Explaining Dysfunctional Illinois in One Word, One Idea, One Person

Submitted by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

One Word: Corruption

One Idea: Public Unions

One Person: House Speaker Mike Madigan
 

On Saturday, union servitude came to an end in Kentucky: State Kills Prevailing Wages, Passes Right-to-Work

No such chance exists in Illinois despite the fact that corruption, prevailing wages, pension disasters, public unions, and the dire fiscal straits of Illinois all go hand in hand.

Illinois is under the hard control of House Speaker Mike Madigan who is the Legislative Branch Dictator. Nothing gets passed without his approval.

Madigan’s Power

• Dole out committee chair positions and the stipends that come with them.


• Control who votes in committees.


• Dictate when a bill will be called for a vote.


• Control what bills make it to a vote.

Under House rules in Illinois, these committee chairs are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the speaker. This means the speaker may remove and replace committee chairs for any reason at any time. Additionally, the speaker can create new special committees, and thus dole out even more chair positions.

The speaker’s influence doesn’t end there. Each of these committee leadership positions comes with a generous $10,000 yearly stipend. These stipends help push Illinois lawmakers’ salaries to the fifth-highest in the nation.

Total average compensation for lawmakers is now nearly $100,000 for what is essentially part-time work. Those stipends help boost the pensionable salaries of lawmakers who participate in the state pension plan, making the positions much more attractive than one might guess at first glance.

Speaker Corruption

Illinois legislators benefit from their own corruption and Mike Madigan intends to keep it that way. His tax firm is one of the biggest beneficiaries of his power.

The state could benefit from pension reform, workers’ compensation reform, property tax reform, school reform, bankruptcy reform, prevailing wage reform, and right to work reform.

None of them have a chance because Madigan will not let a single bill out of committee.

Those who cross Madigan find themselves ousted from committee perks at a cost of $10,000 per.

Illinois corruption is so bad that that it’s no wonder Illinois loses 1 resident every 4.6 minutes, and could fall behind Pennsylvania in population.

Shrinking Illinois

About to Become Number Five

Plea for Help

Madigan’s only answer is higher taxes. But higher taxes and union corruption are the driving force behind citizens leaving the state.

Higher taxes, union work rules, and unfriendly corporate rules, especially workers’ compensation, are the driving force behind the Illinois business exodus.

Meanwhile, cities are squeezed by prevailing wage laws and the lack of right-to-work laws that drive up expenses for every public project.

There is some hope at the national level thanks to the incoming Trump administration. To get things off on the right foot, the new U.S. legislature needs to do three things to help states like Illinois right themselves.

Three National Level Priorities

1. National right-to-work legislation that supersedes state legislation


2. Scrap Davis-Bacon and all prevailing wage laws


3. Bankruptcy legislation that allows municipalities to file when they want to, not when dictators like Madigan allow them.

In regards to point number 3, bankruptcy law is currently a mixed bag. Municipal bankruptcies are governed by Federal law, not state law. However, the existing law lets states decide whether to opt in. Illinois did not.

The Chicago Public school system is bankrupt in all but name. There are also more than a handful of Illinois cities that desperately need to get out from pension promises that absolutely cannot be met.

The only rational solution is bankruptcy, not higher taxes. The later will drive more businesses and citizens away.

Right-to-Work States

It’s not just for Illinois that needs help. The National Right To Work Map looks like this (Kentucky not penned in yet).

Illinois and other states hamstrung by public unions, pension woes, and high costs three things at the national level: right-to-work laws, bankruptcy reform, and prevailing wage elimination.

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce of each Illinois city need to make their representatives aware of what needs to be done.

It would also behoove the Illinois chambers’ of commerce to reach out to plighted cities in other states so their respective chambers preach the same message to their legislative representatives.

Union Servitude Ends In Kentucky: State Kills Prevailing Wages, Passes Right-To-Work

Submitted by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

In a major setback for organized labor, Kentucky passed right-to-work legislation and repealed the state’s prevailing wage law.

Organized labor suffered its first major legislative setback due to the 2016 elections on Saturday, when Kentucky Republicans gave final approval to right-to-work legislation and repealed the state’s prevailing wage law. Both bills are expected to be signed into law by the governor, and will take effect immediately.

Labor leaders were equally troubled by the legislature’s move to gut the state’s prevailing wage law. Such laws require that employers pay certain minimum wages on work funded by public money. Backers of the laws say they help make sure companies accepting taxpayer dollars don’t drive down wages and working conditions. Opponents argue they inflate the cost of public works projects.

The repeal means prevailing wages will no longer apply to construction workers building schools and government buildings.

Charlie Essex, the financial secretary for Local 369 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Louisville, called the measure “an attack on union people.” He estimated that the prevailing wage law applied to more than 30 percent of union construction work in Kentucky.

Backed by business lobbies, Republican lawmakers around the country have been aggressive in pushing right-to-work bills and prevailing wage repeals in recent years. When Democrats lose control of a statehouse chamber or the governor’s mansion, they are often powerless to stop them.

Long confined to the South and West, right-to-work proponents have recently made inroads elsewhere in the country, including even the industrial Midwest. Since 2012, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and West Virginia have all gone right-to-work. Kentucky will be the 27th such state, making it more the norm than the exception around the country.

Crux of the Matter

Congratulations to Kentucky. The state will now be able to avoid overpaying for schools and paving roads.

Prevailing wage laws guarantee overpaying.

Unions’ Misguided Sense of “Fair”

Under U.S. labor law, a union must represent all employees in a unionized workplace, even those who may not want representation.

Unions argue it’s only fair that all workers share the costs of bargaining and maintaining the union contract.

Compelled Servitude

There is nothing fair at all about forcing someone to join an organization against their free will. In fact, it’s compelled servitude to do so.

I made the case in Paul Krugman, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, others, Ignore Extortion, Bribery, Coercion, and Slavery; No One Should Own You!

Even FDR Understood the Problem

Public unions get into bed with management and politicians and work out sweet deals for themselves at taxpayer expense. No one looks out for the taxpayer. Even FDR understood the problem.

Message from FDR

Inquiring minds are reading snips from a Letter from FDR Regarding Collective Bargaining of Public Unions written August 16, 1937.

All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management.

The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations.

Particularly, I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place in the functions of any organization of Government employees.

A strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government until their demands are satisfied. Such action, looking toward the paralysis of Government by those who have sworn to support it, is unthinkable and intolerable.

Union Extortion

Here are a couple of YouTube videos to consider, showing typical public union thug tactics.

Give up the Bucks

SEIU Spokesperson Threatening California Lawmakers with Union Retaliation

National Legislation Needed

Hopefully Trump will revise or completely toss the National Labor Relations board out the window.

National legislation is the only hope for dysfunctional states like Illinois.