Simplifying Illinois’ labyrinthine law books
Illinois’ endless list of state statutes could use some spring cleaning.
In last year’s gubernatorial race, both Pat Quinn and Bruce Rauner trumpeted the concept of “cleaning up Springfield.” Although that phrase usually connotes cleaning up corruption and cronyism, a current legislative proposal highlights another mess in need of cleaning: the daunting number of state statutes that remain on the books in Illinois.
Springfield’s mountain of compiled statutes – the collection of current effective laws that govern the state – grows taller every year as new laws come out of the capital. In the current legislative session alone, more than 4,000 bills have already been filed in the House of Representatives and more than 2,000 have been filed in the Senate, many of which will become law. While some laws have sunset provisions that require renewal to keep them operative, many others sit on the books indefinitely, even when they are no longer considered necessary or enforceable.
Cleaning up these books would only serve to make state government leaner and more efficient.
A bill introduced on Feb. 2 by state Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove, would establish the Board of Legislative Repealers to review and clean up Illinois’ books. This watchdog group would be set up as a private, not-for-profit foundation with a mission of reviewing all of Illinois’ laws and identifying those that no longer should be on record because they are obsolete, duplicative, in conflict with one another or have been ruled unconstitutional at the state or federal level. The board would be composed of members of the public appointed by the four leaders of the General Assembly.
The bill mandates that the review process begin with creation of a rubric of criteria for what constitutes obsolescence, redundancy and conflict in order to ensure consistency. The board would also accept public comments and submissions to assist in identifying laws that may come under the umbrella of the board’s mission. Finally, this bill would not usurp the authority of the legislature – the board would not have the power to repeal or modify any laws itself, but it would present its findings, recommendations and proposed legislation to the General Assembly annually.
Eliminating these redundancies and unusable laws serves the best interests of all Illinoisans. Citizens and legislators alike benefit from the ability to more easily navigate what the law of the state is without sifting through statutory clutter. If cleaning up Springfield is truly a common goal across party lines, cleaning up Springfield’s statutes should be a no-brainer.
Image credit: Jimmy Emerson, DVM