Champion News

Posted: June 02, 2008

Well here we go again. Our own State Republican Party has been doing everything it can to squelch energy for this weekend's convention. They wouldn't even publicize how to become a delegate - even the State Party's website never had a peep.

Then they stonewalled on releasing the list of delegates who did sign-up. They tried to run out the clock so Republicans who still wanted to go couldn't learn where vacancies existed around the state.

We've tried to provide the needed transparency here at Champion News and we've strongly urged good Republicans to get to Decatur. We know we've had an impact.

Only about 400 delegates showed up to the state convention four years ago. This time it looks like attendance could be way up - and it will be in spite of some of our top party officials and staff.

But Republican participation could be even better - much better. Here are some facts about yet one more scheme designed to squelch Republican participation. Keep in mind this nonsense comes from individuals who sought posts where the job is supposedly to work FOR Republicans like you.

Rulemaking that even Hillary wouldn't attempt

The State Party's Convention Committee on Rules and Procedures met and adopted rules for this convention on May 14th (read them here).

Unfortunately, the State Party chose not to make those rules available to Republicans until late in the day this past Wednesday (May 28th). By that time the specified deadline (May 26th) for making changes to the delegate slates had already expired.

The rules also contain some other little provisions like "All convention signage, other than Illinois Republican Party signage, shall be approved in advance by the Committee on Arrangements."

One has to wonder what the review criteria might be in that committee. No doubt a lot will depend on who is asking.

But the points above are small ones compared to the rules' main focus. The just published rules are mostly about one thing - ensuring that many fewer delegates get to Decatur than otherwise would.

Here's what happened. A petty few at our State Party have set up an artificial residency test with absolutely no legal authority. They are trying to say Chicago Ward and Township Committeemen in Cook County (80 committeemen in all) can only choose delegates who live in that particular ward or township.

But that's not what Illinois law says. The statute couldn't be clearer (see: 10 ILCS 5/7-9). The law specifies WHO gets to choose, but it puts no restrictions on who gets chosen. The law delegates that power in Cook County to the Ward and Township Committeemen alone. No one else, and certainly not some immature staffers at our State Party, have any business interfering with the legal rights of the duly elected committeemen.

Also note this is a brand new rule that represents a complete change from what our State Party has done in the past. This new rule was just made up out of thin air this year, for all the wrong reasons. The impact has been frustration and a chilling effect on Republican energy across the board. That of course was the intent.

A State Party can have rules for a convention, that's certainly true. But internal rules have to be consistent with state law. When there is a law on point that addresses an issue like we have here, that statute takes precedence. An organization's internal rules can't override an unambiguous law on the books. That's Law 101.

But that's exactly what our State Party attempted to do this year.

State Board of Elections agrees with us

The senior legal staff of the Illinois Board of Elections agrees with me and every other lawyer I know (every lawyer that is who isn't on the State Party's payroll). Those agency lawyers - the experts - agree that there is no such residency restriction in Illinois law when it comes to the delegates chosen. I also know for a fact the State Party has been told the same thing by the Board of Elections.

And if one thinks about the way the statute is written, it only makes sense. The drafters knew what they were doing in this case.

There is nothing that Republicans do at a state convention that has any relevance whatsoever to any narrow jurisdictional interests. We are all supposed to be at our convention as Republicans. No issue to be voted on in Decatur will have the slightest thing to do with whether one lives on the north end of Cook County, or the south end. The law was written recognizing this reality.

If we've got good Republicans willing to spend what's probably going to be a beautiful weekend day in Decatur (no offense Decatur), this party should be bending over backwards to accommodate every Republican who wants to make the trip. Making up artificial roadblocks is the last thing we should be seeing - especially from a State GOP that's been losing elections like this one has.

We've got tons of vacancies in the delegate slots statewide - and lots of good Republicans who still wanted to be delegates. Is the right answer really that difficult?

It gets worse

Absent any statutory support to justify their blackballing, some great legal mind flailed around and came up with a 1928 Illinois Supreme Court case called People v. Kramer. The problem with that case is it's not even on point (it's about a completely different issue), it didn't even involve Cook County, and the Election Code has fundamentally changed since 1928, several times over no doubt.

The ancient case cited doesn't even say what the State Party is trying to say it does. The whole thing is just silly and desperate.

Even more outrageous, this new rule wasn't even made up and committed to paper until May 14th. But even the lack of their own made-up rule didn't stop State Party staffer Jason Heffley from disenfranshising Republicans on his own. Heffley decided to get a jump start on the blackballing.

Heffley was sending out letters to Cook County Committeemen at least a month before any rule was even adopted - so in other words with no authority whatsoever! His letter blackballing me and two other delegates slated by one Township Committeeman is dated April 7thfor example. Several other committeemen in Cook also received similar letters purporting to disallow delegates based on this phony residency issue.

By the way, this whole thing is not about me. I would definitely like to be a delegate, but one more body on the floor this Saturday isn't going to make that much difference. I'm still going to the convention as a Republican to watch, and that's fine. Again, this is not about any one person - or at least it shouldn't be.

But there is power in numbers, and a lot of people who wanted to be delegates won't be this year. I've personally heard from dozens of Republicans who attempted to become delegates - but heard nothing. Some tried several times through both calls and e-mails to party officials. Plus we'll never know how many Republicans just gave up in frustration when they heard about this new roadblock.

Meanwhile, as we reported late last week, nearly two-thirds of the total slots available statewide are listed as unfilled by the State Party.

In Chicago alone there are 236 slots available by my calculation (delegates plus alternates). The "official" list we finally obtained lists only 36 Republicans from Chicago making the cut for Decatur.

That's not only a travesty - it's an incredible embarrassment - especially when some truly outstanding Republicans were just ignored when they tried to sign-up. And for cryin' out loud folks, even if just the Ward Committeemen went, that would be 50 delegates right there from Chicago.

The bottom line is, with so many problems out there and so much real work to do - our State Party has spent most of the past two months doing little more than looking for ways to disenfranchise Republicans.

If and when this November is another huge disaster for the Illinois GOP at the polls, rank-and-file Republicans won't be blaming Barack Obama.

Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party. He is Co-Founder of Republican Young Professionals (RYP).