Illinois can only hope that governor-elect Bruce Rauner won’t take to many plays out of the playbook of Rick Perry, Chris Christie and Scott Walker.
By Jennifer Rice
Managing Editor
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014
Email Jennifer Rice at: jen@foxvalley
labornews.com
AURORA — The voters have spoken and Bruce Rauner is now Illinois’ governor-elect and the Republicans have taken control of the U.S. Senate.
On the upside, Sen.Dick Durbin, Congressman Bill Foster, Sen. Linda Holmes, State Representatives Linda Chapa LaVia and Stephanie Kifowit will all continue to serve their constituents.
Illinois State Association of Letter Carriers President Ken Christy said the election was a “devastating loss for us.”
“We lost not only the governor, but we lost Brad Schneider in the 10th and Bill Enyart in the 12th. 2010 was very similar to this, so we’ve see these losses before,” Christy explained.
He, along with Kane County Chairman Mark Guethle, shared a stage Nov. 4 with Congressman Bill Foster as Foster thanked his voters for a win.
“Because of you, we were able to hold on and win in what was obviously a very tough night for Democrats,” Foster said.
He hopes the Democrats victories it earned will send a message to Washington and Republican leadership that voters are tired of the “intransigence, the gridlock and the partisan bickering.”
Guthle acknowledged that low turnout throughout the state didn’t help Quinn with this re-election bid.
“We really need Quinn. He’s a friend of labor and Bruce Rauner is a right-to-work advocate. He’s openly said he’d like to make Illinois a right-to-work state,” Guthle said.
He added he’s afraid Rauner will go after prevailing wage, and he’s confident Rauner will turn pension plans into 401(k).
“What he’d like to do is freeze everybody’s wages. It’s ok for him to make what he wants, he just doesn’t think a painter, electrician, carpenter or plumber should be making $40 an hour,” Guethle said.
Moving forward it’s all about regrouping and keeping organized labor together.
“The Democrats are confident, with the allies we already have in place, with Mike Madigan and John Cullerton, we’ll be able to play defense well enough to stop the Republicans and all the anti-work provisions they will want to try and pass,” Guthle said.
In the end, problems still need to be solved — and the will be. “We’re going to have a struggle on our hands, but we’re not going to get depressed, we’re going to start regrouping and do what we have to do,” Christy explained.
This election did not go down without a fight from organized labor. Members knocked on doors, mailed flyers and phone banked, all in the name a victory.
“Organized labor did there part — that I can tell you that much,” Guthle said. He manned countless evenings at the Painters District Council 30 phone banking events and traveled to job sites to spread the word.
“This is what happens when people don’t vote,” he explained.
All Democrats might be able to say now is election are like buses — there is always another one coming just around the corner.