Will County Gazette

State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) joined Illinois Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods), House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), and Illinois State Sen. Jason Barickman (R) in proposing the Voter Empowerment Project.

Summarized as a legislative package that would empower Illinoisans to act on several significant matters of the state, Batinick called it a “preventive medicine.”

One of the proposed amendments would allow a recall of any elected local and state official, including the Senate president, auditor general, and speaker of the house.

A local government official or a member of the General Assembly who will be recalled is “ineligible to serve in public office (or specified non-elected office) for 10 years following certification of the recall election,” the Senate Joint Resolution read. 

“If somebody knows that there’s the ability to be recalled, I think they’re going to act a little bit better and maybe do the right thing on their own,” Batinick said.

“We need to give the citizens the ability to remove these people from office,” he added.

The other two parts of the package include giving the voters the ability to repeal any legislation through referendum and permitting Illinoisans to make substantial revisions in the state constitution.