wait until after Jan. 14 to veto or even tweak the plan with an amendatory veto, it would be dead. Why? Because that version of the General Assembly would exist only in history books. There’s no way to bring members who retired or were defeated back to override the governor
* Early 1900s Illinois scandal led to direct election of U.S. senators
* Special election could cost state about $50 million
* Taxpayers Could Pay for a Special Election
* Special election ‘corruption tax’ could cost $31 million
* Orr urges swift action on special elections, warns of price tag: If a special Senate election is held independently of the scheduled elections, it would cost about $8 million for suburban Cook County alone. The statewide price tag would be considerably larger - a staggering amount in these difficult economic times.
* Republicans eyeing Senate seat for comeback
* Tribune Editorial: About that Senate seat: The best option is to hold a special election. Return this decision to the people.
* Some ways to fill Obama’s seat
* Lawmakers Look to Fill Senate Seat (Video)
* TFI Report from the Capitol
* Quinn ‘has mellowed,’ ready to be gov: ex-critics
* Lt. governor likely replacement for Blagojevich
* Action on governor, Senate seat may come slower than many hope
* Quinn used to battling Blagojevich
* Lt. Gov. says he might appoint senator
* Durbin sends letter to Gov. asking him to resign
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:14 am:
Quinn is going to appoint himself and bail on us.
- A Citizen - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:16 am:
“Quinn wants appointment for himself” . . .
My first reaction to your Headline was - Senator Quinn and then Governor Lisa M. Then I had another pot of coffee and realized what you meant. LOL
- Ghost - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:20 am:
Is Quinn a Bill supporter?
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:21 am:
Pat has always been the odd guy out. Senators are like that. They are not players in state capitals, they are guys that feel above the rest. Quinn exhibits more of the senatorial qualities than gubernatorial ones.
When it looked like Obama was going to win and we started discussing his replacement, remember how I said that Blagojevich would select himself in order to get a new legal position? Well, the FBI tapes confirmed that. Blagojevich’s number one order in importance was “legal benefit”.
Also I predict that we will discover that on the Tuesday he was arrested, Blagojevich was going to make his selection. It was going to be Jesse Jackson Jr.
I’ll explain more when you start a Jackson thread why I foresaw this…
But I predict today that if Quinn gets it, he’s going to select himself, bail on the problems we face in order to get an inside player in the gubernatorial office, and enjoy DC.
- Paul - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:21 am:
I’m afraid that the news coverage is helping to
perpetrate a dangerous misconception: that the U.S. Senate has blanket
power to refuse to seat a new Senator.
That is what the current Senate leadership appears to think
unfortunately, but the Supreme Court decisively rejected that
understanding in 1969. For Harry Reid to now say that they could
refuse to seat Blago’s appointee is exactly like a state pretending
that Roe v. Wade never happened and they can forbid all abortions.
The Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that Congress “has no power to exclude a
member-elect who meets the Constitution’s membership requirements.”
Those specified membership requirements are simply age, citizenship
and being a resident of the state.
http://supreme.justia.com/us/395/486/index.html
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=395&invol=486
That ruling has never been challenged, there have been no attempts to
reject a new Senator or Congressman since then, and whether the new
member of either house was elected or appointed is irrelevant to the
Court’s reasoning. If Blagojevich appoints himself, or someone else
with whom there is no evidence of corruption in the selection, and the
Senate then refuses to seat that person, Blagojevich can and no doubt
would seek emergency relief in the federal courts. The 1969 decision
is the unambiguous law of the land so the current Supreme Court is
likely to ask Harry Reid, “Which part of ‘has no power to exclude’ is
unclear?”
The Court in 1969 explicitly sought to debunk the notion that Congress
has blanket authority to refuse to seat members: “In judging the
qualifications of its members under Art. I, 5, Congress is limited to
the standing qualifications expressly prescribed by the Constitution.”
Anyone who thinks the governor wouldn’t fight this issue tooth and
nail doesn’t know this governor, and he has plenty of campaign cash
with which to pay lawyers.
May I suggest that you review this issue with some constitutional-law
experts and correct the public record before we have a national
constitutional crisis on our hands.
- Lefty - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:22 am:
Wouldn’t this be something. Blago resigns; Quinn appoints himself to the Senate seat, and under the Constitution, Lisa is the acting Governor.
- The Doc - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:23 am:
VM, I disagree. Quinn gets the big stage to himself and the opportunity to show how he’s the antithesis of Blagojevich, not to mention a 2-year head start on all the other gubernatorial wannabes.
In the Senate he’s the low man on the totem pole at age 60 and has to play nice with Durbin.
- Concerned Observer - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:25 am:
Don’t usually post, big-time lurker.
Paul, you’re most likely right. They probably can’t “refuse to seat” the Illinois representative.
But they can sure as hell vote to expel him/her, probably the same day he/she sits down. So it’s a matter of legal-ese and semantics more than anything.
Also, this is the Governor who got a ‘C’ in constitutional law, right? So maybe he doesn’t know this part.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:27 am:
Is Durbin really willing to risk handing the GOP an Illinois Senate seat? Because of antipathy to Quinn? What a statesman.
Quinn wants to be governor, not senator. If he were willing to leave the state, impeachment would be rolling right now.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:28 am:
Rich, you really need to change this headline…its pretty misleading…
- bored now - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:28 am:
the first thing i thought of when i saw the special election meme was that the machine didn’t want quinn making the appointment. which is strange, because i can’t imagine quinn appointing someone who the machine was unhappy with (e.g, duckworth). it’s about power, and trying to minimize quinn. show him who’s boss…
- Pat Collins - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:31 am:
In fact, Powell specifically discusses not seating a member VS expelling one.
So it seems that Powell does not apply to an expulsion at all.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:32 am:
Quinn knows he doesn’t get a clean slate as governor and recognizes the horrific problems if he stayed in Illinois. He wants to preen, not work, and preening is what senators do while enjoying an even bigger stage close to the White House and all those major players…
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:33 am:
During the ‘96 Dem primary I got the impression Durbin and Quinn didn’t like each other.
If the gov appointing Senate vacancies was good enough from 1970 until Dec 8, 2008, why isn’t it the right way to go now?
Because Durbin, Madigan and the Dem Party don’t want Pat Quinn making the appointment? Why is Quinn’s appointment any less legitimate than another Illinois governor’s appointment?
Are the Madigans worried Quinn will get too popular? If Quinn appoints someone will that give him a powerful ally?
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:35 am:
bored, can you explain why the Machine would object to Duckworth? Is it simply that she has too few obligations and ties to the Dem establishment and therefore she wouldn’t “understand” the import of not crossing certain interests?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:37 am:
Paul, check your history books. Frank L. Smith was appointed to the US Senate by Illinois Gov. Len Small after he won a GOP primary. The Senate refused to seat him.
- True Observer - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:38 am:
“But I predict today that if Quinn gets it, he’s going to select himself, bail on the problems we face in order to get an inside player in the gubernatorial office, and enjoy DC.”
Wont happen.
Rule One - Look out for Number One.
Quinn has better chance of winning gov nomination than Senate nomination.
- Concerned Observer - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:43 am:
Rich — the Powell case takes precedence, seeing as how it took place in 1969, when Len Small had been dead for 33 years :)
You do great work, and this week has been stupendous, so please don’t consider me a troublemaker. Just wanted to point it out.
- True Observer - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:47 am:
“Rich — the Powell case takes precedence, seeing as how it took place in 1969, when Len Small had been dead for 33 years :)”
Also, the Small appointee probably didn’t even litigae it.
- MikeND05 - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 12:02 pm:
If Blago does appoint himself and (assuming it’s possible for argument’s sake) either Jesse White refuses to certify the appointment or the Senate refuses to seat him, will Blago have already given up his office to Quinn at that point, or would he simply remain governor? In other words, does he legally give up the governorship upon accepting the nomination or upon taking office?
- fedup dem - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 12:08 pm:
Having Quinn appoint a Senator would be the fiscally sounder move to make. A special statewide election would be costly for local election units.
Not that many communities will have primary elections on February 24; most just have a single election scheduled on April 7. Chicago (except for those voters in the 5th Congressional District who have to elect a replacement for Rahm emanuel) have no election scheduled in 2009. with most governmental budgets already straining, letting Pat Quinn appoint a Senator for two years may in the end prove to be the more fiscally prudent course of action to take.
- Capitol View - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 12:36 pm:
I thought Pat Quinn was “Mr. Public Referendum” - let the voters weigh in. How can he oppose a special election here???
- Don't Worry, Be Happy - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 12:39 pm:
Just for the record, I posted on this blog about 10 months ago that Quinn would become governor, cut a deal with the Madigans, and then appoint himself to the Senate elevating Lisa to governor, and the two of them would then support each other for reelection in 2010. As Casey Stengel would say, you can look it up.
But back to reality, the best possible solution for all involved is for Quinn to quickly appoint Valerie Jarrett to the vacancy. End of story.
- Captain America - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 12:40 pm:
Quinn’s change of heart is related to his desire to reamove a strong potential rival for the Governor’s mansion in 2010. It’s understandable. Any one of his major potential rivals would probably do a good job as U.S. Senator.
- Mike B. - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 12:45 pm:
Pick me, Pat! Oh Please Pick ME!
- Captain Flume - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 1:00 pm:
There are deals being cut, my friends. I wonder how many of them are being done with a fly on the wall.
- Impeachment - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 1:05 pm:
Story on Impeaching the Governor in St. Louis and Jay Hoffman
http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=8050012&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1
- GOPJay - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 2:40 pm:
L.G. Quinn should make the appointment. I know of nothing to date that warrants taking theat authority away from him if he becomes governor.
- Martin - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 3:45 pm:
Have Quinn appoint Adlai Stevenson. Stevenson is 78 - and would make it clear that he would not run in 2010. Let the campaign for 2010 begin - and save us a lot of money while the campaign spending for the next two years gives the economy a little boost.
- Bookworm - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 6:21 pm:
VM and others, if Quinn plans on appointing himself to the Senate seat, why is he already talking about what he’s going to do as governor, including reopening the state parks and historic sites and reviewing the Traffic Safety and Pontiac Prison moves.
This makes me suspect that one of the ways Quinn will attempt to burnish his anti-Blago credentials is by going out of his way to be nice to Springfield and downstate.
I predict that when (it’s not a matter of “if” any more) Quinn becomes governor, some of the first things he will do that aren’t related to the current unpleasantness will be to move into the mansion, visit Pontiac and tour the prison, and tour a reopened state historic site (with cameras present, of course).
If he could get into office before Christmas and reopen either Bishop Hill or the Dana Thomas House (or both) in time to do some holiday tours, he’d have the photo op of a lifetime.
- Curious - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 7:17 pm:
If Quinn wants to show he has “matured” he will not associate with his colleagues from the Walker era - specifically, John Filan. If Quinn brings Filan back, it will be another 2 years of budgetary flim flam. Lt. Gov. Quinn - your move.
- Park Shasta - Thursday, Dec 11, 08 @ 11:57 pm:
== He wants to preen, not work, and preening is what senators do while enjoying an even bigger stage close to the White House and all those major players… ==
VM, suggesting Quinn’s lazy is foolish. Talk to a reporter who’s covered him or a staffer who’s worked for him.