It’s not enough that a union contract can be signed by a defeated candidate for township road commissioner and that a firing upheld by an Administrative Law Judge can be overturned by language in a union contract, now Illinois unions want voter approval to guarantee that no future legislature can diminish their current power.

From State Rep. Blaine Wilhour comes this strong House Floor statement opposition to Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 11:

Rep. Blaine Wilhour: Special interest bill would hurt Illinois workers

Springfield, IL – Illinois is governed by special interests and the latest iteration of statehouse influence peddling is a bill to codify union protections in the Illinois Constitution, according to State Representative Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City).

The House just approved Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 11 which would place a Constitutional Amendment on the November 2022 ballot to ask voters to approve language to prevent the General Assembly from enacting any law prohibiting the ability of workers to collectively bargain over wages, hours, terms, and conditions.

“I’ll put my working class bona fides against anyone here,” Wilhour said on the House floor.

“I literally climbed off a Pole Barn and into the General Assembly. 

“I represent a working-class district.

“I support union workers and non-union workers, but let’s recognize, unions don’t create jobs.

“Special interest pandering may create campaign donations, but they don’t create jobs.”

Wilhour said the legislation does nothing more than continue the failed policies that are hurting working families.

“This legislation perpetuates the environment we have right now where too many working families don’t have real opportunities for success and upward mobility in this state,” Wilhour said.

“Who’s Speaking for them?

“Who is speaking for the people in my district?

“These special interests have had control for decades and my question is have things gotten better for working people during that time? 

“Where were these special interests over the last 30 years when the private sector economy in my region was being destroyed on the backs of workers and job creators? 

“You want to help workers in this State?

“How about we display an ounce of fiscal sanity or government restraint that would allow us to put union workers to work, lower property taxes, properly fund education and really prioritize the most vulnerable among us?

“These are things are things voters really care – not the insider influence peddling we see day to day in the General Assembly.”

Wilhour said if we set the special interests aside and REALLY prioritized opportunity and quality of life for the people of Illinois, we could build an economic powerhouse in Illinois.

“A strong economy with real long-term viability that has respect for the balance of power between labor and job creators is an environment that attracts investment,” Wilhour said.

“Right now, that dynamic is WAY out-of-balance. 

“This permanent power grab pushes that balance off a cliff-forever.

“To think that job creators are going to look favorably on this type of environment shows a real lack of critical thinking about what is or is not a smart investment.

“Constitutionally codifying the political agenda of a special interest group is totally inappropriate and will do more harm than good for the very people this legislation is supposedly intended to help.

“I will fight for the economic opportunities and economic empowerment of working folks all day long, but this isn’t it.”

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House Roll Call on the Constitutional Amend,ment:

And from the Wall Street Journal:

Illinois’s Big Labor Bill of Rights – Wall Street Journal

May 27, 2021A famous Supreme Court quip is that the U.S. Constitution isn’t a suicide pact, but what about the Illinois constitution? After years of fiscal recklessness, the state’s credit ratings are a notch above junk. Yet the politicians in Springfield now want to add collective bargaining to the Illinois bill of rights, putting union power on the same footing as due process and religious freedom.