Privatizing some medical services provided to inmates in the Illinois Department of Corrections could potentially save the state $8 million a year. But the Illinois Nurses Association has a history of doing all it can to keep taxpayers on the hook for that money – and for union jobs that might not even be necessary.

A bill sitting on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk is all about preserving union jobs – placing union priorities above the people of Illinois.

Senate Bill 19 could prevent the state from providing the best, most cost-effective medical services for inmates in the Illinois Department of Corrections, and it forces the state to pay for employees that may not be necessary.

The Illinois Nurses Association is lobbying for a bill that would force taxpayers to pay for Illinois Department of Corrections medical employees who are no longer needed and would impede the state’s ability to subcontract to improve medical services for inmates.

Under the union’s complicated salary formulas, yearly government-worker raises are higher than the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees would lead Illinoisans to believe.