Rauner’s Illinois Revival Project
Explanation of Gov. Rauners new order and how this will affect unions in Illinois. This state is in such bad economic condition that something needs to be tried. All talk of jobs coming here are useless until big change is made to get companies even interesting in coming here.
We will continue to lose people and business until reform occurs.
40 comments:
Family fun days cancelled because of snow and cold? To be rescheduled in July.
Simple logic. Respect for rights. These are things Illinoisans are not used to seeing from their state government, so perhaps it’s understandable that some are having trouble comprehending what Rauner has done and why he has done it.
As soon as he issued his executive order, Rauner also filed a lawsuit in which he asked a federal court to declare his order lawful because it was necessary to protect state workers’ First Amendment rights.
This is also extraordinary. The governor has gone to a court and said, in essence: “Here’s what I’ve done because I think it’s what the Constitution requires me to do. I’m confident enough that I’ve done the right thing that I’m willing to put it to the test and, if it turns out I’m wrong, to be held accountable.” And he’s doing it with pro bono attorneys, not at taxpayers’ expense.
Again, not the sort of thing Illinoisans are used to seeing from their political leaders. (Jacob Huebert from Illinois Policy)
10:07, in whose backyard swimming pool?
Here we go again. A legitimate topic to discuss and it get polluted with BS about fun days and other non-governmental functions.
Without a doubt new Governor Rauner wants to get the attention of lawmakers with his lawsuit mentality. There is one problem and that is in the fact that lawsuits will never get the state back to business. The only way is work together. That is impossible unless the new Governor gives something to the Democrats. Fighting the unions won't help, that is the political base of democrats.
Anon 4:29 PM You believe that lawsuits will never get the state back to business and it is impossible to work together unless Gov. Rauner gives something to the Democrats.
This is not the direction that Governor Rauner has taken to reach his present position and most that believe in him will be disappointed if he does.
From initial actions it appears that Gov. Rauner means to carry thru with campaign intentions, which will challenge many long term accepted practices that if continued will destroy Illinois and many other states under the same mind thought.
It is only logical that one group will have the highest of pay and the best of pensions and other benefits but there should not be such a significant gap of one to the other. Prosperity for a few is not prosperity for all and when ones ability to join is hindered by those who control membership a equal and fair availability is not provided for all.
Ironically, liberal judges that have been appointed to the various Federal Courts recently are - gasp - being true liberals. In other words, they are ruling in favor of constitutional rights. This can be seen in the plethora of firearms rights cases across the nation. These judges where expected to uphold gun restriction imposed by progressive politicians - but they have been over turning them.
Why do I bring this up? Because I think Gov. Rauner understands this and that is why he felt confident issuing the executive order to withhold union payments forced on government employees that don't want to be in the union. This is a prime opportunity to bring a First Amendment case to the courts - and they may rule the Illinois law unconstitutional.
Be it First Amendment or Second Amendment, the courts are currently in favor of "Individual Rights." This is going to be interesting and I hope this works its way all the way up.
One thing it will do for sure - the government employee unions will now be forced to show exactly how much money they spend on lobbying the government. This is because they are arguing that the union dues charged to non union employees are for contract negotiations. In court, the unions will need to prove their costs. Arithmetic will show the difference between their legitimate negotiating duties and their illegitimate use of union dues to fund elections. It will also show the amount of money being paid to union leadership.
It's going to be a fun ride and I think it will end with forced unionization to be proven unconstitutional by extending the freedoms of association to guarantee the freedom to disassociate.
Everyone should also understand that the Executive Branch - be a Mayor, Governor, or the President - has quite a bit of power to do things without involving the Legislative Branch - be it a City Council, State Legislator, or the US Congress.
This blog is teaming with people that believe every action of government must be debated and voted on in the Legislative Branch. That is absolutely untrue. Our various local governments are modeled on the Federal system which is a Constitutional Republic - NOT a Democracy as many people ignorantly believe. Granted, our governments practice Democratic principals - But, our government is NOT a Democracy.
The policies of Rauner and the extreme right, if successful, will only reduce wages, benefits, and working conditions for all. That is the goal of the Koch brothers and other multi-billionaires who want their profits increased at the expense of middle and lower middle class workers. Saddest part of it all is that middle class folks are buying into the anti-union propaganda and electing people like Rauner who intends to help the rich get richer and reduce the middle class to poverty levels. These policies will increase the number of working poor and make more and more people dependent on welfare services, which by the way will also be cut in order to provide tax breaks for Rauner cronies.
That is not true 9:26. The wages for qualified workers will most likely go up. By removing the leveling effect of forced unionization, those with skills and work ethics to be paid more than those just coasting. The only ones that need to fear are those that under produce.
And why do progressives (I've stopped capitalizing the P by the way) always bring up the "Kock Brothers"? They are only two men. What about the Liberals like:
Bloomberg, Gates, Allen, Buffett, ?? They are the ones out to overturn Individual freedoms and socially engineer people to fit their own utopian ideal.
10:12 AM, OMG! Those with skills? Those with work ethics? Those coasting? Who exactly are they?
Corporations like the Koch brothers and others are now able to contribute "unlimited" cash to lobby and elect political candidates and fund other political groups. At the same time their political hacks, like Rauner and Scott Walker are working to limit the amount of money labor unions can use to do the same. So ask yourself, what is the real battle here? It's who can buy the most influence. That's all it is. Follow the money. The right wingers have gained the money advantage because of the "Citizens United" ruling by the US Supreme Court and they are busy buying up politicians across the country like Rauner and Walker. The system is upside down and is nothing more than who has more cash. This situation was brought to you by conservatives on the Supreme Court, and it has destroyed any chance of campaign reform that was championed by many more Dems than Republicans. Any chance for honest and accountable governemnt was lost with the Citizens United ruling. The Genie is out of the bottle and this country is up for sale and both parties have no choice but to continue the race to buy up politicians at any cost. We are doomed as a country becuase of this situation.
9:26, what 10:12 is saying is that the market is efficient. Individual workers will be paid what they are worth. The market will control the price of labor just as it does for the employers product.
Artificial wage inflation caused by unionized labor both holds back some workers and inflates the wages of those that would otherwise not deserve them. The employer is not allowed to reward the best - rather he is forced to de-incentivize good performance by paying the mediocre performer the same wage.
Another thing to consider is the effect that feel good government policies around increasing the minimum wage have. The Congressional Budget Office - under the direction of then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi concluded that increasing the minimum wage would result these types of jobs being eliminated. The ones that loose out are kids just entering the job market and seniors trying to earn a few extra dollars or simply socialize. It will not be long before order takers at fast food restaurants are replaced by tablet computers. That is only one job that will be eliminated as government forces an increase to the entry level wage.
10:44, take a step back and dump the kook aid down the drain. Remember to breath. You just published - word for word - the exact talking points of the socialist and the Unions.
10:44 AM, You are correct and unfortunatley few, if anyone, on this blog are capable of comprehending the political reality of "Citizens United". When you have kooks like 11:45 AM who listen to Rush Limbaugh and FOX News as if it's legitimate news and information, referring to Socialism you may as well pound your head against the wall as try to get someone like that to understand common sense. Stop trying as it is beneath us to try to educate the ignorant and uneducatable who frequent this blog.
well - I guess you can lead a horse to water, but the yokels in the Illinois Valley will never learn. 12:10, 10:44 - you are why this area will never have another large employer. maybe a few small ones like north of Peru. But nothing new if you have your way.
The way is NO UNIONS! Period, End of Story!
Right-to-work in Illinois 2015!
I don't know. I'm looking at the salaries for the average worker at Koch Industries. They look pretty impressive compared to what is around here.
Why would anyone want to give some union hack money that in turn gives it to some politician that in turn votes for things that you disagree with?
How would one ever judge themselves to behold common sense when their next sentence is "Stop trying as it is beneath us to try to educate the ignorant and uneducatable who frequent this blog."
It is best for those who you refer to as the ignorant who frequent this blog and beneath you that that you no longer will try to educate them as your terminology "uneducatable" is not a word, nor in the dictionary.
It must hurt to be so SMART that you have to make up your own vocabulary to impress others.
Many years ago it was proven that there is only a fine hairline between a genius and a idiot Could it be that that hairline is all in ones presentation?
lets see. LaSalle County Illinois jobs available.
Burger Flipper - $10K per year
Bar Tender - $22K per year plus tips.
Canal Boat Captain - $14K per year
Lets see... Right-to-Work State jobs available
Factory line worker - $35K per year
Factory Supervisor - $65K per year.
Truck Driver - $60K per year
Warehouse Associate - $30K per year
Warehouse Supervisor - $60K per year
Don't let the Union Hacks fool you folks. Send them packing!
8:32AM Although many interchange and confuse democracy and republic they are thinking of a republic and therefore mean the same thing. Also most realize that there are 3 branches of government.
Your comment is well written and I would like to take this opportunity to question you and all others on why there is such a reluctance to vote in our republic? The turnout of eligible voters for a election and the manipulation by politicians of the voters has become pathetic.
12:10 - Fox and Limbah are just as legitimate as MSNBC and CNN or for that matter the News Tribune.
News is business now. The provider caters to its audience. But, it just so happens that Limbah and Fox have the largest audience.
Unions are severely damaging whole industries, Unions are ruining public education, Unions are costing us billions of tax dollars, Unions are fundamentally anti-democratic,Government unions are bankrupting cities and states.
I can't afford companies that pay union wages to do my electrical work . I use people who are just as qualified to do the job at half the hourly rate.
Would it be possible for those who are just as qualified to do the job at half the hourly rate as the unions to send a comment into the blog telling us how to contact them. I have seen enough union jackets and ball caps in WalMart to know what union means to the union man when making a retail purchase and from whom. Both practices are legal, justified and practiced - the union man buying from WalMart and the giving of jobs to a non union craftsman. I don't know how many times that I have been told by a union man that he could not afford to pay union scale to have work done. If he can't afford it how does he think the rest of us can afford it?
Let's stop the union bashing for just a minute and take a look at the income of just our local politicians for a bit. I heard tonight that LaSalle County has 28 members on the board. More than Cook County. And LaSalle County board members get full coverage health insurance for life and pensions even if they only serve a 4 year term. Any truth to that? Same goes for township offices. Wow, add that up state wide. Also was told that a few local wanna be's get multiple benefits since they hold multiple govt positions. Now, that is a waste of taxpayer money to the max.
11:08 - you are correct. They tried to reduce the county board several times - the LaSalle County Dems put the kibosh to it each and every time.
The townships are NOT necessary and need to be disbanded.
Illinois has more units of local government than any other state. The only purpose of most of them is to spend money on their own administration.
1:42 PM - thanks. Another important distinction about a Republic is that it is governed by laws - not populist whims. Our republic has two law making houses - the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Senate is supposed temper the populist and reactionary House. This changed a little - I think for the worse - when the constitution was amended to require direct election of senators. In my view - we should return to senators being appointed by state legislatures.
Concerning the vote: The Democrat Party in Illinois has discovered that to get their base to the polls, especially on off years, they need to add some sort of emotional non-issue as a referendum. This works sometimes but not always.
I for one would rather see fewer, but better informed, voters. Although unpopular, I would also support restrictions to endure voters qualified to vote, including a return to barring felons. Residency and ID checks are an absolute must!
11:08 I'm pretty sure you are absolutely wrong about our county board members. They can get insurance thru the county but they pay for it out of their own pockets. Also, they do not get a pension for life. Ask your local representative if you think I'm wrong. I did.
ya... but they get a free lunch and gas money. and the meetings are scheduled in such a way that they have to go to Ottawa about five times as much as they should - if they simply scheduled things a little differently.
7:32 Feb. 15th Once again I consulted with my county representative and was informed that "free lunches" do not exist at county meetings. Money is collected from each board member for various expenses throughout the year. i.e. bottled water, memorials, and occasionally dounuts. Unlike Peru whose above mentioned expenses are taken out of the general fund (your tax dollar).
10:35 - then he lied to you. They get a daily rate.
Anon 1:50, Limbaugh Hannity, Maddow, Shultz , right or left, they are entertainers, making millions at your ideological expense. They seized an opportunity to spew their rhetoric for the buck. Look what happens to them when they lose their contracts with their present network, you will see them on another talking a different tune because of network policy. Most of these people twist the truth to make the right or left look good, if you have any kind of education you can pick them apart and see how badly they ideals look good.
10:35 I don't think that anyone in Peru has gotten a free lunch at the city expense. I don't think they order lunch business or dinner on the taxpayers. Bottled water? Maybe? What's the big deal about water? Memorials?
I beg to differ with you 2:57. City workers or city employees (departments)get free lunches when they have safety records for certain amount of time.
4:41, that is an incentive to keep job time loss at a minimum through awareness, check the numbers with the city clerks office how much money is saved through that program, you won't be complaining about it going forward.
10:35 AM, February 16, 2015 - It is the first agenda item at every county board meeting. After the roll is taking there is a motion to pay millage and per diem. Per diem is a stipend paid daily to compensate for expenses - such as eating - while traveling. So every board member gets reimbursed for driving to the meeting as well as money to pay for lunch.
The aldermen get lunch in peru
There is nothing wrong with at least giving a non paid volunteer a lunch. I think that more people would become interested in being a council person if they were recognized with a Xmas dinner or some form of recognition. I think a lot of the city representatives who so happily donate their time in a effort to help Peru. Thanks fellas
Lunch, I wouldn't given them that bottle of water they suck down at council meetings.
The only thing I'd give the Barber, the school teacher, the golf coach and the parts man would be a 1 way ticket out of country. Junior Foreign Ambassadors to Cuba
they are not non-paid volunteers 5:40, they get a per diem, i am not sure if they are paid per meeting or just one lump sum per year.
Anon 6:57 They are not non-paid volunteers. You have to be kidding me? It cannot be more than $30/public meeting which would amount to approximately $1500/year. As for closed sessions and meetings of a hole there should be no financial reward as most do not even know why they are held or necessary.
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