In the wake of yet another company facing federal charges after admitting it illegally attempted to influence former House Speaker Michael Madigan, State Senator Sue Rezin is renewing calls to implement the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus’ Voter Empowerment Project.

The Voter Empowerment Project is a series of constitutional amendments that would allow Illinois residents to hold corrupt politicians accountable and take back control from the current pay-to-play environment that has plagued the state for far too long.

The package of legislation contains four state constitutional amendments tailored to increase the voice of voters, including allowing them to repeal laws and recall elected officials.

In addition to the Voter Empowerment Project, Senator Rezin also believes that the Illinois Senate should adopt Senate Resolution 759, which would change Senate Rules that currently consolidate power over the legislative process to a few individuals. The changes to the Senate Rules would include:

• requiring all bills to be assigned to a committee,
• setting firm guidelines for the assignment of bills,
• making it easier to discharge bills from a committee,
• establishing a mechanism to force a committee hearing,
• allowing members to file a minority report on any bill the member voted against during a committee hearing,
• creating a mechanism to establish an investigative committee independent of Senate leadership,
• requiring longer posting notices for bill amendments to allow the public adequate time to review the changes, and
• requiring a daily final action calendar to allow the public to anticipate what will be heard daily.

Senator Rezin feels that the passage of the Voter Empowerment Project and Senate Resolution 759 are critical to undo years of public corruption created by elected officials who conduct business solely for their personal benefit and ignore the will of the Illinoisans they are supposed to represent.