Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Tom Miller on the WJPF Morning Newswatch to spread the word about Amendment 1. Under the amendment, Illinois would become the nation’s extreme outlier when it comes to government union powers. No other state protects bargaining, creates unprecedented rights or blocks Right to Work like Amendment 1 would.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Amendment 1 has two objectives: To give massive new powers to government unions and to stop Illinois’ private sector from going Right to Work – Sp. Presentation
- Wall Street Journal Calls Out The Whopping Lie Behind The Pending Constitutional Amendment Illinois Is Ignoring
- Illinois’ biggest fraud on its voters yet is coming in its official description of proposed constitutional amendment
- Are Workers’ Rights Amendment Supporters Lying In Their Ad, Did They Lie To Legislators Or Lie To The Court?
- Scope Of Pending Illinois Constitutional Amendment Goes Far Beyond Appearances. It’s A Monstrous Giveaway To Public Unions.
- Illinois lawmakers want to cement union powers into the state constitution
A set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing moratorium to February 1, 2027 – the same year CPS is set to transition to a fully-elected school board. That means schools like Manley High School, with capacity for more than 1,000 students but enrollment of just 78, can’t be closed for anther three years. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
While many voters won’t understand and will be swayed by ads or endorsements, there is the further possibility that some will simply vote “yes” to promote chaos. This type of cynicism can also be found in votes to defund the police or to elect Jesse Ventura. It’s a slightly different mindset to that which assembles to burn Detroit every Devil’s Night or to loot Chicago whenever a pretense can be found. Schadenfreude may be part of the phenomenon but, in these times, there seems also to be a death-wish spore in the air born out of hopeless frustration with politics… Read more »
Ppf is correct, that the sociopathic predator class who inhabit Illinois have the legal right to overgraze the commons with no regard for whether any grass shall remain next week. The only logical reaction in self defense by the taxpaying prey in Illinois is to emulate the predators and demand such entitlements for themselves. Let’s start with medical professionals. Some might argue the docs and nurses are at least as valuable to society as teachers and remote-“working” IDES employees who enjoy multimillion dollar present value pensions+ free health insurance,beginning late50’s age, solely at taxpayer expense. Nurses and doctors are beginning… Read more »
You’ve gone off the deep end again Susan. Organizing and negotiating for your pay and benefits doesn’t make one a sociopath. Also, nothing is preventing nurses or other medical professionals from unionizing. In fact, the way some nurses are treated I would highly recommend it.
lol!
You would recommend participating in what is destroying the state? Tell me you are a communist Marxist without telling me you are a communist Marxist.
So joining a union is the equivalent of becoming a communist Marxist? Your name calling has no meaning. It’s like when the left calls everyone a racists. After awhile the word loses all meaning.
But you keep on name calling. You don’t have anything of value to add to the conversation so that’s your form of participation. It’s low level intellect but at least you are staying on brand.
Never enough for public unions in Illinois, and their corrupt accomplices in Illinois state government. ….and who pays the tab: non-public union taxpayers.
Illinois politicians give the public unions what they want, and the public unions get those politicians re-elected. Sick of it.
Thats why IL financial condition is #51 (behind Puerto Rico), despite having about the highest overall tax burden of all 50 states.
Your comment states the obvious. That’s fine. Now take the obvious solution and get out of Illinois.
Oops, I forgot to add that famous quote “The power to tax is the power to destroy.” Think Detroit as an example.
Once upon a time public employee unions were illegal — everywhere. Believe it or not, FDR was against public employee unions!
There was actually a good reason for this and Illinois has now come full circle.
Anyone who actually pays property taxes in Illinois can tell you what happens to property tax rates when a public employee union and their Democratic Party enablers become bedfellows.
I know right. Without public unions we taxpayers could just pay them any old wage and they would have to take it or leave it. Now with unions these low life public employee can actually negotiate their wage, benefits and working conditions. If both sides can’t come to an agreement union employees are able to withhold their labor. The nerve of them. We should put a law on the books that forces people to trade their labor even if the pay is low. How dare they exercise their right to associate with other employees and negotiate as a group. Disgusting
This is a purposeful misrepresentation of the current system we have.
Employees who don’t like their wage and benefit package are free to resign. The problem (which Roosevelt and others foresaw) is the disruption that accompanies collective action in a public setting. To be sure, a nationwide strike by private sector truck drivers could be just as disruptive. Where to place the boundaries of permitted collective action is primarily a legislative function and virtually all legislatures have made public safety strikes unlawful. Similarly, I expect, for soldiers … with serious penalties for those who desert in battle. One might also assert that they work under take-it-or-leave-it terms, but [s]he’d be wrong… Read more »
Lol.
Folks, just move to Oklahoma or Texas or florida and the horror will end.
Maybe you didn’t watch the speech last night.
We could fire 50% of IL public “servants” and nobody would even recognize it. Personally I’m for firing all the worthless scum and outsourcing most of it to the lowest bidder. Look you could make a case for a skilled trade or dangerous job needing a union but there is no danger to being an overweight paper pusher at some back office processing claims or licenses at the pace of dripping molasses in January. Hell AI could probably replace most of our clerical servants at this point.
PPF, Your mindset is what is destroying America. Everybody feels that he has a right to the fruit of another mans labor. From public employees to fast food workers that now want $20 per hour to gang bangers. I can prepare my own food and pack if necessary but it’s not possible to keep your home and not pay property taxes. My brother in Bowmanville is a typical example. Average rehab home paid off in full and never had any kids in CPS pays $700 a month property tax for what exactly? Granted he could not rent a place that… Read more »
Old Joe, You think the mindset that allows people to organize and negotiate with their employer is ruining this nation? That line of thinking is not even rooted in reality. Union membership is on the decline over how many years? How is that ruining this nation. No everyone shouldn’t become public employees. However, everyone should do their best to maximize their earnings potential. For many people it is clearly in their best interest to organize and negotiate as a team rather than letting management have all the power to “take it or leave it”. That isn’t ruining the country but… Read more »
You neglect the soft corruption of unions that donate large amounts of employee $$$ to elected officials, the very same officials who are responsible for negotiating employee’s pay. If I were to give my boss a kickback at city hall to get a bigger raise, I would go to jail. But if I were to launder the $$$ through a union, to get a bigger raise, it’s called Labor Negotiations, and it becomes enshrined in the constitution. Your rosy view of unions are about 100 years old when they fought for better working conditions and the 40 hours work week.… Read more »
Who said I have a rosy view of unions? I merely pointed out for many people unions are their best option to negotiate a better pay package. I think unions can be corrupt. I think corporations can be corrupt. If a corporation gives money directly to a government official to win a contract it’s called a bribe. If they send that same money to a pac supporting that same government official it’s called a donation and completely legal. How is that any different than unions taking small contributions from their members and using on politicians that support their cause? It… Read more »
Have some intellectual honesty please. The chatter here is about Illinois. You truly think clerical workers with AFSCME should be treat like the UAW? Come on off your high socialist horse for once. The state and its cities are bankrupt and no matter was Fred Flintstone does in the governor’s office or the idiots that run Cook County, the problem is not going away. Before the problem goes away the people are leaving enmass. Its getting worse because this mindset is what got is into trouble in the first place. Illinois will need to go into bankruptcy receivership just like… Read more »
Yes. I think people should be treated equally and as such should be allowed to freely associate with others and negotiate for their pay and benefits. Why would one assume only those that perform physical labor are free to organize and negotiate collectively? That’s an odd way of thinking.
The difference here is that the employer-employee relationship is inverted. Public unions don’t negotiate with their employers. The school boards and politicians are actually employees of the public unions.
PPF, a rebuttal is in order. 1.) Total union membership has been on the decline but almost all of the decline has been in private sector union membership that went with the offshoring of manufacturing. Publicsector unions (to whom you are beholden) are still going strong. 2.) I and most people do try to maximize our earning potential. The problem we have is politicians have succeded in minimizing our take home pay and discretionary income (enter PPF). 3.) I’ll take you up on a suggestion on “going without said services” and cutting spending. Allow every parent with elementary age school… Read more »
I’m not sold on school choice yet. My same house is nearly half the cost in the next town over from me. Same house, same lot, nearly half the price. If school choice were available, my local elementary school would double in size as parents from the next town over would drive an extra 5 minutes to put their kids in my town’s schools. That wouldn’t suddenly make the school one town over improve, it would be like the floundering zombie schools in CPS. I paid a lot of money to live where I live where my children can associate… Read more »
School choice does not necessarily mean you are free to go to public schools outside your local one. School choice comes in many variations, and most are fundamentally about letting you choose your local public school or any private school.
There aren’t enough private schools yet to meet the demand. There certainly could be in the future but it’s not there now. I’d love to see it get there but it takes time to build that infrastructure, hire teachers to meet the demand, recruit families to opt into the private school. As for attending public schools outside of the local district, I have no fundamental problem with that overall, but the devil is in the details in IL where some school districts have tax dollars to spend $$$$ on school but others have $. IL’s real estate tax structure is… Read more »
New homes that were built a few blocks from my Rockford home are valued at $374K and taxes are over $13,750 some with homeowners and senior deductions. They have approx 2,800 sq.ft. A few are $14K to $15K in taxes. That means taxes would be $40K on a million $ home. How many homes at $1M in Chicago pay $40K. None is my guess.
Does snow removal, police, fire, schools and other services typically covered by local property taxes cost less just becomes the home prices are less money? Sure the cost of these services may be slightly lower in smaller towns but ultimately money needs to be collected for services. It’s pretty ridiculous to think just because a home is worth more money one should pay a higher actual dollar amount. The reason the property tax rate is so high in places like Rockford is because the property value is so low. That’s more of reflection on the desirability of living in Rockford.… Read more »
“If both sides can’t come to an agreement union employees are able to withhold their labor” Which parties are involved in “both sides”? I don’t see any taxpayers as being one of the sides who ultimately end up paying for the outcome.
You must not be looking. Voters (aka taxpayers) decide on representation. If the majority of the voters are upset with their representation they are able to vote in different candidates every couple of years. You may not be happy with your representation but the majority is getting exactly what they want.
It’s not up to just Mark, Ted or Freddy. It’s up to all voters and they are being represented in these negotiations accordingly.
Voters || democracy and we view “democracy” as a “good thing.” On August 19, 1934, Adolf Hitler, already chancellor, is also elected president of Germany in an unprecedented consolidation of power in the short history of the republic. Voters also elected Jesse Ventura and result in Democrats fighting like mad to enable as many people as possible to vote. The more democracy, the better!? Voters elect big city governments and big cities like Detroit and Chicago are declining demographically and economically. Democracy is also likely to defeat restrictions on carbon emissions and measures to change Western water allocations. That’s because… Read more »
“That’s because most informed voters opt for their short-term interests and many voters are ignorant.” No argument here. Illinois is deep in debt because politicians agree to too much spending and the rest of the voters look the other way as long as their taxes don’t go up. Now that kicking the can is becoming less and less likely, the real pain is starting to commence. That doesn’t mean the voters don’t deserve the government they are getting. Time to let the voters deal with the pain of their laziness. Time to let other states see what happens when the… Read more »
The ‘too much spending’ is mostly just pensions and government welfare aka human services and medicaid. Look around, the state is a dump. The state parks are decrepit, the expressways and bridges are crumbling, state facilities are barely functioning, our infrastructure is terrible. There’s a couple of nice shiny areas for rich people but the rest of it has basically been abandoned. They’re not spending money on us like the countries of Dubai or China spend to modernize. So when I hear ‘too much spending’ it’s really just the employees of the states looting it for themselves and giving the… Read more »
The pension debt is merely the result of the state spending too little on pensions in the earlier years and spending too much in other areas without the taxes to match. Actual pension costs are around 4% of the budget while another 21% is from the debt. You run up the credit card you start to get in serious trouble.
Much can kicking continues in Washington (e.g. Social Security and Medicare) enabled by the power to run the printing presses. Roll it! Do the voters deserve that also, plus the inflation and other side-effects? How low can we go with your illusions about democracy and representative government? To be sure it’s a debating point in a forum like this where many have their eyes on the results … such as empty schools filled with teachers who haven’t yet “earned” a full pension. But most of us, including you I bet, know that debating points like cigarette ads do not reflect… Read more »