After each sweeping and not-so-sweeping piece of pension legislation went nowhere
during the General Assembly special session Friday Gov. Pat Quinn had a
perhaps surprising response in regards to his next steps on pension reform – a
“grassroots” campaign.
“I think there’s a lot of explaining to do
to the voters and taxpayers back home if members of the Illinois House
of Representatives are voting now on something as fundamental as
reforming their own public pension system,” Quinn told reporters Friday (Capitol Fax provides a link here to the audio). “I think it’s time to get people involved.”
Quinn
spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said the governor would not reveal
full details on such a campaign until “mid-September after 9/11” and the
Democratic and Republican Party national conventions. Anderson provided
a history of successful grassroots efforts undertaken by Quinn prior to
assuming public office. These include the 1980 Cutback Amendment that effectively reduced membership in the Illinois House from 177 to 118 representatives.
But Quinn’s pronouncement of a grassroots effort on pensions should raise eyebrows for a couple of key reasons. Read more »
AFSCME Local Council 31, which represents state corrections workers,
forcefully argued in Springfield today that Gov. Pat Quinn’s planned
prison closings put an overcrowded system over the edge – and could lead
to more prison violence.
Back in October, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel 