“No honest assessment can lump legislative Republicans into the same category as the Speaker Michael Madigan/President John Cullerton-controlled majorities in the General Assembly. Republicans have been sounding the alarm on the need for comprehensive pension reform for several years. We have, in fact, spearheaded several reforms into law that curb abuses in state pension systems and put forward specific, detailed proposals to meet the challenge posed by the state's growing pension crisis.
“We also led the
charge on workers' compensation reform, in the face of stiff resistance from
the status quo Democratic majority whose members made clear to us that any
reform opposed by the unions was automatically off the table. Undeterred, we
kept up the fight. To this day, we are pushing for inclusion of
the causation standard in workers' compensation claims, adding real teeth and
cost-savings to the law enacted last year. Tort reform is another area where
union opposition has thwarted common-sense reforms.
“Simply put, not
every legislator in Springfield is beholden to government employee unions. Everyone knows that public sector unions
are a core Democratic constituency. The millions of dollars in campaign
contributions from these unions generally flow to one party, and it's not
Republicans. Union campaign
contributions to Republicans are a tiny fraction of the tens of millions given
to Democrats. In fact, this year alone, public sector union campaign
contributions to House Republicans amount to just 3 percent of the total that
those very same unions have given to Speaker Madigan's organization.
“We
recognize the concerns Rauner raised and share the commitment to help restore
Illinois to a fiscally sane, common-sense path. What some on the outside
looking in may not realize, however, is that legislative Republicans have been
the leading voice for reform for years, long before the need was recognized at
the Statehouse. Working together, we can enact the reforms we all agree are
needed” — Tom Cross, House Republican leader, Oswego.
Printed as a comment under “Pension Support” in Voice of the People, The Chicago Tribune
Printed as a comment under “Pension Support” in Voice of the People, The Chicago Tribune
This is actual pain.
ReplyDeleteAdding the insult of endorsing/blessing/approving Cross after the injury of giving him our money is intolerable. No degree of incompetence could accomplish this. Who is getting what for selling us out?
Ken Previti