Suburban Democrat Sean Casten said it is frustration that led him to propose one of the biggest changes to Washington in more than a century.
“Virtually every time I go home, people will say ‘why isn’t the government doing things the majority of the American people want?’”
To address what he sees is a widespread and everlasting concern, Casten is introducing a package of legislation he is calling “A Common Sense Vision for American Democracy.”
The first element would be a constitutional amendment to establish 12 at-large U.S. Senators. Those Senators, since they won’t come from any particular state, will better respond to the public will, Casten said.
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He added that the current design of the Senate favors states with small populations.
“The Senate was designed to frustrate the will of the people. Right now, 17 percent of the population affects half of the U.S. Senate,” Casten said.
Casten also wants to add about 138 additional members of the House to improve representation, as well as change the jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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“Let’s take the Supreme Court back to our founders' intent, to basically elevate the will of the people,” Casten said.
Political science professors call the proposal interesting. Susan Burgess, PhD., a lecturer at DePaul University, said the advantage to the approach would be more equal representation between small and large areas.
“In Chicago, this kind of institutional reform could mean that a district could be drawn around a very small geographic area, so people would really know each other,” Burgess said.
Constance Mixon, PhD., director of the Urban Studies Program at Elmhurst University, said the plan might help break some of the gridlock in Washington, but “the politics of getting this passed are a different story.”
Casten acknowledged the challenges of getting a package like this through a deeply divided Congress, but said the first step is to start the conversation.
“Our founders were really, really smart people. We’re smarter because we have 233 years of experience with the democracy that they created,” Casten said.
Our political divisiveness may even be another opportunity, according to Burgess.
“When there have been periods when there have been radical politics, either on the right or on the left, that is a time you invite greater political change,” she said.
