An email arrived yesterday about a bill that State Rep. Mike Tryon has introduced. It follows:
Mike Tryon
Wednesday I filed a bill in Springfield which addresses “pay-to-play” antics in Illinois.The bill, House Bill 6925, would 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.
If successful, House Bill 6925 would put an end to much of the unethical behavior that exists today between elected officials who negotiate union contracts and the unions and PACs that represent unionized workers on the State payroll.
The General Assembly passed legislation in 2008 which made it illegal for individuals running for a 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.
This new bill addresses the unethical practice of unions supporting politicians in exchange for favorable contracts.
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.
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 endorsed 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.
As you may remember, earlier this year I 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 is 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.
Ha! Good luck with that. Glad to see that Mike Tryon is pushing blatantly unconstitutional legislation.
Oh, and by the way, at last check AFSCME hasn’t given any money to Quinn anyway.
At least I have one more reason to not vote for Mike Tryon.
Mike, I believe you should broaden the scope of your ‘Bill’ to include precluding ‘Vendors’ who provide products and or services to ‘ANY’ office, from providing ‘Campaign’ donations to that office holder.
For Example, Sheriffs Offices and other County and State Offices.
You’re doing a great job Mike Tryon and you’re on the right path. You’re working hard and always thinking ahead looking out for whats best for your consituents.
Thanks!
I cannot agree with Mr. Bachmann more Mr. Tryon. You are absolutely on the right path and your desire to accomplish small goals and mold them into a total package which ultimately protects the people you represent is needed and appreciated. Thank you.