 Although knowing the attendance put him one Democrat shy of his full 71 members
present — the same number of votes needed for a successful override attempt —
House Speaker Michael Madigan let the vote roll forward.
Backers of Senate Bill 1229 put up 67 votes in the House when the bill
originally passed.
On Wednesday, they gained two Democratic votes from members who were ill and not
present for the original vote — Monique Davis of Chicago and Frank Mautino of
Spring Valley. Also, Democratic Rep. Andre Thapedi of Chicago moved into the
“Yes” column.
But Rep. Kenneth Dunkin, a Chicago Democrat, was absent, and Rep. Scott Drury,
D-Highwood, who had previously voted for the bill decided to vote against an
override.
That meant SB 1229 — which the Senate had already overridden — netted only one
additional vote in the House, as none of the 47 House Republicans broke ranks.
The final tally was 68 in favor of override, 34 opposed, nine voting “present,”
and seven members not voting.
While that unity effectively ended the bill’s life, it does put Republican
members from areas with ties to organized labor on record as opposing or at
least not supporting the labor-supported bill — something Democrats are sure to
use in coming elections.
Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, lead sponsor in the House, said he was
disappointed by Wednesday’s outcome but still believed in the bill, which he
said was intended to protect workers from the specter of a forced strike and to
protect Illinoisans from a government shutdown caused by any public work
stoppage.
In debate, the GOP went after the bill and Smiddy hard, painting the legislation
as an unprecedented attempt to knock one Republican governor, Rauner, away from
the bargaining table and hand the duties of the elected chief executive over to
an un-elected arbiter.
“You’re changing the rules in midstream,” said House Republican Leader Jim
Durkin of Westmont. I think this is the kind of thing we hear in the media
happening overseas, and I think it’s unfair and it’s wrong.”
Rep. Peter Breen, R-Lombard, was more aggressive, coming right to the edge of
calling Smiddy corrupt.
“It’s political payoff, pure and simple,” said Breen. “This bill is corrupt, so
corrupt it would make Rod Blagojevich blush.”
Smiddy, a former state prisons employee and union member, stayed even-tempered.
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 “This a bill to protect the citizens of Illinois from being
caught up in the middle of bitter contract dispute,” he said.
He dismissed the notion he was personally trying to bump Rauner from
the picture.
“Last I checked, the governor hasn’t been in bargaining,” Smiddy
said. “He puts somebody there for him.”
Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, didn’t care for some of the GOP
characterizations and shouted his comments in support of the bill
and of its sponsor.
“I stand with the middle class,” Bradley yelled. “I stand with
working man, and I stand with state workers. I stand with common
sense, and I stand with keeping this state open.”
Senate Bill 1229, would have allowed mandatory arbitration should
either the state or its unionized employees declare a bargaining
impasse in their continuing contract talks.
Once the binding arbitration hearing begins, a strike or lockout
would be prohibited. In the end, a panel of arbitrators would pick
from either the state’s or the union’s final offers on
economic-interest items such as pay and benefits.
The GOP painted the bill as an expensive, taxpayer-funded gift to
the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees —
which represents some 35,000 state employees — and said it would
take a tax increase to fund a $1.6 billion or larger raise for some
of the country’s best-paid state employees.
Democrats, on the other hand, argued the bill only gave unionized
workers a chance at equal footing with Rauner, whom they accuse of
wanting to break public-sector unions, especially AFSCME.
“Sadly, I think there is no room for doubt as to how this governor
views unions,” said Rep. Carol Sente, D-Vernon Hills.
After the vote, Rauner issued a statement thanking lawmakers who
opposed the override.
“It is encouraging that many legislators recognized the dire
financial impact this legislation would have had on our state,” the
governor said.
“I hope today’s action marks the beginning of serious negotiations
over how we can deliver needed structural reforms and a balanced
budget,” he added.
About to drive home from Springfield, Smiddy said he wasn’t taking
the rugged politicking personally.
“I worked in a state prison,” he said. “I’ve got a pretty thick
skin.”
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