Dr. Pribbenow's comments were originally delivered at the Home Rule rally at the University of Illinois' School of Medicine Auditorium on November 14th, 2005.
Doing our homework on Home Rule
Thanks for this opportunity to say a few words about an issue that seems to me to be at the heart of our aspirations for Rockford. The opportunity to return Home Rule to Rockford is, for me, about how we give ourselves (not just our elected officials, but all of our citizens) one of the critical tools it needs and deserves to be an even greater city. This is about us – the citizens of Rockford, Illinois – and our future.
As an academic, I, of course, needed to do my research on Home Rule to understand what it is and what it isn't. I urge all of you to do the same and there is plenty of good research out there – with evidence that seems fairly compelling to me about the benefits of Home Rule. But you need to decide for yourselves. Don't allow the proponents or opponents of Home Rule to make claims that are not, in fact, borne out by the evidence. Become an informed advocate for this critical public policy for our city.
Home Rule is our right
I want to focus on what I think is the fundamental issue about Home Rule in Illinois. The Illinois state constitution says it is our constitutional right in Rockford to be able to govern ourselves through Home Rule. All cities with populations over 25,000 are granted by the Illinois constitution of 1970 – Article VII, Section 6 – the right to "exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs, including, but not limited to, the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; to license; to tax; and to incur debt." In 1983, we gave up this constitutional right – we gave up the right granted to all great cities in Illinois – and it is time we take back our constitutional charter!
The framers of the Illinois constitution considered this right so important that they made it automatic – not something to be legislated, but a right that is constitutionally guaranteed – and we gave it up! I think that is unacceptable.
There are limits to Home Rule, of course – and the opponents of Home Rule often forget to mention the limits. There are constitutional limits on taxing power, limits on debt, and limits on power to punish – and additional limits also may be placed by the legislature.
The critical point is this: Home rule is a right given to great cities to do their business – to take responsibility for their own destinies, their own plans for growth, their own finances. It does not give unlimited, arbitrary power to do what the government wants. That is un-American. No government anywhere in the US has that power. All government is limited, even Home Rule governments. We can debate the limits, but the Illinois constitution grants this Home Rule right to our city – demanding uniformity where it matters (as in criminal law), while allowing diversity where it is permissible – and we need to reclaim this right, because not claiming it gives up the sort of authority and flexibility we need to compete with other great cities in education, quality of life, and economic development. Once we reclaim our Home Rule rights, all of us will need to be active and engaged citizens – to help build and sustain public trust, develop ways of holding elected officials accountable, and take responsibility for the well-being of our neighborhoods and our community. Local control – our control - over what are appropriately local issues – our issues - is a cornerstone of our American democracy. And Home Rule is a critical key to our regaining control over our own destinies.
It's time to say yes to our great city
That is what my head tells me after reviewing the literature on Home Rule. Allow me the opportunity to say a word about what my heart tells me about Home Rule. I'm still a relative newcomer to Rockford, but what I've noticed time after time is the favorite word in our vocabulary here in Rockford is "No." No, we can't do that, we tried that before, don't you dare take that risk, don't even think about that new idea. If I've had any success in my time here in Rockford, it has all come by saying "Yes" to new ideas, new ways of doing business, new partnerships in behalf of common purpose. I've read the case opponents of Home rule are making against our cause. And it's more of the same no – and, frankly, I'm sick and tired of the lack of imagination, the lack of courage, the lack of a sense of promise and abundance in this great city. It's time to say "Yes" – to Home Rule, to our dreams and aspirations as a city, to being more engaged citizens, to holding ourselves, our fellow citizens and our community leaders to a higher standard. It's time to say Yes to our great city, Rockford, Illinois!