The state of the State
Legislative record of Gov. Kerner's years
THE RECORD of Otto Kerner's two terms as chief executive, particularly as seen through the bills he signed into law and in one case a historic veto, strongly indicate he will go down in the history of Illinois as an outstanding governor. It is tragic that his federal trial and conviction of bribery in connection with the purchase of race track stock tends to interpose itself between us and the Kerner years. But let the accomplishments of those years speak for themselves, and let the reader decide if they entitle him to be ranked among the state's best governors.
Otto Kerner served as governor for
almost seven and a half years, from
January 9, 1961, to May 21, 1968, when
he resigned to become a judge on the
U.S. circuit court of appeals. He was a
Democrat, but he had to deal with a
legislature controlled by the Republicans
except for the House in the 72nd
General Assembly (1961-63) and in the
74th General Assembly (1965-67). In
1961; the Republicans actually had a
one vote margin in the House, 89 to 88,
but wily Democrat Paul Powell was
nevertheless able to get himself elected
speaker. In 1965, the entire membership
of the House was elected by the state at
large instead of by districts, and the
Democrats won control, 118-59.
The 1964 at-large election of House
members stemmed from a constitutional
provision which was intended to force
reapportionment of the House following
each decennial census. This
provision said that if the legislature failed to
reapportion by June 30. 1963, the
governor should appoint a 10-member
Emission, five from each major
party, from names submitted to him by
the Democratic and Republican state
central committees. The commission
had until the end of the year to act, and if
it failed by then to agree on a reapportionment plan, all members of the
House were to be elected at large.
The legislature, controlled by the
Republicans, did pass a reapportionment act in 1963, but Gov. Kerner
vetoed it on the grounds that it was
unfair, especially to growing Lake
County. The appointment of the
bipartisan commission followed, but the
commission failed to agree on a plan by
December 31, 1963, and the House was
elected at large in 1964. This was the
year when President Lyndon B. Johnson
carried all but six states in defeating
Republican Barry Goldwater, and the
Republicans did poorly in Illinois.
Both parties put up "blue ribbon"
candidates for that at-large election of
all House seats. For the Democrats,
Adlai E. Stevenson 111 led as the largest
vote-getter, and it was his first venture
into elective politics- Later he was
elected state treasurer and now is U.S.
senator from Illinois. Rep. Marjorie
Pebworth, a former president of the
League of Women Voters, was elected
as a Republican. She sponsored a bill
for a commission to study the need for a
new constitution. The report of this
commission in 1967 led the legislature to
place on the ballot in 1968 the question
of calling a constitutional convention.
The question carried at the polls, and
the eventual outcome is the Constitution
of 1970. A third outstanding legislator
first elected in 1965 was Rep.
Harold A. Katz, author of a bill for a
Commission on the Organization of the
General Assembly (COOGA), which
resulted in many improvements in the
operation of the legislature. You can
say that these changes were inevitable,
but they all stemmed from Gov. Kerner's veto of the 1963 reapportionment
act, and they were carried out in an
environment of forward movement that
was characteristic of his administration.
Some of the other highlights of the
Kerner administration are as follows:
Education: Created Board of Higher
Education (1961) and Junior College
Board (1965; now Community College
Board); authorized land acquisition for
Governors State and Sangamon State
Universities (1967); recodified school
law (1961); established state aid
program for instruction of gifted children
(1963).
Codes: Enacted Revised Criminal
Code and Uniform Commercial Code
(both 1961); enacted Mental Health
Code, Pension Code, and Code of
Criminal Procedure (all in 1963).
Employment: Adopted Fair Employment
Practices Act (1961) and extended
it to the state and local governments
(1963); increased awards under the
Workmen's Compensation Act and
Occupational Diseases Act (1961 and
1965).
Local government: Adopted new
Municipal Code (1961).
Constitutional amendments:
Submitted Judicial Article amendment
(1961) which was ratified by the people
(1962), and enacted implementing
legislation (1963) which modernized the
state's court system.
Illinois became the first state to ratify
the U. S. constitutional amendment
outlawing the poll tax as a condition to
voting in elections to federal offices;
ratification took place at a 1962 special
session called by Gov. Kerner.
Other legislation: Shortened
residence time to vote for President (1963);
authorized electronic voting devices
(1965); inaugurated Illinois' participation
in Medicaid (1961) and broadened
the program to coordinate it with
Medicare (1965); enacted the
Condominium Property Act (1963) laying the
basis for modern condominium ownership
of apartments; submitted to the
voters (1967) a $1 billion anti-pollution
bond act (but this failed at the 1968
election); created Consumer Fraud
Bureau in attorney general's office
(1961) and adopted Uniform Deceptive
Trade Practices Act (1965)./ W.L.D.ž
July 1976/ Illinois Issues/ 25
State government: Created Departments
of Mental Health (1961), Public
Aid and Children and Family Services
(both 1963), and General Services
(1967); created Board of Economic
Development (1961) which became the
Department of Business and Economic
Development (1965); created Offices of
Commissioner of Banks and Commissioners
of Savings and Loans (both 1965).