Unions criticize Quinn at Democratic events

SPRINGFIELD — Policy disputes trumped party unity Wednesday as Illinois Democrats gathered for a perfunctory celebration of Governor’s Day at the state fair.

Unions protested Gov. Pat Quinn’s attempt to cancel raises promised in labor contracts with state government, while Quinn blamed legislators. Scores of people attended the state fair rally clad in orange T-shirts urging Quinn to sign a huge expansion of gambling. Quinn, however, continued criticizing the legislation without saying how he would like to see it changed.

State Democratic Chairman Michael Madigan, the speaker of the Illinois House, was nowhere to be seen, nor was Sen. Dick Durbin or most other Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation.

Even Quinn left his own party early so that he could join President Barack Obama at an event in the northwestern Illinois town of Atkinson.

Union leaders held a news conference to condemn Quinn for blocking raises. Rank-and-file union members protested outside the fairgrounds with signs saying “Collective bargaining is the American way” and “Gov. Quinn, keep your word.”

They’re angry that the governor, saying lawmakers didn’t give him enough money, is trying to block raises for about 30,000 union employees. Unions say they made concessions to help balance the state budget, such as delaying raises and taking unpaid furlough days, and that it’s improper for Quinn to unilaterally decide he won’t honor the contract.

“How do you govern without integrity? How does anybody trust your word?” said one protester, Jason Johnston, who works at the state Environmental Protection Agency. “We go to the table and negotiate. We want the contract to be honored.”

Union leaders accused Quinn of a “fundamental assault on workers’ rights” but stopped short of threatening to withhold campaign contributions or to back Quinn’s opponent in future elections. Still, those steps could be taken eventually, they suggested.

“We can’t just give money away to politicians that turn around and screw us,” said Tom Drea, secretary-treasurer of the Illinois AFL-CIO.

An arbitrator sided with the union, but Quinn appealed to the courts, which have not yet ruled on his attempt to block the raises.

Quinn continued to defend his actions, saying lawmakers passed a budget that didn’t provide enough money to pay the raises and still keep key state agencies running.

“Sometimes you have to tell your friends not what they want to hear but what they need to know,” Quinn said. “I don’t know why they constantly focus only on me when the General Assembly is the one who didn’t appropriate the money in the first place.”

Lawmakers did give Quinn less money to work with, but they didn’t order him to cut the scheduled raises. Some lawmakers say they think Quinn could have cut elsewhere instead. The governor also had the option of vetoing the budget if he felt it was fundamentally flawed, but Quinn has said he didn’t want to do that because it would give Republican legislators a chance to get involved in budget talks.

Quinn renewed his complaints about problems in legislation that would authorize five casinos, including one in Chicago, let existing casinos expand and allow slot machines at race tracks. He questioned whether the legislation includes enough oversight to keep criminals from infiltrating legalizing gambling.

He also suggested placing slot machines at racetracks would lead to “cannibalization” of business at casinos that are already in place.

People connected to the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association attended the governor’s state fair rally in blinding orange T-shirts calling for Quinn to approve the gambling bill.

“Our livelihoods depend on this bill,” said Jackie King, co-owner of a horse farm near Edwardsville. “It’s all about jobs. Thousands of jobs.”

Democratic crowds may have given their loudest cheers when Secretary of State Jesse White, 77, confirmed that he plans to run for a fifth term. He would be 84 at the end of a fifth term.

Before last year’s election, White said this would be his last term. Now he has changed his mind.

“I used to jump out of airplanes,” said the former Army paratrooper. “You never jump off an airplane and stop halfway. It’s all the way.”