Loosen Senate leader's iron grip

It is galling no end that one man can singlehandedly stop the democratic process in this state. Does Illinois have a Legislature or does it have a Politburo?

Illinois Senate President Emil Jones so far is sticking with his stated intention to block any attempts in his chamber to override some $463 million worth of gubernatorial budget vetoes. He decided to play cutesy on the issue this week after the House voted overwhelmingly to restore most of Rod Blagojevich's cuts, first indicating that he hadn't budged - "No, no, no, no," he said emphatically - then implying that he might be wavering under pressure from some of his members. "Things change," said Jones. "I may change my mind."

If Jones doesn't suddenly have an attack of conscience - if he doesn't call for those override votes - he should be deposed as Senate president.

While we'd expect that no Republicans would support him, no Democrats should, either, and that includes freshman Sen. David Koehler of Peoria. Illinois simply cannot have a Senate president who shows so little regard for the fundamental principles underlying our system of government. It would reflect very, very poorly on those senators who would choose such a man as their leader.

Whether one agrees with the governor's vetoes isn't the point here. Frankly, we're not very comfortable with the spending spree state government is on at the moment. But even if Jones is not constitutionally compelled to give his portion of the legislative branch a chance to override the executive branch - the attorney general's office has not been asked for an opinion - then he certainly has an ethical obligation to do so, not that his history would suggest he knows much about that.

Jones is hardly the first leader to so flex his muscle. A decade ago his predecessor Pate Philip authored the obituary for authentic school funding reform in Illinois by refusing to call the matter for a vote after the House had narrowly passed then-Gov. Jim Edgar's plan. Back then this editorial page called for majority Republicans to bolt from the suburban Philip's camp. Alas, voters in Illinois ultimately took matters into their own hands.

This sin would be even more egregious, as it raises a fundamental balance of powers issue. If a governor - any governor - can not only veto but also unilaterally create programs without oversight from the legislative branch, then the checks and balances built into our system of government are altered, the potential for abuses enhanced. In this case, the wishes of two people - the governor and the Senate president - would trump the input of 176 other elected representatives.

Beyond that, this again highlights a fundamental problem in Illinois government, which is that the leaders are vested with too much power, virtually making rank-and-file members irrelevant. Except that they can choose not to be irrelevant, as the leaders only derive their authority from the consent of those members.

The Senate is back in session on Wednesday. Our senators - among them our own Dave Koehler, along with Republican Dale Risinger - should let Emil Jones know in no uncertain terms just what the deal is here.