How to Amend

A constitutional convention is not the only way to amend the constitution.

Article XIV provides a clear mechanism to amend the constitution - a 3/5 majority vote of each chamber in the General Assembly and then a majority ratification by statewide election. Citizens don't even have to wait for the General Assembly to initiate an amendment. Voters themselves are given the chance in the constitution to propose amendments themselves that are then put on the ballot for all Illinoisans to decide.

It's not as if the constitution hasn't evolved over its 40 year history.

The amendatory process has worked quite well; Illinois voters have considered 18 amendments. Ten were passed, and eight were defeated. In fact voters approved a constitutional amended in 1988, the same time they rejected a constitutional convention.

This system could be used to address many of the same concerns a constitutional convention might address: recall of elected officials, term limits, school funding, pension funding, tax reform, selection of judges, and so on.