George Ryan put a moratorium on the death penalty. Now the State of Illinois is looking at banning it outright. A bill to abolish the death penalty passed the Illinois House and moves on to the Senate.

Lawmakers approved Senate Bill 3539 with the required 60 votes after waging an earlier emotional, hour-long debate. But it was the $20 million annual cost of death penalty cases that convinced state Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, to change his previous “no” vote to “yes.”

“I was on both sides of this issue. But then you think of the potential cost savings of this bill, and the state needs all of the savings we can get,” Verschoore said. “Besides, my wife was on me to vote for it.”

Tazewell County State’s Attorney Stewart Umholtz doesn’t buy it. The bill failed the first time it was brought forward; normally that would be the end of the matter. But then Verschoore changed his mind and House leaders allowed a new vote to be taken. Umholtz tells the Journal Star, “Anyone that’s watched the Legislature today should be sickened…. I’m sure deals were made in order to flip those votes.”

In reality, this ban is going to make absolutely no difference. Only 12 people have been executed in Illinois in the last 50 years anyway. And it does nothing to make the justice system fairer or guard against wrongful convictions. But it’s a good diversion from the issue lawmakers really should be facing: Illinois’ fiscal crisis.

Hat tip to Peoria Pundit for the Illinois Statehouse News link.