By John Gregory/Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO – The leader of the Senate Republicans called the effort to recall Chicago’s mayor “disingenuous,” a criticism which the bill’s sponsor considers to be insensitive.
Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) addressed the legislation which appears to target Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel during a speech at the City Club of Chicago last week.
“It’s amazing to me to see some of the Democrats, even those in the legislature, disingenuously embracing the efforts to recall the mayor,” Radogno said. “As you know, I think he has failed, in many ways, but even they acknowledge that most likely these recall efforts aren’t going to affect the current mayor.”
Radogno feels recall efforts to be handled carefully to avoid being overused, saying she fears a situation where politicians are recalled “because I don’t like the color of their hair or one decision they’ve made.”
State Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago), one of the primary sponsors of the recall effort, considers Radogno’s comments to be “uninformed and without compassion.”
“I think Sen. Radogno is the first person to make a negative comment that I’ve heard publicly about good public policy in this bill,” Ford said.
While Ford’s bill would only apply to the Mayor of Chicago, two other lawmakers, State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) and State Sen. Napoleon Harris (D-Harvey), have separate pieces of legislation which would allow recall for all elected officials in local and state government. Ford hasn’t said whether or not he’ll support those efforts.
