* From a Tuesday Illinois Policy Institute press release…
Six Illinois child care providers and home caregivers represented by attorneys from the Liberty Justice Center and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to remove the SEIU as their union representative.
Illinois law forces thousands of child care providers and home-based caregivers to be represented by the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, as a condition of providing care to people who receive subsidies from the government. Even though these caregivers no longer are forced to pay money to the SEIU, thanks to the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Harris v. Quinn, they still are forced to be represented by the union even if they do not want the union to speak for them.
The lawsuit filed today in the federal district court in Chicago seeks to end this practice. The plaintiffs are seeking to strike down the state law that deems the SEIU their “exclusive representative.”
“The government has no right to appoint an ‘exclusive representative’ to speak on citizens’ behalf just because they benefit from a government program,” said Jacob Huebert, senior attorney at the Liberty Justice Center, a public-interest law firm, who is co-counsel in the lawsuit. “Under the First Amendment, individuals get to decide for themselves what they will say to the government and who will speak on their behalf. This lawsuit asks the federal courts to strike down this unconstitutional scheme.”
Victory in the case would build upon the Supreme Court’s decision in Harris v. Quinn, in which the Court ruled that forcing home-based caregivers who are not government employees to pay union fees violated their First Amendment rights.
“Home-based caregivers should not be forced to associate with a union they have no interest in joining or supporting,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We hope this case will build on the Supreme Court’s landmark, Foundation-won Harris decision to protect caregivers’ freedom of association and put a stop to union bosses’ forced home care unionization schemes.”
BACKGROUND:
In 2003, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued an executive order that said a group of Illinois residents who provide home-based care for people with disabilities through a state Medicaid program would be considered state workers for the sole purpose of unionization. Following the executive order, a state law was passed that granted the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, exclusive representation of these home caregivers. Blagojevich signed a similar executive order in 2005 for child care providers who served children from low-income families. That executive order also was followed by a state law designating the SEIU the exclusive representative of these child care providers. These executive orders and the subsequent laws allowed government unions to force child care providers and home caregivers to pay union dues as a condition of their clients’ or family members’ receiving help from the state.
Between 2009 and 2013, the SEIU collected more than $30 million in compulsory union dues and fees from home caregivers, and an additional $44 million-plus from child care providers who were force-unionized.
But in a landmark decision in 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Harris v. Quinn that it was illegal to force people to pay money to a union as a condition of helping people who participate in state entitlement programs. The Court held that these caregivers were not state employees, and therefore could not be forced into a union or forced to pay union dues or fees.
On November 7, 2015 the General Membership of the Illinois Democratic County Chairman’s Association met in Springfield to discuss the future leadership of the organization. During this meeting Macoupin County Democratic Party Chairman Mike Mathis stepped down as President of IDCCA. President Mathis said “I have decided to run for State Representative for the Illinois 95th District. It will be a challenging campaign and one that I intend to win. I also don’t want to hold back the progress of this organization. So I will be stepping aside as President to allow someone else to take up the charge of leading us.” Mathis is also the Macoupin County Circuit Clerk and has held this office since 1996.
The General Membership of the IDCCA moved quickly to fill the position of President of the organization. Rock Island County Democratic Party Chairman Doug House was unanimously elected President to serve out the remaining term. President House has a long commitment to the Democratic Party and to Organized Labor. He has been the Chairman of the Rock Island County Democratic Party since April 2012 serving as a Precinct Committeeman for the past 30 years in Rock Island. He is also a 25 year member of Operating Engineers Local 150. President House has also served as the Political Director to the late Congressman Lane Evans.
“It is an honor to be elected to lead this organization. We are the grassroots of the Democratic Party and we are stronger today than ever before. I would like to thank Mike Mathis for his leadership and I look forward to working with him to get him elected State Rep.” President House said.
When asked about an issue that the IDCCA will face in the 2016 Election cycle, President House said “Governor Rauner has made it his mission to destroy Organized Labor in this state. The Illinois Democratic County Chairman’s Association will not stand for this. Rauner believes that tearing down our State and cutting services to millions to innocent residents is the best way to lead. We know that he is wrong and we are going to fight for these people.”
President House will serve out the remainder of the term left by Mike Mathis and will end in May 2016.
Has a primary opponent for Mr. Dunkin been identified?
* Yep. I reached out to Andre Smith today about his campaign and he said he’ll be officially kicking off his race today and tomorrow. Smith claimed he had already collected 2,000 petition signatures, with a goal of 4,000 [adding: he says he’ll file 1,500 - the maximum amount]. His campaign website definitely needs work, but he also sent this…
Rep. Dunkin is everywhere in his district and has always worked hard, so this is not going to be an easy race at all. With that in mind…
* The Question: Caption?
[Also, it’s a state holiday and I have a bunch of stuff to do, so blogging will be light for the rest of the day.]
Provides that the State shall operate an Illinois State Museum in Springfield and at branch sites at Dickson Mounds, Lockport, Rend Lake, and the James R. Thompson Center. Provides that the Illinois State Museum and all branch sites shall be open to the public. Provides that the Illinois State Museum shall operate a Research and Collections Center to research, preserve, and maintain access to the extensive Illinois State Museum collections. Effective immediately.
The bill passed the Senate with 40 votes (Republican Sam McCann joined with the Democrats) and passed the House yesterday with 82 votes, including these Republicans…
Bourne, Bryant, Butler, Davidsmeyer, Hammond, David Harris, Kay, Bill Mitchell, Moffitt, Poe, Pritchard, Unes
Rep. Dunkin also voted for it.
This looks like the governor lifted the brick. I’ve asked the administration for comment. We’ll see.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Lance Trover…
Under review
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
State Senator Andy Manar’s proposal to reopen the Illinois State Museum system received veto-proof support from lawmakers in their efforts to undo the governor’s closings.
Manar (D-Bunker Hill) introduced Senate Bill 317 in July to guarantee that the State Museum in Springfield –and its four branch sites—stay open.
The Senate approved the legislation in August. The House approved it Tuesday. Both the House and Senate approved it with bipartisan, veto-proof majorities. The legislation now goes to the governor.
Manar issued the following statement:
“The State Museum is a vital educational and cultural institution and should remain open. The success of this legislation is a credit to the work of every ISM supporter who made the case and showed how important this institution truly is.”
* I tried and tried to get the House Speaker yesterday to talk about the bright side of this week’s developments. Somebody else finally got this out of him…
Madigan warned that a final budget agreement remains distant, despite the governor’s change in positions.
“I think there’s a mixed answer. Obviously, the governor has restored some programs, and that’s good,” Madigan said. “But we are still a far way away from a resolution.”
He’s right on both points.
But he needs to realize the progress here.
* Gov. Rauner’s press release…
“I want to thank General Assembly members on both sides of the aisle who helped craft and ensure reasonable and responsible compromises to the issues addressed today. As a result of their efforts, now we are able to move forward on providing child care for working families in a more financially-responsible way, and we are able to continue our long-term transformation towards better and community-based care for our seniors.
“This week, we were also able to reach an agreement on unemployment insurance reform so we can take a small step forward in our effort to make Illinois more competitive and grow jobs. I urge the legislature to act on this legislation as soon as possible and send the unemployment insurance reform bill to my desk.
“While we made progress today by working together, we did not accomplish all that we could, and the biggest issues remain. We still need major structural and economic reforms. We need term limits and a truly balanced budget. We need true, long-term property tax relief while finding ways to help school districts and local units of government. I know that not all of these are easy, but I’m confident we can accomplish a tremendous amount if everyone is willing to work together.”
* I’m pretty sure this is as close as you can get to a done deal…
State Rep. Raymond Poe said Tuesday he’s been approached by Rauner administration officials about becoming the state’s next agriculture director.
The Springfield Republican said, however, it appears he’s just one of several people who have met with administration officials about the job, and he isn’t aware that any final decision has been made.
Poe said he’s interested.
“I’ve met with all of them (Rauner officials), but there’s been several of us who met with all of them,” Poe said. […]
“We’re still passing (petitions),” he said. “If this thing doesn’t materialize, I guess we’re still running.”
The timing is tricky, however. Either they need to get somebody else on the ballot before the end of the month, or hope that nobody else files for the office and then appoint Poe after the filing period ends and then have the chairmen appoint a ballot replacement.
* The Sun-Times on the failed House child care assistance program vote…
House Democrats were just one vote short — voting 70-35 on Senate Bill 570. It needed 71 votes to pass. Rep. Ken Dunkin, D-Chicago, didn’t vote — showing some tension between House Democrats and the administration.
“‘Come on, Ken!’” House Democrats screamed as Dunkin did not vote on two key bills favored by Democrats. […]
“Let me be clear that no one bears more responsibility today for the defeat of this legislation, which protects our children and child care and home care in Illinois than Rep. Ken Dunkin himself,” Jaquie Algee, vice president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois said at a press conference organized by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Algee said Dunkin broke a promise to his constituents — pulling out a photo of Dunkin holding a child at an event several weeks ago. The picture has the words “I promised” written on it.
“You know, Mr. Dunkin has now missed three votes where he apparently supported the governor’s position,” House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said at a news conference later.
Asked if he’ll support Dunkin’s re-election, Madigan says it’s something he’ll have to consider.
Oof.
* PR consultant Maze Jackson, who is a Dunkin friend, defended his buddy on Facebook…
WHAT BLACK PEOPLE REALLY NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN SPRINGFIELD..
Political gamesmanship at it’s finest. So one day prior to this vote the Governor agrees to restore the funding to childcare. Some say he was pressured by moderate Republicans, which I would buy if any of Republicans had voted for the bill, but they did not. The Governor released a statement that said he made the decision after consulting with Ken Dunkin. Democrats remain furious with Dunkin for missing a union vote on SB1229 in September, and so even though he (along with other members of the Black Caucus) negotiated a deal to restore the funding AND DID IT, SOMEBODY felt the need to call a vote that essentially said “I know we made a deal, but we don’t trust you so we are going to do THE SAME THING THAT GOT US HERE BEFORE.”
So when the results were the same, people got all up in arms, calling Dunkin a traitor, vilifying him in the press…al the while failing to mention…THE CUTS TO CHILDCARE WERE RESTORED. So…where is that story? Springfield insiders playing inside baseball, calling bills and votes for political mailers and campaign commercials, but here is a newsflash for those of you caught up in the Springfield bubble…When the checks start rolling in the hood, none of those people who get those check will care about these bills.
BLACK PEOPLE…If the goal was to restore funding for childcare, and that funding was restored, as yourself…HOW COME THEY ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT? Was it really about the kids, because I sure have not heard anybody talking about them. As I said before, hate on Dunkin if you want, but he exercised his leverage to get concessions from the Governor, no vote required. In this stalemate, who has delivered ANYTHING but rhetoric? Oh and the restoration of the funding levels for childcare? Do you think that happened because the Governor all of a sudden woke up and had a change of heart? Nope…he was leveraged by Dunkin on behalf of Black folks, and they want you to be mad? But WHY though? […]
The Senate with bulletproof supermajority that can pass anything it wants agrees to hold the bill in good faith…The House has an imaginary supermajority, spends the last two months disrespecting the lone swing vote, and decides to run the bill even after an agreement to restore funding was made? Why?
Black folks are more scared of people outside of their community than inside. That stated, insiders know that the solidarity among Democrats is cracking. While they won’t say it publicly, several legislators have noted to me that The Speaker is so focused on beating Rauner that he is willing to take the entire state down to do it…
I think we saw an example of that with yesterday’s vote!
“I credit representative Dunkin for not participating in it. He wants to get things done. He saw that they were great strides made by the administration,” said House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R).
A simmering Democratic caucus boiled over after Dunkin spoke up in the House Dem-only meeting, poking at state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth for pushing SB570 after Rauner had agreed to reverse cuts he made to health care. Booth said she wanted to preserve the program and prevent Rauner or future governors from using kids as political pawns.
– Two members of the Black Caucus “tried to beat Dunkin back into submission,” but he wouldn’t give in.
– “It was like an Amish shunning with more verbal abuse,” said one state lawmaker. “It was cathartic for some folks. He poked the Bear. The Bear was 70 other members of his caucus.”
– At one point during an intense, emotional floor debate, state Rep. Jaime Andrade stripped Dunkin’s nameplate from the front of his seat, walked it over to the Republican side of the chamber then threw it down, saying: “He’s all yours now.”
When people focus on Madigan’s anger at Dunkin, they’re ignoring something even more important, which is the House Democratic Caucus’ anger at their member.
And that anger is a big reason why the House Democrats wanted floor votes yesterday. They wanted to put Dunkin on the spot as much or more than they wanted to send a message to Rauner…
House Democrats on Tuesday opted to poke Rauner in the eye by bringing those very bills, already doomed in the Senate, to the floor for debates that delved into an exercise in the absurd. Sure, the governor had hammered out a deal with Senate Democrats. Sure, that deal ended the unnecessary — and in the case of the CCAP, economically devastating — emergency rules Rauner adopted when facing a state without a budget on July 1.
But, the Republican governor isn’t to be trusted, Democrats squealed. Both party-line votes fell one member short of passage, which included support from Reps. John Bradley, D-Marion, and Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg.
“Let’s move past all of this Democrat-Republican crap, because that’s what this is,” shouted sponsor of the suddenly gratuitous CCAP bill, Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria.
Republicans and Democrats made a rare joint effort to send some long-awaited state money to mayors and Illinois Lottery winners who have been begging for it.
But the money might not be coming soon.
Illinois House lawmakers of both parties approved state Rep. Marty Moylan’s legislation to send gasoline and gambling tax money to communities that have missed out during the ongoing state budget impasse, an idea Gov. Bruce Rauner endorsed. The Des Plaines Democrat’s proposals would mean millions of dollars in money that has been delayed since the state blew past July 1 without a budget in place.
But even in that agreement there was friction that underscored the ongoing budget stalemate that has lasted most of the year.
And because the Illinois Senate still needs to approve — and isn’t scheduled to meet again until next year — the check isn’t yet in the mail, and might not be for a while.
It goes beyond that. House Majority Leader Currie filed a motion to reconsider on the bill after yesterday’s vote. It can’t move to the Senate until that brick is removed.
Tension is growing between state Sen. John Cullerton and Madigan. Sources tell Illinois Playbook that Madigan was fuming not because Senate Democrats cut a deal with Rauner on day care funding, but because of the way that they did it. Madigan would have pushed for Rauner to put his members on a bill codifying funding levels instead of agreeing to a rule change. Why? It was Rauner, after all, who sliced the day care benefits and turned around and restored them. He could do the same thing again tomorrow if he wanted.
– Cullerton, meanwhile, wants to find a way to give Rauner something to walk away with a deal. Madigan fears Cullerton doesn’t fully appreciate the intensity with which Rauner is going to go after Democrats in the next election, sources say.
Rauner’s gonna go after Democrats next year whatever they do. That doesn’t mean all progress should stop until next November, however.
After reaching economically-responsible compromises on Unemployment Insurance Reform, the Child Care Assistance Program and DON Score legislation, the Rauner Administration announced today that it is taking some steps forward on EDGE Tax Credits as well as re-instituting the Film Tax Credit approvals. Both credits were suspended for new projects at the beginning of the fiscal year.
Since taking office, the Administration has been implementing policies to ensure a more fiscally-responsible approach to EDGE agreements in order to balance investment in Illinois with taxpayer benefits. Policy changes include:
1. No longer supporting “Special EDGE” agreements (see below for more information) that only benefit certain companies that can afford lobbyists;
2. No longer providing tax credits for job retention, only for capital investment and net new job creation;
3. Requiring that tax credits can only be obtained for jobs created above a baseline of all existing employees located within the state, rather than just the baseline of employees located at the specific project location;
a. In the past, a company that signed an EDGE agreement for an expansion project in a certain location only needed to maintain a requisite number of employees at that specific facility in order to meet its requirements. Laying off employees at a different facility in the state, or even closing it, would not have impacted its ability to continue receiving taxpayer funded benefits for the facility for which it was receiving the EDGE agreement;
4. Prohibiting more than one tax credit on the same facility. Previous administrations would allow multiple EDGE deals on jobs created at the same facility;
5. Focusing on marketing the assets of the State, rather than leading with our incentives.
With these policy changes now firmly established at Department of Commerce, signs of progress with the legislature and a number of job-creating projects in the pipeline, the Administration will now allow Department of Commerce to make an EDGE offer to companies, confirm eligibility and enable companies to demonstrate that they’ve met all the requirements necessary to receive credits. Actual EDGE and film tax credits for new projects will still not be certified or able to be claimed until an FY16 budget is enacted. These changes will allow the Administration to better recruit new investment to Illinois without impacting the budget.
* Twice yesterday, House Speaker Michael Madigan told people not to talk to me. He was joshing, of course, and he said it with a smile, but he said it for the second time after a press conference yesterday and it was caught on video. I thought you might get a chuckle out of it. Thanks to our good friends at BlueRoomStream.com for the clip…
Gail Hamilton, a home care provider in Springfield, told reporters Rauner used a “back door deal” on both child care and home care “as a way to save face as moderate Republicans broke with his extreme and damaging positions.”
“We moved Gov. Rauner to action. We moved moderate Republicans. We moved Democratic allies with other advocates. But now Gov. Rauner wants credit for this. It’s shameful to me that Gov. Rauner wants credit for restoring the programs that he cut. It is laughable and predictable given the willingness of Bruce Rauner to play politics with the lives of vulnerable people.”
Hamilton said the bills would have kept Rauner in check.
“These bills are necessary bills because the governor chose to abuse his executive power and use administrative rules to begin a back door destruction of these programs,” Hamilton said. “These bills were necessary to make sure that this governor, any governor, cannot abuse their executive power again.”
It’s not that I disagree with everything Ms. Hamilton said. It’s just that I’m trying very hard these days to look at the bright side.
This state has been engaged in what amounts to a political civil war for months. Civil wars are most definitely not “civil” (just the opposite) and don’t end easily, precisely for the reasons outlined by Hamilton.
But the fact is that Republicans did move the governor off the dime. That’s good news.
We’ll have more on this topic throughout the day. I just wanted to get the ball rolling with Hamilton’s quotes, which were elegantly spoken and understandably heartbroken and angry.
