The Paul Vallas choice for lieutenant governor isn not Squeezy’s only union problem.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ponied up $2.5 million the last time Squeezy ran for governor.
Remember he only won by around 30,000 votes.
SEIU represents the six thousand Chicago Park District employees that are covered by SB 1523.
Under the plan carried by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and backed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, current employees would be asked to contribute up to 2 percent more out of their paychecks by 2019 while the park district would up its contributions to the system by $75 million during that period.
Retirees, meanwhile, would see their 3-percent annual increases drop to as little as one-half of the rate of inflation.
Some see this as a template for a pension bill that might be proposed and voted on by the General Assembly in December.
But what happens if Squeezy signs the bill? IEA President Cinda Klickna has already said she “is not thrilled” by Quinn’s choice of Vallas. For Klickna, saying she is not thrilled is about as much tough talk as you’re going to get.
You can pretty much bet the SEIU is not pleased by this betrayal of the members who donated so much to Quinn’s last run. Nor are the other members of the We Are One coalition of state employee unions.
If the bill is signed, it will immediately be challenged in court. If Squeezy responds to union pressure (doubtful), what are the prospects for the General Assembly voting a similar bill state-wide?
There are two different predictions about what will happen next. At least two.
The General Assembly will not vote out a pension bill impacting teachers and other state employees until the courts rule on SB 1523.
The General Assembly will vote out a copy-cat bill. They will be lumped together for the courts to rule on them both.
I don’t know.
I do know that Quinn – with his Vallas pick and these pension bills – is not gaining friends or votes among union members and their families.
Fred Klonsky 
Amen!
We already know for sure Quinn/Vallas aren’t going to be good for public education, current teachers, retired teachers, ALL unions, and regular working families in Illinois. And we know for sure that Republicans won’t offer anyone better and probably worse than Quinn/Vallas. So why don’t all the unions–including SEIU, IFT, IEA, AFSCME and all others get together and run another candidate? Why not get Ralph Martire? Can’t we all get some courage to confront the ‘politics as usual’ situation and get someone who will actually do something for Illinois families? The regular folks of Illinois are certain to get the shaft from either one of the political parties. Let’s get out of our denial about this. It will make no difference who wins. We need another candidate to run. It’s time.
I’m really loving these updates on Pat Quinn’s political suicide.
Quinn’s slap in the face to the Chicago Teachers Union will prove as big a mistake as any of the others. On October 25, Quinn was at our LEAD (Legislators Educators Appreciation Dinner) where 2,000 CTU members and friends cheered him (although some actually booed even then). Obviously by that night he had already been talking with Vallas without letting anyone at CTU know about it. Quinn’s got a very short memory. In 2010, he won by that tiny margin with the help of the teacher vote, especially in Cook County. CTU was central to that, and only because Karen Lewis asked us in the 800-member House of Delegates in October 2010 to support Quinn and I spoke from the floor for a change from “no endorsement.” Then we (a) contributed and (b) helped GOTV.
The Vallas slap in the face will make it impossible for any teacher — let alone a union leader — to suggest that any other teacher vote for Pat Quinn. And part of the reality for Quinn/VALLAS is that everybody knows that even with a Republican governor Illinois will still be insulated from the worst of what’s been taking place across the Midwest.
So Pat Quinn decided to commit political suicide and open the door for a serious discussion of alternative political parties. This is also helped along by the fact that the Working Families Party helped DiBlasio get elected in New York City and helped dump Vallas our of Bridgeport. So now there are lots of fun reasons to do this.
But…
At the same time, many of our most serious friends in politics are still in the Democratic Party. We live in Chicago’s 45th Ward, where Rahm Emanuel has already helped set up a candidate against our incumbent alderman, John Arena. I’m glad the politics will be complex in the coming two years. People can handle it. We can get out the vote in the 45th Ward for John Arena and others while simply cutting off the top of any palm cards that say “Quinn/Vallas”
It’s been done before with a smile here in Chicago and elsewhere. What counts on election day is who we walk the precincts for, as well as all that Quinn Vallas nonsense, doubletalk, and frenetic lying. And neither Paul G. Vallas nor Pat Quinn has anyone I know willing to walk to the front door for them — let alone work the precinct from dawn until seven p.m. to GOTV.
On today’s Daily Kos Election Morning Digest:
“Is Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn doing everything in his power to lose re-election? Because it sure seems that way. Despite being a Democrat running for election in a blue state, Quinn’s future looks dicey and he did himself no favors with what looks like an asinine choice for a running mate……Quinn just tapped former Public Schools Chief Paul Vallas, who hails from the Michelle Rhee school of education “reform,” meaning he instantly succeeded in pissing off all the teachers unions. Quinn also infuriated the black pols, who were eager for him to select an African American candidate like state Sen. Kuame Raoul.
Quinn may be banking on Vallas bringing in big bucks from hedge fund types obsessed with charter schools but how does he expect to win without serious support from the labor movement and the black pols? If these coalitions remain on the sidelines or simply focus their efforts on other races, an incredibly challenging campaign will become even more difficult, no matter how much Wall Street money Quinn raises.”
And one commenter states……..”You mean the recently unemployed Paul Vallas? The very same asshole who was backed by charter school suckup Gov. Dan Malloy of CT? Who was hired by Gov. Malloy lackey Major Finch of Bridgeport and then kicked out of Bridgeport by angry parents and teachers who discovered he was unqualified for the job of school superintendent? The same parents and teachers who just recently helped anti Vallas/anti Charter school candidates win local school board elections in a resounding fashion against pro Vallas/pro Charter school candidates?
The fucker thought he could push that shit in Bridgeport and his ass got drummed out of CT all the way back to Illinois.
It’s a shame Quinn didn’t learn anything from our experience. What a dumbass.”
And now for pithy words of my own………..I love the internet! So much to learn.
This is a good time to find and confirm a candidate that will not only represent the pensioners, but all the people that have seen nothing but threats and cuts for the last decade.
But I would watch out for outside money to come to the support of Quinn. Quinn is following the ALEC playbook and I’m sure the Koch brothers and Chicago Commerce Committee approve.
What we need is what we don’t have, a strong and independent press.