Union money contaminates Springfield

Many people have asked me why I retired from the Illinois House of Representatives and there was no single reason.

But after 16 years on Bob Churchill's staff, two years with Sid Mathias's staff and assisting my late husband Tim in his service and my 12½ years, I had my fill of Springfield. The air in Springfield is filled with smell of dirty money with much of it coming from unions.

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Service Employees International Union had illegally confiscated over $32 million from home health workers, I thought things might get better. That did not happen.

In the 2014 election cycle, the union money flowed unendingly. State Rep. Sam Yingling received over $1 million in donations. Not all of that was union money, as Speaker Michael Madigan used many sources of assistance leaving Rep Yingling indebted to him.

Therefore, Rep. Yingling is another follower who will vote the direction of the speaker and not necessarily with the people he represents.

But what I am really upset about now are the nasty, vicious attacks that the SEIU is currently funding against my successor, state Rep. Sheri Jesiel. Sheri is doing a wonderful job of representing the voters of her district. The unions dislike when a legislator actually does what is best for his/her constituents instead of supporting the union's demands for more money.

But to castigate Sheri because she did not vote for bills written by the SEIU that would have cost taxpayers of Illinois millions of dollars is just wrong. Springfield is broken and the union money controlled by Speaker Madigan is a significant part of the problem.

I wholeheartedly support Sheri Jesiel to continue as the state representative in the 61st District.

JoAnn D. Osmond

Antioch