Jim Byrne
“There was never a good time for this amendment and what they want to do, and this couldn’t happen at a worse time when people are struggling financially at home. People are barely making ends meet as it is here in Illinois.”
“We are one of the highest-taxed states in the country, especially with property taxes and what a lot of people don’t realize about this amendment is that, if it passes, it irreversibly strengthens collective bargaining in the public sector. They’re trying to woo the private sector, but this has nothing to do with the private sector unions.”
“I hope everybody voting realizes this Amendment won’t help with nurses or construction workers.”
“And the fact that they are using misleading wording and they’re trying to sneak it by has me worried. It was very well calculated how they’re putting this out there and packaging it.
“I was previously the vice chairman of the Kankakee County Board, so I have some working knowledge of the public sector and working especially with collective bargaining units.”
“There are good people in the public-sector unions. I work with them in county government, but for these union bosses, labor leaders and the politicians who they contribute to and negotiate with, Amendment 1 is nothing more than just another attempt to get more of our money that failed in the progressive tax vote of 2020.”
“Union bosses would be able to say, ‘We deserve a 5% raise and we’re going to take it,’ and there’s nothing voters or lawmakers can do while those raises are passed through onto the taxpayer.”
“Illinois doesn’t have a revenue problem. Illinois has a spending problem. And Amendment 1 is just going to compound that because they can’t get enough of our money and they’re doing all they can to get more of it.”
“Illinois doesn’t need a ‘Workers’ Rights Amendment’ because workers are already heavily protected in Illinois. Amendment 1 is just going to make Illinois even less business-friendly.”
Jim Byrne
Business development specialist, morning co- host on WKAN
Bradley, Illinois
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