[Peace-discuss] local issues

[Barbara kessel]

Both the pro's and the con's are coming from a wide range of interests. At
this time in history, the privatizers are in the ascendancy and they would
like to have more freedom to privatize the government. As a retired member
of the city colleges faculty and former high school teacher, my pension
comes through both TRS and SURS. It is guaranteed by the current Illinois
State Constitution. Some of the interests agitating for a new constitution
would like to take that guarantee away so they could privatize the state
pensions and make a lot of money from their sales. (Why should retired
government employees have guaranteed pensions when no one else does anyway?
Since I am retired and live off of it, I am most selfishly against messing
with what guarantees it.)        More broadly speaking, I believe Wayne is
exactly right when he says, " the same folks who are in charge of things now
would be the ones who have the power to do the rewriting, and we would
likely end up in much worse shape than we are now." The complicated process
for selecting electors to go the constitution convention leaves lots of room
for lobbyists and current legislators to make up the bulk of the people so
empowered. It is those people I fear, not the democratic masses.
       The Constitution of the State of Illinois written in, I believe 1970,
is an unusually good document that has been amended ten times since then.
The Government of the State of Illinois is outrageously dysfunctional. To
say that the first is responsible for the second (or that fixing the
constitution would fix that dysfunction) would be like blaming our current
federal bailout and wars on the U.S. constitution.  Barbara Kessel


On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 12:53 PM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at uiuc.edu> wrote:

> Unless persuaded otherwise, I'll vote for the constitutional convention and
> against the sales tax increase.
>
> *Some of the opposition to the constitutional convention looks like coming
> from those who fear Hamilton's "great beast." The attitude seems to be that
> politics should remain under the control of competent professionals -- God
> knows what might happen if you let the redneck majority get their hands on
> it.  But it seems to me that Jefferson's balanced comment should guide us,
> if we take democracy seriously, when he distinguished between "Those who
> fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the
> hands of the higher classes [and] Those who identify themselves with the
> people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most
> honest and safe, although not the most wise depositary of the public
> interests."
>
> *Sales taxes are regressive.  The objection that this one is for school
> facilities (a good thing) doesn't overcome that problem, because in fact it
> may not indeed go to the schools.  As Dianna Visek pointed out in a good
> comment in the N-G two weeks ago, "When the General Assembly instituted a
> state lottery, it promised to use the money for education.  Although it was
> indeed used for education, the Legislature reduced the school money coming
> from the General Fund by the same amount ... Whatever money we raise locally
> will end up reducing the money coming from the state."  --CGE
>
>
>
> Karen Medina wrote:
>
>> Dear Peace Discuss,
>>
>> I'm just wondering about various takes on:
>> * The Illinois Constitutional Convention. * The Champaign School Board
>> wanting to use the Park District land to expand Garden Hills school
>> * The Champaign City Council's treatment of Linda Abernathy.
>>
>> Sorry that 2 of them are Champaign topics. But they do impact Urbana in
>> the long run.
>>
>> -karen medina
>>
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