Category: Legislative
Bruce Rauner is out the door. That’s good news for the countless Illinois citizens who were grievously harmed by his vengeance politics, especially the thousands of state employees who were the prime targets of his animus.
In favor of billionaire CEOs and corporate interests in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, the U.S. Supreme Court holds that fair-share fees in the public sector violate the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Bruce Rauner visited a campus of Western Illinois University—where hundreds of AFSCME Local 417 members work—on June 14. He failed to mention the damage he did to the WIU over the last three years.
For the first time since taking office, Gov. Rauner signed a full budget, on time, on June 4 after the General Assembly adopted it with strong bipartisan support on May 31.
After enactment of state budget, Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch sent a letter to Gov. Rauner calling on him “to immediately direct your agencies to prepare vouchers for the full amount of back wages owed to employees both active and retired.”
HB 4290, the bill providing funding for wages owed to state employees since 2011, passed out of the Illinois House of Representatives with a veto-proof majority on May 24 and out of the Senate with unanimous support on May 30.
More than 1,000 state employee AFSCME members flooded the state Capitol, pressing legislators to pay state government’s oldest unpaid bill for back wages owed since July 2011.
Once again Bruce Rauner is doing everything possible to circumvent state law and block state employees from being paid what they are owed. AFSCME will continue to do battle in every available legal venue to compel fair treatment for employees.
On May 25, Senate Bill 3075—workplace safety legislation—passed the Illinois House by a vote of 105-0-0. It passed the Senate on April 23 by a vote of 45-0-0. The bill now returns to the Senate for concurrence.
The Illinois State Senate passed SB 3508 with a veto-proof vote. Take a few minutes to contact your state representative using the DSP hotline: 844-259-0916.