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Can Illinois Afford Union Regulation?

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    Illinois State Rep. Ed Sullivan on the impact of union regulation in the state.

  • Duration 4:08
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Today we told you about the story -- -- a mob bookie -- currently at the -- He got a government job and Illinois but he was five -- -- -- -- questions about how we got that job came up.

The union though help to get the job back with more than a 100000 dollars in back pay.

What he's going on in Illinois the state William lovingly called the land of -- you can.

State representative Ed Sullivan joins us now from Chicago -- -- I don't wanna go through the that the -- police showcase all over again the -- audience knows what happened that.

I wanna ask you -- all you gonna do about union power in the state of near bankrupt Illinois.

Can you do anything about this -- thing.

Well sitting in in my seat is a minority member of the House Republican Caucus it's it's a little difficult because the state is run by -- -- the Democrats -- and on the state.

I have asked for a hearing before the labor committee which I am a member of so last week -- sent a letter to speaker Madigan and the chairman of the labor committee.

Asking for review of this because certainly we need to look at this yes but look -- you've got to do something about union town in Illinois.

The -- perhaps in the way that government Scott Walker did it in Wisconsin -- That you've got to do this I mean do you agree with the imperative here because Illinois -- virtually bankrupt.

Well it the last union contract that we -- state of Illinois the raises last year were 315 million dollars.

That what this cost us this is a very sweet contract given to the unions through Blagojevich.

So yes -- this is putting us into deeper deeper financial poll.

What we do from here is is somewhat.

Difficulty being in the state that we're at the union contributions going to be.

Leader of the Democratic Party but.

The good thing is we have started to interject the general assembly into the process so we do have hate each JR 45.

Which is a resolution stating we're going to.

Limit the amount of increases in in union that's wages -- okay that's a very small incremental move you know it's not gonna -- -- the states.

I'm I'm right in saying that -- -- -- it was recently downgraded.

That it now costs to a -- more money to borrow money.

You're right I think -- -- like six billion dollars in arrears in payments to businesses which do business with the states.

That you -- your state pension fund is totally insolvent.

I'm I'm painting a very bleak picture here but I wanna make sure I'm accurate.

Am -- accurate.

Yes you're actually probably a little rosy compared to what -- -- truly going on.

If we do not get -- pension payments.

Figured out we are going to.

-- we -- effectively insolvent as it is states cannot declare bankruptcy.

But we don't have the unions at the table even talk about pension payments that's the biggest problem we have right now OK so until we.

-- -- -- keep on what jumping in here but look this is President Obama is not -- home state but he's his adopted.

Home city of Chicago.

Do you think that literally -- Illinois the Democrat the government governor Quinn are they tell us for -- ultimately from the Fed's.

Well at.

I don't know if you can actually get the -- to do -- bailout.

I think that if governor Quinn thought that there is a way for us to get this federal government to bail us out he would do it.

I I think that the house caucus on the federal level as -- indicated it.

There will be no bailout coming so we have to fend for ourselves and we should fend for ourselves we should build new.

Do what Wisconsin has done to start to work with the unions and and change the the that trajectory of of our economy here in state of Illinois we did do that with.

Arm score reforms we've started and we built a pattern where we can trying to this.

I'm a little pessimistic going forward I'm trying to tackle union contracts and we do have the union -- -- coming out.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Certainly thank you for having.

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