| Amendment 1 might is worded to sound great but make no mistake, it is a trojan horse tax increase that will give super-legislative powers to big government unions while forcing property tax increases on the rest of Illinoisans. Here’s what the Editorial Boards are saying: |
| “If you think teachers unions are powerful now, wait until this passes. Amendment 1 would bar the Legislature from passing anything that ‘interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and work place safety.’” |
| “As Crain’s business columnist Joe Cahill pointed out on Oct. 3, if the WRA passes, Illinois will stand out for giving broader constitutional protections to organized labor than any other state. The amendment bars any legislation that interferes with unions’ bargaining rights, and—going further than any of the handful of states that constitutionally protect collective bargaining—explicitly prohibits “right-to-work laws” like those recently adopted by neighboring states” |
| “Moreover, since the public sector also has to raise funds to cover its cost, the amendment seems likely to put pressure on property taxes and other sources of government revenues. We’ve not heard a viable counterargument to that. It certainly won’t reduce the size or expenses of government.” |
| “We recommend a “No” vote on Amendment 1 because it is not needed and because unneeded Constitutional provisions unwisely tie the hands of the people’s representatives and the representatives of future generations to deal with problems we may not even foresee today.” |
| “This amendment is a masterpiece of obfuscation sailing under the banner of making Illinois a constitutionally-mandated non-right-to-work state. In other words, it’s a Trojan horse. One need not be a foe of unions or collective bargaining to have serious doubts as to the wisdom of this proposal. One can vigorously support the rights of employees — public or private — to work out their issues at the bargaining table without seeing this amendment as necessary to enhance their existing statutory rights.” “Make no mistake – Amendment 1 is a trojan horse tax increase, even 5 major news editorial boards agree,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “This constitutional amendment is designed to give big government unions super-legislative powers and pass higher property taxes on to Illinoisans. Voters should reject Amendment 1 at the polls tomorrow.” ### |
