Last week's election gave Illinois Senate President Emil Jones more bragging rights than anyone else at the Statehouse.

Jones' Democrats picked up five seats on Tuesday, giving them one more than the minimum needed for a veto-proof majority. Jones' 37 seats compare to just 22 for the Senate Republicans.

To say that the Senate Republicans are now irrelevant for at least the next two years would be putting it mildly. The Senate Republicans won't be able to stop anything, including bills for new state construction-bond programs, which require a minimum of 36 votes.

How many times have you watched some movie or TV show depicting the villain as extreme governmental control, with severe abuse of innocents as the cause of rebellion? We sit through these horrors, reassuring ourselves that this would never happen in America. Why? Because, we tell ourselves, we would never allow things to deteriorate to such a degree that the level of control and abuse we are witnessing could occur.

Well don't be so sure. How do you think those film scenarios were conceived? Certainly from lively imaginations, but also from history; mankind has a long tradition of cruel, suppressive conduct toward his fellow human beings.

If you are an independent voter - that is, a person who does not identify with either of the major political parties - Democratic and Republican leaders would prefer that you did not vote on November 7.

Not only that, but they're doing everything in their power to keep you from voting. They might not break into your house and tie you up until November 8, but they do invade your home through television ads hell-bent on disgusting you with the campaigns, the candidates, and the process. They want you to turn off, tune out and drop out.

This week's article by Jeff Ignatius, "Rock the Vote Boat," underscores the enormous weight of each American's vote. Ignatius concludes with a quote from The Broken Branch: "Citizens at the polls are the most powerful agents of change."

Thus begins my traditional election-time mantra: Get out and vote! Do it because (1) it's your civic duty as an American; (2) it's your constitutional right and privilege as an American; or how about (3) because it's the last thing the politicians want you to do. There's a reason for this.

The two major political parties, Democrats and Republicans, make it their political mission to encourage voters to stay home. Historical poll data clearly shows a consistent percentage of voters who cast ballots in every election. Sadly this percentage is less than half of all eligible voters, which means that the majority of voters consistently don't vote. And that is the percentage political strategists work the hardest to maintain.