It’s been nearly half a century since state lawmakers opened up the state rulebook with an eye for change.
But former Illinois governor George Ryan thinks that’s exactly what should be done: a constitutional convention to change the Illinois law book. A convention, he said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times last week, could introduce new laws that would deal with the state’s debt, tax system, and change pension laws.
So what is a con-con and how could it fix the state’s financial mess?
Morning Shift talks to Ann Lousin, a law professor at John Marshall Law School who helped draft the state’s constitution at the last con-con in 1970.