IEA Government Relations Director Jim Reed The Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn May 31. And for the first time in a long time, they may actually adjourn on time. To date, we have dramatically stepped up our efforts at the Capitol and in the field to educate the members of the General Assembly [...]

IEA Government Relations Director Jim Reed The race to adjournment at the end of May is going to be a very intense ride and we’ve spent a tremendous amount of time in the last week plotting out the next two weeks. A key development we’ve been waiting for occurred Thursday, when the House Personnel and [...]

The countdown is on and with less than a month until the scheduled adjournment date for the Illinois General Assembly, there is much work to be done. Gov. Pat Quinn’s FY 2010 budget as introduced has yet to be seen in bill form. The draft versions that we have seen are less than comforting. However, [...]

Never has it been more important for IEA members to become part of the political process. On May 6, you’ll have a chance to show, en masse, that current proposals on the table for this legislative session are unacceptable to you. The proposed measures could not only cut into your paychecks, but deal a wallop [...]

The Capitol Buzz Lobby Day Never has it been more important for IEA members to become part of the political process. On May 6, you’ll have a chance to show, en masse, that current proposals on the table for this legislative session are unacceptable to you. The proposed measures could not only cut into your [...]

Make your voices heard at Back Home Lobby Days Starting Monday, you can talk to your legislators in their home offices. Back Home Lobby Days are April 6-18. IEA has provided a plethora of information on how to prepare for these meetings. Nothing makes a bigger impression on a lawmaker than a face-to-face conversation with [...]

At Home Lobby Days On April 6 to 18, members that want to defend public education and their retirement security are asked to lobby their legislators. Those two weeks are when legislators will be at their home offices and we encourage members to tell their elected officials why the governor’s budget is not a good [...]

On Wednesday, Gov. Pat Quinn presented his joint State of the State and 2010 Budget Address, outlining his plan for pulling the state up out of a two-year budget deficit of $11.6 billion. The proposal is one Quinn purports to address the needs of the state, but it comes at a great cost to IEA [...]

The Capitol Buzz Committee on Deficit Reduction — Now the real work begins. On Tuesday, the newly-created Senate Committee on Deficit Reduction met for the first time. It’s charged with listening to testimony from various interest groups and to help the General Assembly decide how to reduce the $9 billion state deficit. The hearing was [...]

Capitol Buzz On Wednesday, representatives from all of the public employee unions (IEA, IFT, AFSCME, Teamsters, SEIU) met with Governor Quinn to discuss pension reform. The groups are strongly opposed to any proposals that would diminish the protections afforded their members. The meeting also focused on the need for a new sustainable, reliable revenue source [...]