CHICAGO - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will call lawmakers back to work on Jan. 8 to take up legislation that would set a special election to allow voters to pick a replacement to serve out the late Judy Baar Topinka's full term as comptroller.
Topinka died of a stroke Dec. 10, after winning re-election as comptroller in November.
Quinn issued a proclamation Thursday setting the special session date. The session would take place just four days before Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner and a new General Assembly are sworn into office. The legislation would call a special election to coincide with the next statewide election date of Nov. 8, 2016, with the primary being held on March 15.
"Judy Baar Topinka's passing has not only left us heartbroken - the people of Illinois have been left without their elected representative in the Comptroller's Office," Quinn said in a statement. "Nobody but Judy Baar Topinka was elected to do this job. That's why it's so important that voters have the soonest possible opportunity to elect their Comptroller. Holding a special election is the right thing to do."
Quinn's move puts him at odds with his successor, who beat him in the November race. Rauner wants Quinn to name a top Topinka aid to fill out the short remaining span of her first term, through Jan. 12, and then plans to appoint a comptroller after he is sworn in to serve the new four-year term.
"There is a real likelihood that a statute mandating a special election would violate the [state] constitution and result in costly litigation and uncertainty for Illinois taxpayers," Rauner's spokesman, Mike Schrimpf, said in a statement after Quinn's announcement. "The only route to enact a special election for a statewide officeholder that is absolutely consistent with the Constitution is passing a constitutional amendment."
He added that any major change "like this should apply to all future vacancies and be carefully and thoughtfully discussed - not rushed through in a last minute special session that would look overtly political." Rauner is a Republican and Quinn a Democrat, with Democrats in control of the General Assembly. Topinka was a Republican whose popularity crossed political allegiances.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Monday issued an analysis concluding state law gave Quinn the power to make an appointment for the remainder of Topinka's term and that Rauner would hold sway over the new term. She recommended that lawmakers approve legislation setting a special election for the next statewide ballot to allow voters to pick a successor.
The comptroller's office manages the state's bills and payroll and maintains state and local fiscal records. The office publishes monthly and quarterly reports on the state's fiscal condition and its reports on the size of the bill backlog are closely followed by analysts and investors as a sign of the state's liquidity position.
