State Representative Michael Tryon filed House Bill 6925 this week to prohibit unions that represent State employees and the political action committees affiliated with those unions from making campaign contributions to Illinois statewide elected officials or candidates.
Tryon explains that if successful, the Bill would put an end to much of the unethical behavior that exists today between elected officials who negotiate union contracts and the unions PACs that represent unionized workers on the State payroll.
Legislation was passed in 2008 making it illegal for individuals running for statewide office to receive campaign contributions from companies that hold State contracts, but that law excluded donations from unions that represent State employees and their political action committees. Tryon notes that the new bill addresses the unethical practice of unions supporting politicians in exchange for favorable contracts.
Tryon says, "The need for the bill became crystal clear to me two weeks ago when Governor Pat Quinn took his budget director, who was in the middle of negotiations on an AFSCME contract, with him to his AFSCME endorsement interview." Tryon explains that it was inappropriate for the governor to bring his budget director to an AFSCME endorsement meeting while contract negotiations between AFSCME and the State of Illinois were underway. Mixing policy and politics is what got our last two governors into trouble and Governor Quinn should have known better.
Two days after AFSCME endorses Quinn, the governor announced his promise not to lay off any AFSCME union employees for the next 24 months. This does not meet the sniff test and smells like the same old politics that Illinois has been getting for the last eight years.
Tryon explains that earlier this year he served as the chief sponsor of House Bill 0035, which created the Transparency Portal in Illinois. This new law mandated the creation of a user-friendly and searchable online database through which visitors could find all state employee salaries and contracts (www.accountability.illinois.gov). House Bill 0035 was a great first step in adding a vital layer of transparency to state government, but unfortunately corruption in Illinois if very deeply rooted. This new bill, if successful, should go incredibly far in restoring Illinoisans faith in their government. It is my hope that both Republicans and Democrats embrace this bill and support its passage. The bill may be discussed next month when we return to Springfield for the November veto session.
1 comment:
Strange that they couldn't vote on it before elections. It is good to Mr. Tryon standing up against the unions. If all the gov. employees vote, who will they vote for? the hand that feeds them...just a thought.
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