Do we learn from our mistakes?

Winston Churchill said, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." We voters have a prime opportunity not to repeat history during this coming election on Nov. 8, 2022. The Illinois Amendment 1, Right to Collective Bargaining Measure will lead us down the same path as the debacle we have with the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System and its protection under the Illinois Constitution.

Amendment 1 proponents say that this "right" has to be in the Constitution to protect it from the politicians who would destroy it. But what Amendment 1 does is protect it from "the people" being able to make modifications or adjustments. Because once it is approved in its present language and form, and we know how well our legislature gets that right, we won't be able to modify it without legislative amendments.

Look at the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System. If any public entity is going to bankrupt the state of Illinois, it is the unfunded liability of the state pension funds. We can't fix this problem, because it has been made part of the Illinois Constitution. How is that working for you?

If we pass Amendment 1, the same thing will happen to "bargaining "rights, except that basically everything will become negotiable. Look at what happened in Chicago with the issue of COVID 19. The Illinois Policy Institute opposes the amendment, arguing it will increase property taxes and estimates that Amendment 1, if passed, " ... would likely lead to a tax hike ... to be more than $2,100 for Illinois homeowners."

Suffice to say, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

On Nov. 8, vote no on the Illinois Amendment 1, Right to Collective Bargaining Measure.

Tommy Thomas

Arlington Heights