From the State Journal-Register
House Republicans and Democrats are battling over an effort by Democrats to require Republicans to elect some of their top party leaders.
Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, today successfully pushed through the House Executive Committee a measure that would require elections for state GOP central committeemen. Those members are now appointed by local party officials.
“I’m trying to give the Republican Party what it has insisted for the last six or eight weeks it wants: open and transparent elections to elect everyone in the state of Illinois that holds a rank of some elected office,” said Lang, a Skokie Democrat.
The requirement approved 7-3 is now attached to House Bill 825 pushed by Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, that seeks open primaries by no longer forcing voters to declare their party preference when they vote in primary elections.
Republicans hotly disputed Lang’s move, saying it’s wrong for Democrats to try to force how they elect their central committee members onto Republicans.
Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, questioned why Lang was choosing the open primaries legislation to attach his amendment.
“If it is one representative's bill for open and transparent primaries, why we are attaching this to the legislation to, quite frankly, muddy up the water,” said Brady, a Bloomington Republican.
Lang said he has yet to talk with Black about the amendment.
A spokesman for the Illinois Republican Party accused Democrats of trying to get revenge after Republicans have repeatedly hammered Democrats over creating a special election for U.S. Senate appointments.
“I understand our effort to confront Blagojevich Democrats who lead the legislature is inconvenient but wasting taxpayer's dollars while people are facing tax increases is nothing short of an abuse of power,” GOP spokesman Lance Trover said.
Read more in tomorrow’s State Journal-Register.
No comments:
Post a Comment