If you are able to get away for mid-day events, you will be glad you took a few hours to attend the press conference described below.  The NTDO has many friends on the panel: Nancy Chen is a Naperville Township Resident and long-time friend of the NTDO, Ron Allen and Lynn Pries are NTDO PCs, and our own Bill Habel will be moderating the discussion.  Not to mention the value of showing support for the many, many people who are being harmed by the Governor’s intransigent anti-union single-mindedness (see, e.g., here, here, here, here and many others).

PRESS ADVISORY

Contact: Rianne Hawkins, Illinois AFL-CIO
Phone: 217.492.4062 (office)/217.299.1315 (cell)

What: Community leaders, union members and members of the clergy come together to discuss the effects that Governor Rauner’s anti-middle class agenda will have on DuPage County.

When: Friday, October 30, 2015 at 10:00am

Where: Laborers Local 68 Union Hall (660 E. North Avenue in Lombard)

Participating in the news conference will be Dan Allen (Executive Director of the Construction Industry Service Corporation), Dave Menchetti (attorney), Nancy Chen, (former Midwest Regional Director of the Women’s Bureau, US Department of Labor), Ronald Allen (retired small business owner), Dr. Lynn Pries (United Methodist Church). Also joining the panel will be State Senator Tom Cullerton and State Representative Deb Conroy.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Rianne Hawkins, Illinois AFL-CIO
Phone: 217.492.2624 (office)/217.299.1315 (cell)

Business Leaders and Community Activists Highlight
the Problems with Governor Rauner’s Agenda

Today, community leaders, state leaders and union members gathered together to discuss the effects that the so-called reforms that Governor Rauner is pushing would have on the DuPage County area.

Governor Rauner has been stalling budget negotiations by pushing his so-called “turnaround agenda” for months at the Capitol and getting nowhere with lawmakers. Many legislators have refused to support his agenda, citing the fact that the effects would devastate the middle class in Illinois.

The panel discussed topics ranging from the impact of further reforms to the Worker’s Compensation Act, the elimination of prevailing wage and the devastating effects of the continued budget impasse on working families and the most vulnerable in our society. These anti-middle class, anti-family policies will have a profound impact on DuPage County communities.

“I have been very troubled by the path which Governor Rauner has chosen to take,” said Ronald Allen, a retired small business owner and Board Member of the Quad County Chamber of Commerce. “This continued instability in state finances is exactly what businesses do not what to see when they are looking to relocate to Illinois.”

As a result of his continued insistence on curbing labor and workplace protections, people who rely on currently unfunded state services are being hurt. Some agencies have even been forced to close their doors due to the uncertainty of the State’s budget.

“It is clear that the Governor had prioritized his anti-union agenda over the needs of the most vulnerable in our community,” said Dr. Lynn Pries, a minister with the United Methodist Church.

Another casualty of the State budget impasse involves the disbursement, or lack thereof, of funds to local governments. These local governments cannot adequately plan for future road and infrastructure improvements because they cannot plan on when that money will be disbursed.

“Governor Rauner’s continued advocacy for his anti-union agenda is short sighted and just plain wrong for Illinois,” said Dan Allen, Director of the Construction Industry Service Corporation. “His obsession with breaking the unions is not only already hurting our economy, but will further erode wages for middle class families here in DuPage County.”

Each of the panelists urged the Governor to stop holding the budget hostage in order to blackmail the state into adopting his so called reforms. These reforms would have a devastating effect not only on the communities in DuPage County, but for the rest of the State of Illinois, as well.

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