No Illinois legislator who was not running for higher office received more money from IPACE over the past decade than GOP Leader Tom Cross.
I recently encouraged IEA members to send a letter asking for an IPACE rebate. IPACE is the political action committee of the IEA.
This followed receipt of this year’s IPACE recommendations for the November 6th election. Your money is better spent making individual campaign contributions to candidates who really represent your views.
The emails have not stopped coming in on member outrage over a number of the legislative recommendations. None so much as the recommendation of GOP House Leader Tom Cross from Oswego.
Many of my IEA friends were surprised to learn that this is not the first time Cross has received an IPACE recommendation and IPACE money. In fact, from 2004 up until the most recent campaign finance reports, Cross has received a quarter of a million dollars from IPACE. No legislator who was not running for higher office has received more money from the IEA than Cross.
And what did we get in return?
Not much. For example, Tom Cross was the chief sponsor along with Democratic Party Boss Michael Madigan of the 2011 House Bill 512.
The attack on teacher and other state employee pensions benefits has been so unrelenting that you may have forgotten House Bill 512.
That was the bill that would set up a three-tier system, require teachers to pay more into the system and extend the retirement age. The fact that the bill failed was no fault of GOP Leader Cross. And Cross continues to lead the attack on teacher pensions.
It was notable that when the legislation was withdrawn in the final hours of the 2011 legislative session, the letter announcing its withdrawal was signed jointly by Mike Madigan, Tom Cross and President of the Civic Committee Tyrone Fahner. Fahner is a millionaire lawyer and former Republican Attorney General of the state. The Civic Committee is the main mouthpiece representing corporate interests in Springfield and backer of Illinois is Broke, an anti-union, anti-pension front group.
With friends like that who have money like that, what does Cross need with teachers’ money. And why are we giving him so much?
Or any?
Fred Klonsky 
His spigot should be sealed with a cease and desist letter attached
Folks need to remember that unions remain the “anchor of the middle class” and that there is a “trickle sideways” when private employees benefit from salary and benefit’s gained by union neighbors. Henry Ford understood this when he bumped up employee salaries so they could afford to by his cars. Maybe we need to boycott goods made by ALEC member corporations.
I ,for one, am not voting for the state Dems who voted for Ammend. 49 to go on the ballot!
Good luck finding one who didn’t vote to put the Constitutional Amendment on the ballot.