Creating an Illinois Republic: A Thought Exercise for the Land of Lincoln

I’ve wanted to write about this subject for a while and keep getting sidetracked. My goal has always been a genuine thought exercise — exploring ideas about Illinois governance without claiming to have all the answers. I’ve enlisted help refining these thoughts so I can better articulate why certain changes feel worth considering.

I’ve been using the word Republic a lot more deliberately. The U.S. Constitution guarantees every state a republican form of government. That guarantee is not just formal language; it is a commitment to representative self-rule, accountability, and government that exists for the public good. One aim of this exercise is to find ways of making Illinois a more distinctive state — a place people would actively choose to live, work, and build their futures.

We should not be proud of corruption or of functioning as a one-party state. Illinois ought to stand alongside states like California, New York, Florida, and Texas in terms of confidence and civic pride. California’s flag still proclaims “California Republic.” Texas was once an independent republic and carries that history with unmistakable pride. Both states have turned identity into energy. I want to explore what an Illinois Republic could mean — not as a name change on paper, but as an aspirational frame that strengthens representation, competition, and shared ownership of our state.

Some states have chosen a related but distinct word to express similar ideals of self-government. Four U.S. states officially refer to themselves as a Commonwealth: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. They adopted the term during their early constitutional periods. “Commonwealth” draws from an older English tradition meaning a political community organized for the common good — the “common weal.” In practice today there is no legal difference between a commonwealth and any other state. The word was chosen to emphasize that government exists for the people rather than for a monarch or privileged few. It is a proud, historical declaration of self-governance.

Why prefer Republic for Illinois rather than Commonwealth? Both terms point toward government for the public good. Commonwealth stresses shared welfare. Republic more directly highlights elected representation, the rejection of hereditary rule, and the active role of citizens through institutions. For the Land of Lincoln — a state whose most famous son defined government as “of the people, by the people, for the people” — Republic feels like the clearer link to the constitutional tradition we already inherit and to the competitive, responsive governance this thought exercise hopes to imagine.

This series will continue as an open exploration. Some ideas will feel practical. Others may seem more ambitious. The point is to think together about how Illinois can live up more fully to its republican foundations and become a place that inspires lasting pride.

What does a stronger republican Illinois look like to you? Which aspects of our state’s identity and history should guide that vision?

Creating an Illinois Republic

Happy New Year to you all.

In about 2007 or 2008 I became aware of a blog - Con Con Illinois 2010 - which had a brief run back then proposing some ideals for how to reform Illinois state gov't. In 2008 - which was the one where Barack Obama won the Presidency - one item on the ballot at the time was a State Constitutional convention or what was popularly know as the con-con which would commence in 2010.

Of course to my disappointment at the time it got voted down. Opponents of a con-com seemed to often cite concerns over the possibility that a con-con would threaten the pension language in the 1970 IL constitution. Perhaps there wasn't great political support for one anyway.

We're at the point now where a con-con is again on the ballot, which would be in 2008. The political scene is vastly different in 2028 though I don't know how this will play out. I'd probably have to buy a subscription to the Capitol Fax newsletter to be able to tell you all for sure. However, what I can say definitely is that the players of the political scene in Illinois has largely changed significantly and who knows if they could effectively scuttle any possible enthusiasm for a 2030 con-con.

Generated by Google Gemini

However, what was on that Con Con 2010 blog is something worth exploring as we talk about an Illinois Republic.

I think many points that were shared on the Con Con 2010 blog's first post applies to what I hope to do in this thought exercise. Although I may not necessarily use the term democracy, I do prefer the term republic. I doubt any politico in this state would use the word republic, however, the idea is to go for  a vision.

• Imagine elections where there is more than one name on the ballot.
• Imagine there being many names on the ballot. Imagine there being more than two political parties to choose from.
• Imagine there being three, four or five viable political parties to choose from.
• Imagine that voting for a "third party" doesn't mean "spoiling" an election or having to pick from the lesser of two evils.
• Imagine every election in all parts of the state being competitive, not just in a few swing districts.
• Imagine there not being any gerrymandering.
• Imagine the winning party actually having to enact the platform they ran on.
• Imagine money not playing such a big role in elections.

It's unknown how many of these planks could be achieved, however, some of them I think are somewhat easy to implement.

I would like the idea of having multiple viable political parties and they could get elected at least to the state legislature. And thus the Republicans and Democrats would have to compete a lot better than they do now. 

Competitive elections everywhere throughout the state would be another great idea no one party should dominate in one region or another.

What this blog had discussed during it's brief run was how to compose the IL General Assembly, the state's legislative branch. That is something that I do intent to explore using some of the posts on that blog. Though I want to throw in some of my own ideas.

Another thing under consideration is local governance. For example, I came of the understanding that cities in this state don't have charters. What kind of city charter could I write for the city of Chicago? How is Chicago governed without one or what would be the purpose of a charter.

I look forward to going through this exercise.

An Illinois Republic

For the moment we're going back to the "Shedd School of Pol. Sci."

I've often flirting with the idea of posting a political platform of some sort. This time my goal is to think about longterm what my vision would be let's say for a particular position within the U.S. gov't. My attention in this case is turned to the State of Illinois.

It's almost fitting given that we've just gotten out of a Presidential Election and the President-elect (Donald J. Trump) is looking to make significant changes to the US Gov't. He even brought in an industrialist and a very vocal, articulate activist to head this new Department of Gov't Efficency (DOGE) to cut as much of the nat'l debt as possible.

Also consider that in this state we're less than two years away from the next Gubernatorial race and we don't yet know who's running. Could Gov. Pritzker run for a third term? We already know his vision since he's been in office since 2018. What could anyone who wants to run for Governor bring to the table once they throw their hat in the ring for 2026?

Well to be honest I'm a long way from thinking I can jump into that ring and be successful. I'm just a citizen and chances are I'm on no one's radar. A blog is something of a soapbox and also in sharing these ideas, the door is open for someone to take advantage of them.

Not worried about it, I have no crystal ball. Besides these are just theories. And I do look forward to sharing them with you all in the near future.

So let's start with this and give you a teaser.

What is my vision for an Illinois Republic?

Reason TV: Schools aren't DESIGNED to teach CRITICAL THINKING

 

[VIDEO] So what were they designed for? This is what Nick Gillespie, Connor Bayack, and Corey DeAngelis talks about in this seven minute clip. The target for this is mainly public education.

Does public education in America only teach young people rote routines and protocols and doesn't really promote critical thinking. Just raise your hand if you want to go to the bathroom. Stick with your lesson plan and in order to understand the material you may not be allowed to ask questions. Perhaps your love of learning may not be further fostered.

Education designed not to make you a critical thinker with regards to the world around you, perhaps just to make you a better worker once you graduate? If the current model of education isn't working - especially when it comes to public education - then there needs to be competition.

I got to do research on these Education Savings Account. Perhaps ways of allowing parents to find alternatives to their local schools if they're not happy with them.

Mr Beat: Every type of government explained

 

[VIDEO] As you may know, Mr. Beat is a social studies teacher or at least he was until he decided to do YouTube full-time. And for me as a political science major this is up my alley. Every type of government from democracies, republics, monarchies, autocracies, presidential democracies, direct democracies, parliamentary democracies, etc.

Mr. Beat presents this almost 20 minute video with David from the YouTube channel World of Antiquity to discuss the types of governments with a few historical aspects of those types. A lot of what we know about republics, democracy, or even dictatorship has a basis in ancient Greece or Rome. So these terms we've heard thrown around has a basis over thousands of years old or perhaps for those of you who are religious before the Christian era.

Here's a question. Do you think of America as a democracy or as a republic?

Racist math?

 

[VIDEO] While this video from Bill O'Reilly's TV program mentions Oregon specifically they talk about other programs in states such as Illinois, North Carolina, and California about this new "woke" learning. Basically there is no such thing as a right or wrong answer in mathematics. Math is not going to be a technical skill to be taught it becomes a skill in ethics and civics.

Strange huh? Two plus two equals four right and let me spell it out more technically 2+2=4 right? Well if you answer 5 instead then you're not wrong. If anyone says that's wrong, you're a racist...

If you believe the Heritage Foundation's Jonathan Butcher what's being reflected in K-12 education was already being seen in higher education. And I've long learned some crazy ideas were being promoted in higher education. Also that professors in higher education are promoting certain ideas to impressionable college students who should be able to disseminate material and determine their validity.

If this is the direction K-12 is going, I'm glad I don't have any children in school right now. I really got to do some research on this "critical race theory".

Mr. Beat: How to Spot Logical Fallacies

 

[VIDEO] I'm sure that if you take a course in critical thinking or logic at any point in your life, especially a philosophy course with such a basis in undergrad you might run into this. Mr. Beat an edu-tuber takes a look at a Joe Rogan podcast with radio host Ben Shapiro taking a look at all the logical fallacies that he identifies during the course of that podcast. The duration of this vid is 30 mins.

Mr. Beat: Does history really repeat itself

 

[VIDEO] Those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it. This video explains how history tends to be very cyclical. America goes through a liberal or a conservative phase. Question is what phase are we in now? I would expect that Mr. Beat would answer this.

EDIT 9:46 AM - Somewhat related Instapundit last night had a post about the "turbulent 20s", this decade might become a bumpy ride even after 2020. The post linked to an article which takes a look at historic perspect. This turbulence is cyclical in this nation's history.

"No Safe Spaces" with Adam Carolla and Dennis Prager

[VIDEO] I saw this documentary over the weekend which features two figures one more in the entertainment realm who has a well-known podcast named Adam Carolla  a comedian who in a different time hosted The Man Show with Jimmy Kimmel. And the other figure is a man named Dennis Prager who not only has a popular YouTube channel and he's also a conservative radio host.

This documentary takes aim at what's going on college campuses. It especially notes the disturbances on college campuses and it seems the lack of diversity of thought on college campuses could threaten our larger society. Indeed as one professor noted in this documentary the college students of today will become future leaders of American society whether in business, entertainment, or even politics.

I suppose we could talk about the issue of free speech when it comes to these campuses. It's definitely one thing to attack issues that most Americans do believe are troubling such as racism or sexism. It's utterly troubling when using those isms that many of us consider abhorrent as a way to attack other ideas.

So to find students deciding to take over a campus in search for a professor they take issue with, to tell a professor that you want his job taken from them because a student doesn't want to have a discussion about some of their ideas, to engage in rioting on a campus because a speaker you take issue with is coming to campus or to outright assault someone who's part of a group to which you're opposed. We're exploring most of that in this documentary.

Ahh safe spaces, I'm unclear on the concept to be honest. I suppose if these are for groups who might want to advocate for themselves that's fine. However for the purposes of this documentary what is being conveyed is that there are safe spaces from some ideas. Should we be safe from different and new ideas?

I think about this now, when I was at Morehouse I reflexively had an issue with communism. My frame of reference was the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, or Cuba which are basically oppressive authoritarian dictatorships. I was caught off guard when one of the young men I met at school had to ask me if I read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx which I did before graduating. I suppose I couldn't be safe from having to actually read up upon that subject which has a number of adherents.

When it was time to graduate from high school, I had no idea of the point. It was in my head to go to college and get a good job. College is the time to explore different ideas especially if you plan to study a field that allows you to academically look at different ideas. That's what this documentary explores, however, if the students and some of the professors are effectively only trying to promote some ideas is college actually serving its purpose?

I recommend you check out this documentary.

Do what you can't

Sorry to have not warned you of a couple of instances of profanity in advance. I've seen this video numerous times and it would've been more thoughtful of me to state that before you watch.

[VIDEO] Today's message from Casey Neistat. As important a message over two years later as it is today. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. If you have a dream hold onto it and make it happen. If you get sidetracked recover and don't let anyone "hate" on you for following your dream.

DO WHAT YOU CAN'T!

Re: Maggio News documentaries posted to Nextdoor

Feel free to read more about it over at The Sixth Ward. An explanation and some findings...

Re: Maggio News documentaries posted to Nextdoor https://t.co/TlnWLglIAp

— The Sixth Ward (@TheSixthWard) January 29, 2018

Reason: Ban Private Schools in the Name of the Collective Good?

Consider me something of a supporter of public education especially when it works well. These days we're seeing further options for those parents who want more for their children educationally. In Chicago - of course - there are charter schools of course and there is a debate over school vouchers.

Here's hoping no one here in Chicago will take this debate this far.

Back in 1922, the Ku Klux Klan and other anti-Catholic groups spearheaded an Oregon initiative that resulted in the prohibition of all private schooling within that state. Known as the Compulsory Education Act, this law required all children between the ages of eight and 16 to attend "a public school for the period of time a public school shall be held during the current year." The Society of Sisters, a corporate entity organized in 1880 to provide for the care and education of orphans, challenged this prohibition in federal court, arguing that it violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, which forbids the states from depriving "any person [including corporate persons] of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

Unfortunately for both yesterday's Ku Klux Klan and today's progressive British political philosophers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the Society of Sisters and struck down the private school ban. According to the majority opinion of Justice James McReynolds, "the child is not the mere creature of the state." 

Via Newsalert!