Re: Fw: Selling Out Illinois

[Guest guest]

Done, expressed with outrage.  Didn't raise my voice, but..

Bonnie

From: ELLEN BRONFELD <egskb@...>

Subject: Fw: Selling Out Illinois

IPADDUnite

Date: Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 8:34 AM

 

Please call the Governor's office if you find this unacceptable.

217-782-6830.

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Selling Out Illinois

www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-quinn-0920-20100920,0,130\

9516.story

Selling out Illinois

8:25 PM CDTWe don't know whom voters will choose as their next governor. Whoever

that is, though, could be hamstrung by a terrible deal that Gov. Pat Quinn's

administration is preparing to sign with the state's largest employee union.

Under the tentative agreement, Quinn would agree not to lay off any of 50,000

unionized state workers, or close any facilities where they work, until at least

mid-2012. That's about one-third of the way through the next gubernatorial term.

This fiasco, first reported Monday by Greg Hinz of Crain's Chicago Business,

comes barely a week after the union that would benefit, the American Federation

of State, County and Municipal Employees, endorsed Quinn for governor.

Governor Quinn, you cannot sell out Illinois taxpayers by committing them to

payroll expenditures they may not be able to sustain. You cannot tie the hands

of a future governor with a no-layoffs mandate. And you cannot consort in any

such deal, in the wake of the union's endorsement of you, without inviting

voters to conclude it was for your benefit, not theirs.

The governor's office doesn't want us to characterize this deal as the outrage

that it is. We're supposed to focus instead on concessions AFSCME has made or

will make. An agreement sealed Sept. 13 supposedly will save the state $70

million in employee health costs. This subsequent agreement supposedly would

require AFSCME to accept another $50 million in state savings. A spokeswoman for

Quinn's budget director says the state hopes to raise that number to $100

million.

We'll see. But saving $120 million, or $170 million, won't justify selling out

state government's ability to manage a budget some $13 billion in the red. The

savings, if they materialize, would be roughly 1 percent of that deficit. Yet

this deal could block the next governor from taking necessary steps to trim the

state workforce or close facilities.

Quinn's Republican opponent, Bill Brady, said Monday that Quinn shouldn't agree

" to anything that limits Illinois' flexibility to manage this catastrophe. "

Brady is correct. Governor Quinn, don't sell out the battered taxpayers of

Illinois.

Copyright 2010, Chicago Tribune

[Guest guest]

Wow! Quinn is flexing his political muscle by getting 50,000 votes from a Union

worker. Very treason!

 

I hope that the negative ads advertise this.

[Guest guest]

I made the call, bbut really am not sure the message will be passed. Usually

when I call an elected oficials office they take your info(name, phone,

address). This was my first call to the governors office (usually I fax). Is

that everyone's experience? I have to guess they are just keeping a count of

those for or against, because she surely couldn't have written anything that I

said. Gloria

[Guest guest]

there is one call on November 2nd that they can't ignore....

In a message dated 9/22/2010 4:21:23 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

prentice75@... writes:

I made the call, bbut really am not sure the message will be passed.

Usually when I call an elected oficials office they take your info(name, phone,

address). This was my first call to the governors office (usually I fax).

Is that everyone's experience? I have to guess they are just keeping a count

of those for or against, because she surely couldn't have written anything

that I said. Gloria

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Guest guest]

I had the same responce when I called the govs office. Recently when I made

a call the call taker seemed a bit defensive wen I said I was opposed to

sucmething and I think she put her hands on her hips and said " why! "

After that when I called there was never any data requested so I assumed

they were taking a head count that no one really accounted for.

[Guest guest]

Gloria:

The Governor's office did not take my name and address either. The person I

spoke with just repeated back to me that I wished to register my objections to

the deal the Governor made with AFSCME. I figured if he got that, it was

enough. Maybe he also repeated back to the Governor what I said about NOT

voting for him, too!

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

When I called the governor's office about the deal with AFSCME, I did talk

somewhat at length - but proud that I didn't raise my voice:)  I asked the

person on the other end how opinions were registered; he said they just give a

tally of pro and con calls on an issue.  But it's not a bad opportunity to

vent, in a civil way.

I happened to talk with a leader in a statewide disability advocacy group

yesterday.  We commiserated about the bad deal with the union.  But that

person also said how much worse people with disabilities would be with the

serious cuts Brady will make.  This elections feels to me like a " lesser of two

evils " choice.  And I have to stick with Quinn, serious warts and all.

Of course, it seems fine to make those " this is a deal breaker " voting threats

when calling the governor's office!

Bonnie Dohogne

From: ELLEN BRONFELD <egskb@...>

Subject: Re: Fw: Selling Out Illinois

IPADDUnite

Date: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 7:51 AM

 

Gloria:

The Governor's office did not take my name and address either. The person I

spoke with just repeated back to me that I wished to register my objections to

the deal the Governor made with AFSCME. I figured if he got that, it was

enough. Maybe he also repeated back to the Governor what I said about NOT

voting for him, too!

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...