Gov. Pat Quinn, who lost his re-election bid last month, announced Thursday that he's calling the lame duck General Assembly to Springfield for a special session on Jan. 8, just a few days before a new governor and new legislature will be inaugurated.
Why on earth? Quinn wants lawmakers to pass a bill scheduling an election for comptroller in 2016, the next chance to run candidates for a statewide ballot. The unfortunate and untimely death of Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka before she was sworn in for another term has created a debate — OK, call it a scramble — over the selection of a successor.
Quinn apparently wants to deliver a kick in the pants to the man who beat him, Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner. According to Attorney General Lisa Madigan's reading of the law and the Illinois Constitution, the next governor has the authority to appoint a comptroller for the full four years of the term Topinka won in the Nov. 4 election. Read the Chicago Tribune editorial in its entirety.