IGPA will co-sponsor a debate on the constitutional convention question that goes before Illinois voters in the November election. The debate, which features Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and Kevin Semlow of the Illinois Farm Bureau, will be at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15, in Room 100 of Gregory Hall, 810 S. Wright St., Urbana.

On Nov. 4, Illinois voters will be asked whether the state should call the first constitutional convention since 1970. The current constitution requires voters to consider every 20 years whether to reopen the document for review by a convention of delegates chosen from across the state.

The Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois and the Civic Leadership Program at the U of I’s Urbana-Champaign campus will sponsor a debate on this important issue on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 4:30 p.m. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and Kevin Semlow, director of state legislation for the Illinois Farm Bureau, will debate the question.

The forum will be held in Room 100 of Gregory Hall, 810 S. Wright St., on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

“In an election cycle dominated by the race for the White House, it is important that Illinois voters are able to make informed decisions about the Con-Con question,” said Robert F. Rich, director of IGPA. “A substantive issue like this deserves the quality analysis that Lt. Gov. Quinn and Kevin Semlow will provide.”

Quinn, in his second term as lieutenant governor, supports calling a constitutional convention. Semlow, currently serving at the Illinois Farm Bureau’s director of state legislation, opposes the idea. The two will debate the political and institutional realities surrounding the convention question, along with its pros and cons.

Further information about the Con-Con issue can be found in the final chapter of The Illinois Report 2008, which provides a history of past Illinois constitutional conventions and analysis from IGPA faculty experts.