FROM WIREPOINTS VOTE NO AMENDMENT 1

[carol ann parisi]

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If you care about property taxes, parents’ rights or union powers – and the future of Illinois – you should care about Amendment 1, a referendum on the November ballot.

A vote for Amendment 1 will give the state’s public sector unions the strongest powers in the country…but count on property taxes to jump, parents’ rights to be diminished and Right to Work to be blocked.

Amendment 1 Language

Below is the proposed amendment language to be added to the Illinois Constitution, along with a short explanation of what different sections mean.

Note: If the amendment fails, workers won’t lose any of their existing rights. Illinois’ labor laws will remain exactly the same as they are today.

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Arguments For and Against

Proponent Arguments for Amendment 1:

1. Cements public sector union powers and unprecedented labor rights into the constitution, giving Illinois unions the most power of any union in the nation.

2. Grants more rights to public sector unions than any other state in the nation.

3. Stops lawmakers from ever “diminishing” public union powers.

4. Illinois would be the first state to lock-in subjects of bargaining into the constitution.

5. Vastly expands the issues public unions can bargain over, granting unions more control over government policy.

6. Gives unions more power to demand even greater pay and benefits.

7. Helps teacher unions maintain control over Illinois’ education system.

8. Blocks Right-to-Work in Illinois.

Opponent Arguments against Amendment 1:

1. Illinois public unions would gain the nation’s most extreme, anti-taxpayer powers.

2. Would drive Illinoisans’ property taxes – already the nation’s highest – even higher.

3. Erodes parents’ rights over their children’s education.

4. Enshrines private sector workers’ status as second-class citizens.

5. Strips lawmakers of their ability to pass important labor reforms.

6. Collective bargaining would become a fundamental right like free speech or religious freedom.

7. Locks vast public sector negotiating powers into the constitution.

8. Blocking Right to Work would harm Illinois’ competitiveness.

[carol ann parisi]