Springfield, IL … On Thursday, Governor Quinn called for a special session of the General Assembly in January to consider a 2016 special election to replace the late Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka. State Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) called the move misleading and unnecessary.
“The Illinois Constitution requires Governor-Elect Rauner to appoint a new comptroller to a four-year term. This means that any measure approved by the General Assembly in the special session to hold a special election for a shorter term would require changing the constitution and therefore would require voter approval. The soonest opportunity for voters to decide on whether or not to hold a special election would be 2016, which wouldn’t make any changes before the term in question has expired,” said Sosnowski. “Any changes made to the Illinois Constitution should be carefully debated, and not be hurried through in a political, last-ditch effort by a departing Governor.”