The following letter was sent to members of the Illinois General Assembly, along with the slide show he has been giving. It was also shared with the media.

Bruce Rauner

As you know, I have been delivering a number of speeches detailing many of the structural challenges confronting Illinois.

Before our joint session on Wednesday, I wanted to share two additional slides with you. I hope you are able to review them soon.

The first slide is a summary of the federal rules regarding U.S. government employees.

The rules were codified in 1978 under President Jimmy Carter and a Democratic Congress.

The pension system changes were enacted under President Ronald Reagan in conjunction with a bipartisan legislature.

We too can achieve common-sense bipartisan reforms to our employment rules that are fair to both state workers and taxpayers.

The second slide shows a few examples of spending levels inside Illinois government.

These levels are unsustainable and unfair to working families, small businesses and other taxpayers in Illinois.

They limit our ability to grow our economy and to fund much needed social services.

We do not intend to propose government salary reductions, but it is critical that we make structural reforms that prevent any future imbalances and unfair practices.

It is also abundantly clear that we must make major reforms to eliminate conflicts of interest and to achieve dramatic economic growth in order to properly fund the operations of our state government.

I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday and working with you in the weeks and months ahead.

Federal Government Employee Structure

(Federal Service Labor –Management Relations Statute 1978)

• Employees have the right to organize and collectively bargain over work conditions including work hours, grievance procedures, work assignments
• Employees are prohibited from strikes, work stoppages, slowdowns, picketing, etc.
• Employees cannot bargain over wages, benefits, pensions, personnel decisions and managerial rights (prohibits bargaining on mission, budget, organization, number of employees or internal security)
• Government can not force its employees to participate in or fund labor union activities that they do not support
• No automatic mandatory arbitration provision or injunctions in aid of arbitration for collective bargaining impasse
• Prior to 1983, pension was defined benefit plan with no Social Security. Since then, the retirement system was reformed to become a hybrid system including a defined benefit annuity, Social Security and a 401(k)

Illinois State Government Pay vs. Working Family Pay

• Average State Illinois Salary – Switchboard Operator – $27,740
• Illinois State Salary – Switchboard Operator – $40,207

• Illinois State Salary – Cook – $43,723
• Average Illinois Salary – Cook – $22,430

• Illinois State Salary – Barber – $70, 561
• Average Illinois Salary – Barber $44,480

Source: Illinois Comptroller and BLS

Illinois State Government Pay vs. Neighboring States

• Average State Illinois Salary – Highway Maintenance Worker- $49,090
• 5 State Average Salary – Highway Maintenance Worker – $34,690

• Average State Illinois Salary – Correctional Officer – $61,660
• 5 State Average Salary – Correctional Officer –  $36,220

Many Illinois correctional officers make much more than wardens.