Editorial: Challenge Illinois Public Sector Unions, Go to Jail. Seriously?

November 3, 2017

[Editorial - Chicago Tribune] - We’ve long suspected that many Illinois Democrats would tax sunshine and bakery scents if they could. Look at how Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle went after soda by the ounce. Our advice: Enjoy what you can while you can, because you never know what’s next.

The beverage tax (soon to be history, thankfully) seems a nuisance compared to a nasty corollary we saw recently employed by Democrats in Springfield: What we can’t tax, we’ll threaten with jail time.

It’s a disturbing worldview, but this is the political pattern in Illinois: Do everything to benefit those who can deliver money and campaign muscle. Everyone else, including most taxpayers and employers, can get lost. 

Our example today is a pro-union bill in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly that would prevent Illinois municipalities from setting up right-to-work zones, in which employees in union-protected positions could choose whether to join and pay dues. For legislators who are tightly aligned with organized labor, the proposed ban hits the spot. But it apparently wasn’t enough of a hint to local officials and employers about who really runs Illinois. So the bill’s backers included a stunning clause that said any elected official who defies the state ban on right-to-work zones would be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. 

A Class A misdemeanor, if you’re wondering, is one step below a felony; it’s punishable by up to a year in jail. The outrageous message this bill sends to the world: Don’t even think of challenging organized labor in Illinois because we lock up troublemakers. 

The threat of jail time is gratuitous. If a local official defies Illinois law, the state can act to enforce compliance. There’s no need to threaten mayors or others with criminal prosecution. We asked around among legislative observers and couldn’t find a similar example. This was a brushback pitch by labor’s pet lawmakers. 

Note that this isn’t just a goofy proposal going nowhere. House and Senate members actually passed it. More in a moment. 

The specific target of the bill, we assume, is suburban Lincolnshire, which passed a right-to-work ordinance in 2015 that is now being challenged by labor unions in federal court. 

Our concern is the damage this proposal does to Illinois’ reputation among employers as an attractive place to do business. States are in constant competition to attract and retain investment and jobs. Chicago hopes to lure Amazon’s second headquarters, which will employ up to 50,000 people. Illinois was bypassed by Foxconn, a tech giant, and Toyota and Mazda. Something scared them off. We wonder what. 

Employers looking to invest and hire want to enter partnerships with local governments. Amazon couldn't be clearer in its request for site proposals: "A stable and business-friendly environment and tax structure will be high-priority considerations.” 

What do employers see in Illinois? High taxes, vast public debts and pension obligations nobody bothered to fund, onerous business regulations and a powerful adversary in the form of unions backed by elected officials. 

Here’s where right-to-work laws enter the picture: They don’t ban unions, they give individuals the freedom-of-association choice of whether to join and pay dues. That puts pressure on labor organizers to justify membership. Employers see right-to-work status as shorthand for a flexible, pro-growth environment that is welcoming to commerce. There are 28 right-to-work states. Illinois isn’t one of them. Wisconsin and Indiana are, and wouldn’t you know it, they are adding manufacturing jobs at a far faster clip than Illinois is. 

Given the politics here, Illinois won’t adopt right-to-work status anytime soon. That’s why Gov. Bruce Rauner initially proposed allowing communities to establish their own zones. The General Assembly saw Lincolnshire’s effort as a threat to kith and kin. So both chambers passed the local-right-to-work ban, which Rauner then vetoed. Two weeks ago, sponsors attempted to override the veto but came up one vote short in the House. The bill could come up for another override attempt within days. Opponents raised enough noise over the jail threat that sponsoring Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, said he would remove the criminal penalty. If so, that’s only because he needs that additional one vote. 

But what will be the next 10 bills in which legislators try to put uncooperative local officials behind bars? 

Illinois’ future won’t be determined by a workplace experiment in Lincolnshire. The economy won’t wither if the state remains a right-to-work holdout. Something has to give, though. Elected officials need to make Illinois more attractive to employers. Reforming tax policy, balancing the budget and addressing the pension crisis are good ways to advertise that Illinois is open for business. Criminalizing an economic development tool is not.