In an effort to squash the political duopoly that has defined the United States, Amendment Chairman Robert Redfern introduced an amendment to the state legislature that would allow third parties greater influence by adding another representative to each district.

There are too many professional politicians in office, said Redfern, who is also the chairman of the Illinois Forum, a public policy think-tank based in Champaign. The amendment also would make being a representative more available to people who have full-time jobs on the side.

Although some politicians scoff at the idea, having three-member districts is actually a return to the way the Illinois constitution was set up before 1970.

“This way, minorities would be represented in the House,” Redfern said.

One party would not be able to have more than two seats in each district, allowing a second party to fill the third seat, Redfern said.

Having the Illinois General Assembly neet bi-annually, instead of continuously, would encourage legislators not to proposing unnecessary legislation, he said.

“Last year, over 7,000 bills were submitted to legislators, and 5,200 were accepted,” Redfern said.

Other states that meet bi-annually are Indiana and Texas, he said.

Money also will be saved because legislators will meet less often and not generate as much boarding expenses, Redfern said.

Redfern introduced the amendment in April 2005. In order for the amendment to be voted on by Illinois residents during the Nov. 7 governor election ballot, 200,000 signatures are needed by May 8.

State Rep. Bob Pritchard (R-Hinkley) said it is inaccurate to say the Illinois General Assembly meets continuously.

The General Assembly meets for 40 days in the spring and for 20 in the fall, with the same schedule each year unless held over by special situations, Pritchard said.

Pritchard said he agreed the General Assembly is introducing too many laws, but disagrees with changing the structure of the Illinois constitution. He argues the flexibility needed to realize Redfern’s goal already is built into the state’s constitution.

Paul Kleppner, director of the NIU Office for Social Policy Research, said the idea of going back to three-member districts is interesting, but the rest of the Redfern Amendment is “mindless anti-government rhetoric.”

Districts were cut from three members in order to cut down on the number of legislators and to save money, Kleppner said. A clear result is Chicago: There are no Republicans representing Chicago and the same amount representing Democrats in the suburbs.

“Going back to three-member districts could change the all-or-nothing polarization of the representation in this state,” Kleppner said.

Financially, there is only so much that could be predicted with such a significant change. Illinois tried setting up a budget on a bi-annual basis, but found the process to be ineffective and inefficient, he said.