Politics Still Dominates At State Supreme Court

The Illinois Supreme Court isn't like any other.

It's more political.

That's why the high court struck a term-limits proposal from theNov. 8 ballot. Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and CookCounty Democratic chairman Thomas G. Lyons are against term limits.And so is the Illinois Supreme Court, by a 4-3 vote.

More than 400,000 Illinois residents signed petitions to placethe term-limits proposition on the general election ballot. Sixteenstates already have approved term limits for state legislators.Early polling indicated that Illinois voters would haveoverwhelmingly favored eight-year term limits for state legislators.But there was never much doubt that the Illinois Supreme Court wouldprotect the career politicians from the reformers.

Because Illinois doesn't have merit selection of judges, thepoliticians are the dominant influence in the selection of SupremeCourt justices. Members of the high court haven't forgotten theirallegiances.

Illinois voters have been given the opportunity to vote for anew state constitutional convention and to reduce the size of theIllinois House of Representatives. But term limits are anothermatter. The justices of the Illinois Supreme Court are denyingIllinois residents the chance to vote on term limits. It might upsetthe balance of power.

Even before the Illinois Supreme Court announced its ruling,there was little optimism that the court would give voters a chanceto have a voice in such an important question. The high court has along tradition of aligning itself with the political establishment.

The Illinois Supreme Court threw the Harold Washington party'sslate of Cook County candidates off the ballot in 1990 because theDemocratic party wanted the third party removed as a threat. TheU.S. Supreme Court restored the third party to its rightful ballotposition.

The Illinois Supreme Court was blatantly political in shootingdown a 1991 legislative reapportionment plan. But Speaker Madiganhad problems with the new map and the court went along with Madigan.

During the 1980s the Illinois Supreme Court held that apreviously untested law on statewide election challenges wasunconstitutional. Former Gov. James R. Thompson was the beneficiaryof the ruling, which protected Thompson's 5,074-vote squeaker overformer Sen. Adlai E. Stevenson in the 1982 gubernatorial election.Despite numerous irregularities in the vote, Stevenson and the peopleof Illinois were denied a recount. It was a political decision.Thompson had better connections to the bench than Stevenson.

The Illinois Supreme Court also rejected a 1986 referendum thatwould have changed the way Chicago elects its mayor. The proposedreferendum would have changed citywide offices, including mayor, froma partisan to nonpartisan office with a runoff if the leadingcontender failed to win a majority. Local aldermen have long beenelected under such a system. Polling showed that Chicago residentsfavored the '86 referendum. But influential political figuresopposed it. The Supreme Court sided with the politicalestablishment.

Sometime the good justices ought to give voters an even break.

Steve Neal is the Chicago Sun-Times political columnist.