H&R Springfield Bureau Report

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's penchant for calling lawmakers to Springfield for special sessions has drawn the ire of a Central Illinois senator.

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said Monday that he wants to put new limits on the governor's ability to bring lawmakers back to town. He said his colleagues have come to view the governor's actions as a "means to pressure and harass them."

Brady's proposed constitutional amendment regarding the governor's powers came just hours after Blagojevich scheduled a special session for Nov. 28 to deal with a bailout of Chicago-area mass transit systems.

It makes the seventeenth time the governor has called a special session this year, which has been marked by gridlock and indecision over budget-related matters. After the first few special sessions were called, many lawmakers chose not to attend.

Brady said his amendment would require the presence of the governor in each chamber on the first day a special session is convened.

"By requiring the governor to physically convene each special session in each chamber, the governor will have to stand before us and tell us why he has called us to Springfield," Brady said in a statement.