THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Welch gets out in front of staff union issue...What happens in Illinois if the federal government shuts down...Pritzker/Senate GOP spar over Chinese plan
September 28, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
I have nothing to say about bad Cubs baseball or bad presidential debates.
But we did talk to Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski yesterday about the looming government shutdown. You can watch our conversation here. You can also subscribe on your favorite podcast service like Apple, Google, Spotify, or Amazon. I’m an Amazon user, myself.
Governor Pritzker speaks at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference downtown at 10:30.
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YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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After complaints from his staff, House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch files bill to allow legislative employees to organize (Chicago Tribune)
After complaints from his staff that he rebuffed their efforts to organize, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch on Tuesday filed a bill that would allow his employees and other legislative staffers within the state government to unionize.
About 20 of Welch’s staffers late last year declared their intentions to form a union in an effort to secure higher wages and better benefits. The employees, whose roles included research and legislative functions, formed the Illinois Legislative Staff Association, but said Welch refused to discuss the matter with them.
“We are happy to see the speaker file this bill,” Brady Burden, a Welch staffer who is part of the association, said Wednesday in a statement. “We look forward to working together in good faith and coming to an agreement.”
Under the proposal, legislative employees would be allowed to collectively bargain “through representatives of their choosing on questions of wages, hours and other conditions of employment.” The measure specifies that the Illinois General Assembly is not required “to bargain on specified matters of inherent managerial policy.”
In addition, the General Assembly would establish an office of state legislative labor relations to manage the interests of the legislature in union-related matters with the employees. It would also give the state panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board jurisdiction over collective bargaining matters between employee organizations and the legislature.
The proposal’s definition of “legislative employee” does not include upper echelon staffers such as the chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, legal counsel or other staffers who work in high-profile supervisory roles.
Welch was criticized by the association for not supporting its efforts despite supporting last year’s passage of the Workers’ Rights Amendment, codifying in the state constitution a “fundamental right” for workers in Illinois to unionize and collectively bargain.
Related: Illinois House speaker files bill authorizing legislative staff union (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Welch introduces bill to allow legislative staff to unionize (Capitol News Illinois)
Illinois legislative staffers can unionize under a bill introduced by the state House speaker (WBEZ)
'I'm preparing for absolutely the worst': How a government shutdown could impact Illinois (Daily Herald)
Dysfunction in Washington D.C. will have consequences throughout the Chicago region if lawmakers can't strike a deal to avert a government shutdown this weekend, federal and union officials said.
The fallout could impact travel at airports such as O'Hare, weaken food assistance programs, and suspend U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pollution monitoring.
There's also a personal and economic toll on more than 42,000 Illinoisans, mostly from Chicago and the suburbs, who are federal employees. If no agreement is reached by midnight Saturday, many would be furloughed or required to stay on the job without drawing a pay check in either case.
"I'm guardedly hoping that something great is going to happen. I'm preparing for absolutely the worst," said Chicagoan Nicole Cantello, an American Federation of Government Employees official who worked as an EPA attorney.
As of Wednesday, House Republicans had yet to reach consensus on a plan to fund the government although some lawmakers have floated stopgap measures.
If the shutdown occurs, essential workers such as mail carriers, U.S. Transportation Security Administration officers and air traffic controllers would remain on the job.
But during the 2019 shutdown that lasted 35 days, an increase in sick leave by TSA agents and air traffic controllers caused lengthy waits at some security checkpoints and delayed flights between New York and O'Hare and Midway international airport that January.
Social Security payments would continue, however, experts warn federal food subsidy programs for needy families could run low on resources if the shutdown is lengthy.
A reduction in food aid could be devastating for some residents, DuPagePads Executive Director April Redzic said.
"When you are someone who is living at or near the poverty level, one more thing can be what makes you unable to pay rent, be evicted or just end up in really bad circumstances," she said. "We're not talking about people with a lot of disposable income. If you have to pick between buying milk and clean diapers for your baby -- you may not have clean diapers."
For the EPA, a shutdown means no one scrutinizing air-quality monitors near plants in the region, explained Cantello, president of AFGE Local 704.
"These facilities could be polluting people's air and no one will know it because those results are going to be landing in our inboxes and we will not be able to look at them," she said.
Related: What federal shutdown would mean for Chicago and Illinois (Chicago Sun-Times)
Pritzker, GOP trade barbs in fight over Gotion's battery plant (Crain’s Chicago Business)
With political conservatives and Illinois Republicans stepping up their attacks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is out with a vigorous defense of the proposed Gotion battery plant in Manteno, charging that its foes are putting “xenophobia” and partisan politics ahead of a $2 billion investment that will create 2,600 well-paying jobs here.
Pritzker’s statement came in a letter to Illinois Senate GOP Leader John Curran, who with some colleagues had sent Pritzker a letter earlier this week questioning his decision to do business with a Chinese firm and approve $538 million in state incentives for its facility.
The letter pulls no punches.
"You and your members express your opposition to a major economic development announcement, and that can only be seen as doubling down on your own irrelevance," the letter says. “While I am succeeding at creating jobs in every region of this state — even areas represented by Republicans — your caucus members are resorting to xenophobia that has the potential to deter future investors from around the world because you are hoping for some grotesque short-term political gain.”
I hesitated to put anything about this on the newsletter this morning because it amounts to a pointless pi$$ing match where both sides are trying to score some cheap political points (though, Pritzker’s team is a lot better at it).
In their arrogance, though, they blame any concerns about Gotion’s clearly detailed ties to the Communist Party in China as “xenophobia.” That’s just absurd. The Chinese government has actively stolen our intellectual property, artificially driven down our crop prices, and have cracked down on free speech and their own people. They’re not good neighborly folk here.
The issue here is $500 million dollars in state tax incentives potentially being funneled to a foreign actor, not some silly conspiracy theory about being a front for spies.
SO FAR THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
DeKalb Mayor, Dem House Candidate Voted in GOP Primary in 2022
Burr Ridge Mayor Grasso Circulating Petitions for State House
PODCAST: Rep. Nikki Budzinski on the potential government shutdown
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Jury awards $19 million to woman who says counselor sexually assaulted her in downstate prison (Chicago Tribune)
In joint effort, election authorities try to tamp down misinformation (Capitol News Illinois)
Michael Madigan’s name is stripped from the property tax firm he helped found (WBEZ)
Confirmation for next U.S. attorney in Chicago gets tougher with anonymous senator blocking a vote (Chicago Sun-Times)
Durbin, Duckworth join Senate Democratic chorus urging Menendez to resign following federal indictment (Chicago Tribune)
Chicago man gets 10 days imprisonment, 9 months’ probation for role in U.S. Capitol riot (Chicago Sun-Times)
Age for required behind-the-wheel testing would remain 79 under secretary of state’s recommendation (Chicago Tribune)
Illinois traffic stops of Black drivers reach record highs (WBEZ)
Gov. Pritzker, Mayor Johnson host fundraiser for Chicago Democratic convention host committee (Chicago Sun-Times)
An Abe Lincoln photo made during his 1858 ascendancy has been donated to his museum in Illinois (Associated Press)
Spotted lanternfly found in Illinois for the first time (Chicago Sun-Times)
Frerichs: Illinois’ secret weapon in job creation is investing in tech companies (Chicago Tribune)
Vallas: How Chicago can save itself from the financial abyss (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Poshard Says We Should Emphasize Commonalities Between Chicago and Downstate (Chicago Magazine)
Opinion: State beefing up efforts to meet low-income residents’ basic needs (Shaw Media)
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On the federal level, perhaps if the current administration had not been guilty of run-away socialistic spending, a government shutdown would not be necessary to their attention.