The opponents of a constitutional convention in Illinois have collected more than $1.2 million for a campaign to persuade Illinoisans that there's nothing wrong with Illinois government that elections won't fix. But that's part of the problem. The special interests opposed to a convention are the same interests that bankroll and control the Legislature and state government today. How satisfied are you with that mess?

Once every 20 years the Illinois Constitution gives voters the opportunity to call a convention to examine whether Illinois' constitution needs revision. Thankfully this year – a time when the Legislature is spending more than it is taking in, when the governor is clearly exceeding his authority on spending issues and when the courts and others have permitted the actual wording of the con con referendum question to go on the ballot with outrageously biased terms – is that year. These events and much more provide ample evidence that there are fundamental problems with Illinois government that only a constitutional convention could fix.

Today's state government has refused to be part of the solution. It is clearly part of the problem.

Here are just some of the issues a constitutional convention could take on:

– The gaggle of governments – nearly 7,000, more than any other state – that often serve only to provide duplicative services and jobs, and devour tax money.

– The current constitution requires that "(a)ppropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year." Yet, using a loophole, the Legislature has consistently spent more than it is taking in. That's why, according to state Comptroller Dan Hynes, the state has about $2 billion in unpaid bills, much of that carried over from the last fiscal year.

– The oddly shaped legislative districts that are drawn to convenience the candidates and the political parties, not the voters. That's why you get state representative maps that split Champaign County into four different districts and the Decatur area into three different congressional districts. Voters get confused about whose district they're in, but incumbents get re-elected because of gerrymandering.

– Term limits. In a guest commentary last Sunday, former state Sen. John Lanigan suggested that Illinois governors should be limited to a single, six-year term. That would, he argued, allow the governor to govern in the state's best interests and not require him to satisfy the special interests that finance re-election campaigns. It's one idea.

– The huge disparity in public school funding among different parts of the state and the ambiguous wording in the current constitution that has allowed state funding of education to decline.

– The system that makes it difficult for independent or third-party candidates to run for office or become established and to challenge the two-party monopoly in Illinois.

Opponents of a con con, including corporations, labor unions, the Farm Bureau and others, have suggested the process would cost up to $90 million or $100 million. But the Illinois Legislative Research Unit, basing its figures on the cost of the 1970 con con, says the cost would be between $14 and $23 million.

The opponents say the con con process would be dominated by the same legislators and/or special interests that control the Legislature today. Perhaps, but that wasn't the case with the constitution of 1970. Those delegates, many of them bright, independent thinkers, were elected on a nonpartisan ballot. They produced a document that has held up fairly well, although it needs improvement.

The opponents argue that pension benefits to current retirees could be reduced by a constitutional convention. But both the current state Constitution and the U.S. Constitution would prohibit that. The latter bars states from passing laws "impairing the obligation of contracts."

The backstop with regard to any work performed by a constitutional convention is, of course, that it would have to be approved by all voters in a statewide referendum.

We do not make this recommendation for a constitutional convention lightly. It will require hard work by people of integrity and good will. Preparations leading up to the convention, as well as its work, will require vigilance by the news media, good government groups and others. But Illinois government is such an embarrassment that this extraordinary step is needed. The political parties have had years to fix the situation and are either unable or unwilling to do so. The voters must act.