Prairie State Wire

Critics of Amendment 1 are warning the proposed change in the Illinois Constitution would result in a vast overhaul of the state's regulatory environment in favor of unions.

“A review of Illinois’ state statutes shows the amendment would allow government unions to override more than 350 provisions related to schools, children and other residents,” Mailee Smith and Perry Zhao wrote in a heavily researched report called “Above the Law” for Illinois Policy. “Even those 350-plus provisions are likely just a fraction, because the language of Amendment 1 is so broad it’s hard to predict every potential state law that could be undermined. That’s because the way Amendment 1 is written, it would allow government unions to nullify state laws simply by including contrary provisions in their union contracts.”


Among the laws the amendment could allow collective bargaining agreement to override include – among many others – protections for schoolchildren, immunization regulations, school curriculum and protecting wards of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

The so-called “Protect Our Jobs” Act failed in 2012 in Michigan, which set a precedent for Illinois law. At the time, the libertarian think tank Mackinac Center for Public Policy said the amendment would have undermined 170 laws.

“They would have the ability to veto laws past, present and future," Mackinac Center Director of Labor Policy Vinnie Vernuccio said of Michigan's amendment. "They could go back decades if they wanted to.”

That amendment – similar to Illinois’ – was heavily backed by teachers unions.

Illinois Policy further noted that union bosses who do not like existing sections of state code will be able to introduce language in state contracts contradicting and essentially unilaterally overwriting that code.

“For example, one provision prohibits anyone who has committed a sex offense from being licensed to teach. It also provides no one convicted of a drug offense can be licensed to teach or supervise until seven years after the end of the sentence,” the report notes.

The law would also allow for unions to mandate medical care, such as vaccines.

“Teachers unions could demand other vaccination requirements – such as that all district students have COVID-19 vaccinations – in their contracts, claiming it a negotiable subject because it pertains to 'safety at work,'” the report notes.

Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey recently released a statement against such policies.

“As governor, my administration will oppose mandating COVID vaccines for grade school, college and employment. We all know the mandate candidate, (Gov.) J.B. Pritzker, will force it on your kids because he thinks the government knows better than parents,” Bailey said.

Amendment 1 would also allow teachers unions to level their aim at school curriculum such as that panned by Paul Rossi, a mathematics teacher and writer,  who broke down questionable Black Lives Matter curriculum steeped in critical race theory introduced at the University of Chicago Lab School.

"Crafty and deceitful messaging like this exploits a child’s foundational need to be seen as a good person. By linking moral worth to their submissive assent, the teacher muzzles doubt and effectively compels adoption of the principles. This is a powerful tactic when used on adults, let alone on a 9-year-old," Rossi wrote on Legal Insurrection.

The Department of Children and Family Services would also be open to allowing those with criminal backgrounds more access to children as well as for a more permissive attitude when government employees tasked with caring for the state’s wards make mistakes.

That comes after a series of allegations of gross misconduct against DCFS.

CBS Chicago reported that a mentally disabled 5-year-old girl was forced to sleep on a couch in a DCFS office rather than being placed in an appropriate home.

"A 5-year-old girl with special needs, including autism, is sleeping in a DCFS office for six nights now, which of course is unacceptable," Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert said.

DCFS’s track record is a poor one with a number of high-profile child deaths.

Following an investigation, the Frank Mautino Auditor General's Office discovered that DCFS “was unable to provide 192 of the 195 (98%) required Home Safety Checklists.”

DCFS Director Marc Smith has been found in contempt of court 12 times for refusing to answer in court to alleged mistreatment of children in the system.

Similarly, Illinois Policy said in its warning against more permissive language that would make it even more difficult to fire “bad actors” in government workplaces, allow for political activities while on the job and allow municipal officials to “double dip” by holding several elected offices.

In addition, the group warns Amendment 1 could allow for the unionization of elected officials, end the prohibition of government employment by those convicted of violent crimes, further hamper termination of government employees for misconduct and factor heavily into public safety policies, such as requiring police to wear body cams.  

“Amendment 1 would suppress the voices of the people and their representatives,” Illinois Policy noted.