Putback Amendment

The Put-Back Amendment is a proposed amendment to the Illinois State Constitution to reform the State Legislature. It would enact 8 year term limits for legislators, end gerrymandering, require 7-day public viewing of all proposed legislation before a final vote, allow 25 of 177 legislators to force a vote on any bill, equalize ballot access for third-parties and independent candidates for the legislature, and convert the legislature to a unicameral body with 3-member districts elected by cumulative voting. The amendment campaign requires approximately 278,000 signatures to get on the ballot (500,000 in reality) and needs to be filed by May 2, 2010 to be on the November 2, 2010 General Election ballot. If 60% of voters approve or a majority of voters voting in the Genereal Election, the Constitution will be amended and take effect immediately.
The full legal name of the Amendment is called the Bambenek Put-Back Amendment after the principal author of the amendment, John Bambenek. However, by shorthand it is almost universally referred to as the Put-Back Amendment. The amendment's principal sponsor is a group called Main Street Campaigns.
Text of Amendment Question
The text of the question that will appear on the ballot will read as follows:
For the proposed Amendment to Article IV of the Constitution, the “Bambenek Put-Back Amendment”, which shall convert the legislature to a unicameral body with three-member districts, establish term limits, reform legislative compensation, decentralize legislative power, establish transparency in the legislative process and other reforms.
The amendment itself is over 3-pages long and can be read in its entirety at the proponents website.
History
Citizen initiated amendments are allowed under Article XIV, Section 3 if the Illinois State Constitution, however, the ability is so narrow most commentators do not believe that Illinois is an initiative state. Amendments can only affect the legislative article and then be "structural and procedural". Only one citizen-initiated amendment has ever been listed on the General Election ballot called the Cutback Amendment which ended 3-member districts in the Illinois House of Representatives. Others such as Term Limits, the Taxpayer Accountability Amendment and others have been struck down by the courts before the voters had the ability to vote on them.
As a result, the authors of the Put-Back amendment created an expansive amendment that reforms the entire legislature to ensure that it passes constitutional muster. The authors have boasted that they have both a state and federal legal strategy to ensure this amendment is listed on the ballot. Opponents, however, chide the amendment as being "too much" and that the proponents lack sufficient gravitas to push such an ambitious proposal.
The Put-Back Amendment was unveiled at a rally on July 4th at Navy Pier in Chicago, IL. The rally itself was hosted by Free and Equal which supports election reform to make it less onerous for third-party and independent candidates to run for office and get elected.
Since then, it has been covered in innumerable media outlets and was featured on the evening news of WCIA, a CBS affiliate.
See Also
* Cutback Amendment
* Rod Blagojevich
* State of Illinois

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