Understanding Government

Chicago's McCormick Place

Even as both private and public sector unions lose power, labor is a powerful force in Chicago. But Illinois politicians — even Democrats who get union contributions — argue that AFL-CIO unions like the carpenters and the teamsters keep the city from seeing millions, maybe billions, of revenue at the McCormick Place convention center. But, like the dispute between Chicago-based Boeing and the machinist union, federal law has so far sided with labor.
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Kristen McQueary of the Chicago News Coop reports that AFSCME Council 31, which represents Illinois public employees, has compared Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn to Wisconsin Republican Gov. — and public employee union super-villain — Scott Walker. The reason? Quinn will do a one-time block of a pay raise negotiated between the union and the state.

Breaking a stipulation in a union contract has justifiably angered AFSCME. But this is totally unlike the situation in Wisconsin where Walker used the pretense of a budget deficit to permanently hamstring the collective bargaining rights of public employees. Comparing Quinn to Walker sort of cheapens the truly long-term damage Walker has likely done to the livelihood of Wisconsin public workers.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pulled out of the federal Secure Communities program for deporting illegal immigrants, reports Kirk Semple of the New York Times. Cuomo follows in the footsteps of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and the New York governor echoed Quinn’s complaint that the program hasn’t done what U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said it would do — target immigrants convicted of serious crimes. Cuomo added that the program compromises public safety, impacting the relationship between law enforcement and the Latino community. (more…)

Pat Quinn

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn declared that his state will terminate involvement in Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s “Secure Communities,” a program where the fingerprints of people booked by police are checked against a Homeland Security database for immigration violations. Quinn seems to recognize that Secure Communities has not accomplished what it promised — to arrest and deport illegal immigrants who are dangerous criminals.

In a letter to ICE, Quinn points out that when Illinois entered into Secure Communities in November 2009, he signed a Memorandum of Agreement that the program’s purpose was to deport illegal immigrants convicted of serious criminal offenses. (more…)

Taiwan, like Illinois, supports HSR

Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business predicts Illinois will get about $1 billion in additional high-speed rail money that Florida forfeited when their governor, Rick Scott, put the brakes on an Orlando to Tampa high-speed rail line. Under Gov. Pat Quinn and a Democratic legislature, Illinois has strongly supported Barack Obama’s high-speed rail ambitions. But the next steps are politically tricky.

Hinz writes that Illinois will get a “decent-sized piece” of high-speed rail money because, “This state, unlike others seems prepared to spend the money without dithering.” But Illinois must rely on the non-dithering of its neighbors. (more…)