Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Thursday came out against a referendum asking voters if they want a constitutional convention. Blagojevich says Illinois' tax code needs to be changed. But he says there are better ways to do that.Question: Does he actually think anybody is listening to him?
BLAGOJEVICH: You can do that legislatively, and you can do that by referenendum, and you can do it without opening up a whole constitutional convention, which, from my point of view, could be costly and could upset the delicate balance between the legislative branch and the executive branch.
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The governor said he likes the "concept" of a constitutional convention, but said it could be a costly endeavor that "could upset the delicate balance between the executive branch and the legislative branch."Or perhaps one less tool to be exploited by a grandstanding politician.
Critics have accused Blagojevich of doing a lot himself to upset that balance by going around the General Assembly to push his pet-causes, such as health care expansion.
Blagojevich, however, defends his governing style.
"Thank God that the constitution gives the executive branch a lot of power to get around the legislative branch," Blagojevich said, adding that without his ability to issue executive orders or use his amendatory veto power there would be no free mass transit rides for seniors or free breast and cervical cancer exams for women.
"If the constitutional convention were to occur and there was an effort to erode the executive branch's ability to do those things, then I think less good things would happen for people," Blagojevich said.
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