Bill to greater facilitate vote-by-mail receives stamp of approval of Dems on Illinois Senate committee

State Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) tells a committee her bill would ensure your vote will count – even if you mail it in without sufficient postage. (Photo courtesy: WJBC/File)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A bill to greater facilitate vote-by-mail – requiring the votes to count even when the ballots come postage due – has the stamp of approval of Democrats on an Illinois Senate committee.

“Let’s say (the mailed-in ballot) is thirteen cents short,” said the sponsor, State Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield). “Or, let’s say they’ve put no postage at all; they’ve just thrown it in. The election authority that receives that ballot, then, is going to pay.

“It’s going to be on them to make that payment.”

HB 1871 has passed the Senate Executive Committee.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…