The Cook County College Teachers Union voted to strike by the end of October if an agreement is not reached. Union members are demanding subsidies for student housing and child care costs along with higher wages and smaller classes.

Illinois government unions admit spending very little on representing workers – the core purpose of a union. Maybe that’s why so many government workers are leaving the unions. Now government union bosses want taxpayers to pay for union failures.

An Illinois appellate court cleared the way for Amendment 1 to stay on the Nov. 8 ballot. Regardless of whether the change to the state constitution might violate the U.S. Constitution, the process for putting it on the ballot was valid, justices ruled.

Amendment 1 would allow government unions to make demands outside the normal scope of bargaining. Those demands would come at a cost – to taxpayers.

Only $134 of each Chicago Teachers Union member’s dues is actually spent on representing Chicago Public Schools teachers. The rest is spent on other CTU leadership priorities and on the union hierarchy.