Leland J. Kennedy Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

not an Italian name, but what those - if that's down in the Loop, thc West Side Bloc -
I wouldn't think it would be but . . .
Q: No, that was . . .
A: They were supposed to - oh, I guess be mixed up with organized crime and unorganized
crime, and they got blamed for half of the things that went on in Chicago, and I guess they
were held responsible for about 1 percent of it but . . .
I recall a lot about Cy Murray because he was always on the floor walking around and just
talking to you and everybody seemed to accept him and they'd have those dinners I
mentioned. I think he always attended, they were open to lobbyists, I think. I think, if
I recall, the cost was six dollars even in those days.
SESSION 6, TAPE 12, SIDE I
A: They moved the primary once - it used to always he in April, the second Tuesday in
April, and somebody got the wild idea - I never was for it - to move it up to June. And
we had primaries in maybe June of 1966 and June of 1968. And it just seemed like that
it was a very - it was different for me, and different for people in Madison County to go
into the polls in June when kids are getting out of school, and thc total vote was down.
Q: Why was that?
A: Well I just - I don't know why, I guess the lack of interest. On both parties the total
vote was just down. There didn't seem to be the interest. I guess they got used to an April
primary. Now maybe if they'd have left it there and not changed it, they could have.
And we went back in session in the 1969 session - I had retired from Shell, 1 was a full-time
legislator - I introduced a bill to get the primary back to April. And oh, it would get so
far and it couldn't get the votes, and I'd just put it on postpone consideration.
In your research, you will find that from filing date - we used to file early in January -
to the primary, I think it was ninety-nine days - that was by Constitution or by statute. It
was a statutory ruling. And it seemed like they weren't going to accept April. They didn't
want June. And they beat some amendments for May, and instead of going for the second
Tuesday in April, they went to the third Tuesday in March. 1 accepted that, I didn't want
June. I thought maybe March might he too soon, but too soon was better than too late
as far as I was concerned. And the Constitutional Convention was in 1970 I helieve.
Q: Yes.
A: And whether they were afraid that - when I say they, I mean thc legislative body of
a hundred and fifty-odd members, or a hundred and seventy-odd members, whatever it was
- was afraid they had too much opposition from constitutional delegates, or maybe that
election was being held simultaneously. That was the reason some of the support, it was
a nonpartisan thing. It wasn't Republican/Dem . . . it was not - it was an election, and
Bill Redmond or Lee Kennedy or Clyde Choate or Curly Harris or anybody - Warren Wood
had his own personal ideas on it. And nobody liked June. I think Bill Ilorsley was still
in the senate, and I think he might have handled the bill in the senate. It had a number
of sponsors besides myself. I was the chief sponsor, but it ended up as a March primary,
the third Tuesday in March, and I believe the primary's still there. Rut this June primary
was for the birds as far as I was concerned.
Q: Well let's see, when did the June primary come in? Was that in the early 19607s?