Ed Rutledge for Lieutenant Governor

The role of the Lieutenant Governor in Illinois is heavily influenced by the Governor, who can delegate to that office powers and duties falling within the purview of the Executive branch. While Illinois Governors in recent history have not been willing to entrust their Lieutenant Governors with much more than superficial or ceremonial responsibilities, constitutionally the office has the potential to grow into a much more active and influential position in state governance.

With the support of Lex Green, the Libertarian nominee for Governor of Illinois, I intend to reshape the role of Lieutenant Governor by assuming the responsibilities of a Chief Operating Officer. The Governor, as the state’s Chief Executive, will provide direction, while the Lieutenant Governor will have the responsibility for implementing the Governor’s vision. There is a great deal of work to be done if we are going to pull Illinois back from the brink of bankruptcy, but driving efficiencies into and costs out of organizations and processes is a role which I have successfully performed throughout my career.

Lately, there has been talk of abolishing the office of Lieutenant Governor through a constitutional amendment. While I do not oppose the elimination of this post in theory, I would not advocate this course without time for significant public reflection. Specifically, real consideration should be given to changing the line of succession if the office of Lieutenant Governor is abolished to avoid the otherwise inherent potential for a serious conflict of interest in the Attorney General's office.

Regardless, there is no need for the Lieutenant Governor to maintain a separate, multi-million dollar budget. To this end, I would propose a consolidation of the budgets and staffing of the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor, eliminating redundancies and providing immediate savings for the people of Illinois.

The office of Lieutenant Governor has the potential to be highly beneficial to the state, at relatively little cost, if the Governor will only make use of it. And Lex Green, the Libertarian nominee for Governor, will do just that.

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