Illinois government workers’ union dues being diverted to swing-state politics

By Mailee Smith

09/19/2024

Illinois government workers’ union dues fund Democratic Party campaign committees, which are now seeking to tip the presidential election outcome in swing states. That fails to align with at least 40% of members’ politics.

TAGS: SEIU: Service Employees International Union

$30K for pizza? No wonder nearly one-third of workers reject SEIU HCII union

By Mailee Smith

05/09/2024

Not even one-quarter of SEIU HCII’s spending is on representing workers – which should be its main priority. Yet dozens of its own employees make six-figure salaries and it has increased its spending on politics by nearly 9%. Oh, yeah: plus spent over $30,000 at a pizza parlor.

TAGS: SEIU: Service Employees International Union

One-third of SEIU workers reject union membership

By Mailee Smith

06/07/2023

It could be because less than 22% of SEIU HCII’s spending is on representing workers – what should be the core purpose of the union.

TAGS: SEIU: Service Employees International Union

Chicago-area firefighters win appeal to remove union from their workplace

By Dylan Sharkey

04/07/2022

Firefighters in a Chicago suburb won their appeal to remove the Service Employees International Union from their workplace. False claims by SEIU bosses complicated the process.

TAGS: Carpentersville, firefighters, SEIU: Service Employees International Union

Chicago-area firefighters battle to kick out union

By Mailee Smith

01/12/2022

Carpentersville firefighters collected enough signatures to trigger the removal of SEIU as their union, but SEIU is fighting back against their freedom to choose.

TAGS: Carpentersville, firefighters, government unions, SEIU: Service Employees International Union

Government unions invested $10M in Madigan, but could that end in 2021?

12/23/2020

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has funded a lot of campaigns – and his legal defense – with money from government unions. Even if unions still back him in the New Year, members have options.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, corruption, government unions, Mike Madigan, SEIU: Service Employees International Union, teachers

7 misleading progressive tax claims public unions are telling Illinois members

By Mailee Smith

09/30/2020

Government unions and their PACs have spent more than $1 million pushing the progressive tax on the Nov. 3 ballot – and are using misleading information.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, fair tax, IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, IFT: Illinois Federation of Teachers, progressive tax, SEIU: Service Employees International Union, Vote Yes for Fair Tax

How Illinois unions re-gifted member dues to Madigan for sexual harassment settlement

By Austin Berg

12/19/2019

So who wants to fund a highly unpopular politician’s sexual harassment settlement on behalf of a disgraced political worker under federal investigation? Executives at Illinois’ largest public-sector labor unions.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Alaina Hampton, Christmas, government unions, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Janus v. AFSCME, JB Pritzker, Kevin Quinn, Mike Madigan, PAC: political action committee, SEIU: Service Employees International Union, sexual harrassment, Springfield, unions

SEIU member dues fund Madigan campaign’s defense in sexual harassment lawsuit

By Mailee Smith

12/16/2019

SEIU’s political action committees gave $113,200 to Friends of Michael J. Madigan – the same election committee the longtime Illinois House speaker used to pay legal fees in a sexual harassment lawsuit against his organization.

TAGS: Alaina Hampton, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois State Board of Elections, Mike Madigan, SEIU: Service Employees International Union, sexual harrassment, Springfield

Rauner vetoes SEIU-backed bills that would have cost over $100M annually

By Heather Weiner

07/30/2016

Two bills attempting to provide taxpayer-funded training programs for SEIU would have been costly for the state.

TAGS: labor, SEIU: Service Employees International Union, unions

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...

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Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

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Brandi Lentz

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students