Tom Martens is a district captain for Convention of States in Illinois helping to get the Convention of States resolution passed in Illinois and across the country. | Courtesy of Tom Martens
Tom Martens is a district captain for Convention of States in Illinois helping to get the Convention of States resolution passed in Illinois and across the country. | Courtesy of Tom Martens
The Illinois chapter of the Convention of States (COS) gathered a group-record 271 signatures backing its cause at the recent Bald Eagle Days event.
Bald Eagle Days is an annual show at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island. According to visitquadcities.com, it is the Midwest's largest event dedicated to the United States’ national symbol of freedom. More than 2,500 bald eagles nest along the Mississippi River in the area.
COS made the decision to attend the event after noticing the amount of success it has had in the past, according to Tom Martens, volunteer district captain for Convention of States Illinois.
At the 2021 event in Rock Island, COS Illinois secured more than 200 petition signatures.
While Martens got most of the 271 signatures at the recent three-day event, he was also training a few volunteers, and they helped gather a few dozen signatures.
“It was a learning experience for them and that’s the whole idea is to get more people experience like this,” Martens said.
Signers provided their names, addresses and the names of their legislators.
“The petition that you're filling out will be sent to your local legislators to tell them that you want them to vote for Convention of States,” Martens said. “That's [what] we need to know so we can go back and tell them that you have another supporter for Convention of States.”
Under Article V of the Constitution, COS allows states to convene to propose amendments. The group's main goals target term limits for lawmakers and to prohibit deficit spending at the federal level.
“If you stay in office too long, you get rich off our tax dollars, and that’s a problem,” Martens told Rock Island Today.
COS works for an amending convention, not a constitutional convention. Any amendments forwarded from the convention would need ratification by 38 states to become part of the Constitution. So far, COS has passed its resolution successfully in 17 states.
Martens is preparing to launch his campaign for Illinois House District 72. He will run as a Republican.
Alerts Sign-up