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12
Apr
2018
As Naperville-area women celebrated the first victory in their quest to get Illinois ratification of the federal Equal Rights Amendment, they didn’t lose sight of the work still needed if passage is to be secured.
The Illinois Senate voted 43-12 Wednesday to ratify the amendment to guarantee in the U.S. Constitution that rights can’t be denied because of a person’s sex. The measure passed with no debate.
“I haven’t touched the ground,” Naperville resident Beverly George said of the Wednesday vote.
Categories: Local Issues, State Issues
Tags:
25
Sep
2016
In any normal election year, we’d compare the two presidential candidates side by side on the issues. But this is not a normal election year. A comparison like that would be an empty exercise in a race where one candidate — our choice, Hillary Clinton — has a record of service and a raft of pragmatic ideas, and the other, Donald Trump, discloses nothing concrete about himself or his plans while promising the moon and offering the stars on layaway. (We will explain in a subsequent editorial why we believe Mr. Trump to be the worst nominee put forward by a major party in modern American history.)
But this endorsement would also be an empty exercise if it merely affirmed the choice of Clinton supporters. We’re aiming instead to persuade those of you who are hesitating to vote for Mrs. Clinton — because you are reluctant to vote for a Democrat, or for another Clinton, or for a candidate who might appear, on the surface, not to offer change from an establishment that seems indifferent and a political system that seems broken.
Running down the other guy won’t suffice to make that argument. The best case for Hillary Clinton cannot be, and is not, that she isn’t Donald Trump.
Categories: Local Issues, State Issues, National Issues
Tags: Hillary Clinton, 2016 Elections, Endorsements
2
I met Tom Korologos in 1970. I was doing interviews for my dissertation on congressional staffs; he was the top staffer for Wallace Bennett, a veteran Republican senator from Utah. Tom not only granted me an interview but also gave me a ton of time and valuable insights. He knew and loved the Senate, knew and loved politics. He has had a remarkable career in Washington, serving several Republican presidents and also working as a top official with the provisional authority in Baghdad and as ambassador to Belgium. If you asked me to name veteran pols who understand how our government and politics work and should work, he would be high on the list.
That makes my disappointment with him even more painful. Korologos, along with former Ronald Reagan national security adviser Richard V. Allen, wrote an op-ed for The Post last week with advice for their fellow Republicans, headlined “Memo to GOP: Forget 2016. Start thinking 2018 and 2020.” The op-ed conceded the presidential contest to Hillary Clinton — and proceeded to give advice on how to combat the incoming president and regain the party’s mojo.
Tags: 2016 Elections
5
Mar
2015
State employee unions on Thursday sued to block Gov. Bruce Rauner’s attempt to withhold fees unions receive from nonmembers, calling his executive order a “patently illegal” attempt to weaken organized labor ahead of new contract negotiations.
The group of 26 labor unions — representing employees ranging from police officers to painters — alleges that Rauner’s order violates state law, goes against numerous collective bargaining agreements and is beyond the scope of his executive authority. The unions asked a judge in Downstate St. Clair County to put a stop to the decree and allow unions access to the fees while the legal process plays out.
“We’re asking the court to restore the integrity of our democratic process and make clear that no one, not Gov. Rauner or anyone else, can place themselves above the law,” Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan said in a statement.
Categories: State Issues
Tags: Organized Labor, Bruce Rauner
14
Feb
As one of his first official acts, the new Republican governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, issued an executive order this week that would weaken state unions by barring them from assessing fees on some of the workers they represent in collective bargaining. Worse, the damage from the order could reach far beyond Illinois.
At issue are so called “fair share” fees. In a unionized workplace, a union must extend collectively bargained pay raises and other benefits to nonmembers. The nonmembers — about 15 percent of unionized state employees in Illinois — do not have to pay union dues or contribute to the union’s political activities. Instead, under the law in Illinois and in many other states, they must pay the union a fair-share fee, which is less than full dues, to cover the cost of collective bargaining undertaken on their behalf.
Categories: State Issues, National Issues
Tags: Bruce Rauner