* We discussed this last week…

Gov. Pat Quinn will host a gathering of Democrats at the Illinois State Fair today, but the event may not be the picnic planners envisioned.

A coalition of labor unions plans to set up camp outside the annual Governor’s Day festivities to protest the Chicago Democrat’s plans to lay off thousands of state workers, overhaul employee pension programs not to pay raises to 30,000 rank-and-file workers.

The day could mark just the latest dustup in an ongoing battle between Quinn and the unions as lawmakers get set to return to the Capitol on Friday. They plan a one-day session focusing on the ouster of indicted state Rep. Derrick Smith of Chicago and a potential vote on changes to the state’s retirement systems designed to chip away at an $83 billion unfunded liability.

* This mobile billboard is at the Crowne Plaza Hotel this morning…

The Democratic Party of Illinois is holding its convention at the hotel. Quinn is expected to speak.

Thoughts?

*** UPDATE 1 *** An e-mail from Occupy Springfield…

Occupy Springfield (IL) will be on the capitol grounds in regards to the current pension debate. The members of the local Occupy organization will be on hand to answer any questions to the media.

*** UPDATE 2 *** AFSCME members were a bit impolite today, apparently…

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who are expected to protest the Democratic governor’s appearance today at the State Fair, shouted slogans, such as, “Honor our contract!” and coughed “bulls—“ as Quinn spoke to reporters.

*** UPDATE 3 *** Statement of AFL-CIO president Michael Carrigan…

*We are here today because this is Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair and we want to express labor’s deep concern with Governor Quinn’s policies that are not fair to working families—and particularly unfair to public employees.

*We have with us today all of the major unions in the state that represent public employees. We are united in calling on the governor treat employees fairly and to recognize the importance of the vital services they provide.

*We are extremely disturbed that at a time when collective bargaining rights for public employees are under attack by a number of Republican governors, here in Illinois we have a Democratic governor who is undermining fundamental collective bargaining rights for public employees.

*For more than a year now, Governor Quinn has been refusing to honor the state’s collective bargaining agreements with the unions representing state workers and withholding negotiated pay raises agreed to in those contracts.

*The Governor has even filed suit in state court seeking to overturn the decision of an independent arbitrator who ruled that he was in violation of the contracts and must pay the wages owed. In issuing his ruling, the arbitrator stated that if Governor Quinn’s actions are allowed to stand, “the collective bargaining process will be…severely undermined.”

*We are also very disappointed that In an era when retirement security is in jeopardy for so many, Governor Quinn has been leading the charge to drastically diminish the pension benefits of all public employees in Illinois—including current retirees living on fixed incomes.

*Public employees’ modest pensions average just $32,000 a year, 80% of them do not receive any Social Security benefits, and all have contributed faithfully out of every paycheck toward their pensions, Yet the Governor is trying to make these employees bear the entire burden of fixing an underfunding problem created by the politicians’ persistent failure to make the employers’ full share of the contributions.

*And we’re also deeply disturbed that In an era when jobs are the primary concern of so many citizens, Governor Quinn is seeking to lay off thousands of state workers—jeopardizing vital services on which so many citizens depend and destroying decent-paying union jobs.

*We’re here today to call on Governor Quinn to reverse course and begin to work constructively together with us for a better Illinois.