Amendment 1 gives extreme powers to government unions. Illinois’s Constitution should not be altered to give special treatment to one group at the expense of others. The language in the proposed amendment does not include any limits on the powers that would be given to union employees. What is not disclosed by the amendment’s proponents is that it only impacts government union members because federal law already covers private-sector unions.

The list of some of the unions that support the amendment includes AFSCME Council 31, the Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois Federation of Teachers.

Amendment 1 limits the ability of our elected representatives to govern. It will carry the weight of the Constitution, and it will allow public unions to override state laws. If the unions don’t like a particular law, they can address that issue in their collective bargaining agreement and override the law. It expands bargaining beyond wages and benefits to include broad new subjects, such as “economic welfare.”

The Chicago Teachers Union has already tried to negotiate into their contract nontraditional “economic” issues such as affordable housing.

Special interests should not be embedded in our state’s Constitution. Vote No.

Darren M. Storck

Lake in the Hills