The people of Illinois won't get to vote this year on whether they want a system to recall the governor and other elected officials. State senators decided the question for them on Thursday when they refused to put the proposal on the November ballot.
Guess they don't think the people can be trusted to make such an important decision. Obviously voters wouldn't consider recalling an official if the official were doing his job.
The measure failed by just three votes. Even more disappointing, two of the senators voting against it were metro-east Democrats Sens. Bill Haine and James Clayborne.
Haine said afterward that general elections are the time for voters to have their say. That's great when elected officials act reasonably and responsibly. But as Gov. Rod Blagojevich's "the rules don't apply to me" antics and the Tony Rezko corruption trial have shown, events can change voters' opinions of the people they elect.
After the vote, Democrats in the Senate abruptly adjourned until next week, which killed any chances for reconsideration or a vote on another, similar bill. The deadline to act to get the recall measure on the November ballot is Sunday.
So a recall vote is off for now, but the senators' obstructionism is not likely to soon be forgotten.
