Cutback amendment
Encyclopedia
The Cutback Amendment is an amendment to the Illinois Constitution
that abolished multi-member districts in the Illinois House of Representatives
and the process of cumulative voting
. Before the amendment Illinois voters could vote three times for one candidate or spread their votes between two or three candidates. Three members were elected per district. When the Cutback Amendment was approved in 1980, the total number of House representatives was reduced from 177 to 118. The movement to pass the bill was largely led by Pat Quinn
and Bus Yourell.
The amendment was passed via a referendum and popularly seen as a way to punish the legislature for voting itself a 40% raise.
and former federal judge Abner Mikva issued a report in 2001 calling for the revival of cumulative voting, in part because it appears that such a system increases the representation of racial minorities in elected office. The Chicago Tribune editorialized in 1995 that the multi-member districts elected with cumulative voting produced better legislators.. Others have argued that the now-abandoned system provided for greater "stability" in the lower house.
Illinois Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Illinois is the governing document of the state of Illinois. There have been four Illinois Constitutions; the fourth and current version was adopted in 1970.-History:...
that abolished multi-member districts in the Illinois House of Representatives
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
and the process of cumulative voting
Cumulative voting
Cumulative voting is a multiple-winner voting system intended to promote more proportional representation than winner-take-all elections.- History :...
. Before the amendment Illinois voters could vote three times for one candidate or spread their votes between two or three candidates. Three members were elected per district. When the Cutback Amendment was approved in 1980, the total number of House representatives was reduced from 177 to 118. The movement to pass the bill was largely led by Pat Quinn
Pat Quinn (politician)
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Quinn III is the 41st and current Governor of Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Previously elected three times to statewide office, Quinn was the sitting lieutenant governor and became governor on January 29, 2009, when the previous governor, Rod Blagojevich,...
and Bus Yourell.
The amendment was passed via a referendum and popularly seen as a way to punish the legislature for voting itself a 40% raise.
Calls for repeal
Since the adoption of the Cutback Amendment, there have been proposals by some major political figures in Illinois to bring back multi-member districts. A task force led by former governor Jim EdgarJim Edgar
James Edgar is an American politician who was the 38th Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999 and Illinois Secretary of State from 1981 to 1991. As a moderate Republican in a largely blue-leaning state, Edgar was a popular and successful governor, leaving office with high approval ratings...
and former federal judge Abner Mikva issued a report in 2001 calling for the revival of cumulative voting, in part because it appears that such a system increases the representation of racial minorities in elected office. The Chicago Tribune editorialized in 1995 that the multi-member districts elected with cumulative voting produced better legislators.. Others have argued that the now-abandoned system provided for greater "stability" in the lower house.