Attempt to derail Workers’ Rights Amendment fails

An effort to block voters from deciding whether Illinois’ constitution should establish rights for workers has been derailed by a Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Judge in Springfield.

The ruling is a key victory in an election that expects to have millions of dollars spent by billionaires to attack workers’ rights in general and the proposed constitutional guarantee in particular.

Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow, a Republican, in May rejected a lawsuit by the conservative Liberty Justice Center to stop the state from spending taxpayer funds to place the Workers’ Rights Amendment on the November ballot.  The Liberty Justice Center is tied to the right-wing Illinois Policy Institute, which joined with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation to represent Mark Janus in the landmark Janus v. AFSCME  case, which made its way to the U.S Supreme Court in 2017, when the Court determined that public-sector non-union members don’t have to pay union “agency fees” even if they benefit from the union’s work on their behalf.

The ruling could be appealed.

The ballot measure – which needs 60% of those voting on the measure itself, or a majority of those voting in the overall election – would make Illinois one of a few states that guarantee the right to collective bargaining as part of their constitutions. If successful, it would prevent future state General Assemblies from passing anti-union “Right-To-Work” legislation without voters’ approval.

The Illinois General Assembly in May 2021 overwhelmingly passed the proposed amendment, which will be on the ballot as “Amendment 1.” If approved, it would establish a constitutional right for Illinois employees to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their choice to negotiate “wages, hours, and working conditions and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work.”

The measure also would prohibit state and local governments from adopting “Right-To-Work” laws or ordinances that outlaw union-security agreements requiring workers benefiting from union contracts to share in the costs of union representation.

In April, the Liberty Justice Center’s Jacob Huebert and the Illinois Policy Institute’s Mailee Smith filed a 27-page suit claiming that the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) preempts state laws that regulate collective bargaining and therefore can’t use public funds to place the question before voters.

Judge Grischow disagreed, saying there were “no reasonable grounds” for keeping the measure off the ballot. In her nine-page decision, Grischow said that “some parts of the amendment were clearly not preempted, and that the legislature had properly placed the proposal on the ballot.

“Petitioner’s claims fail as a matter of law, and impermissibly seek an advisory opinion as to constitutional issues … [which] may never progress beyond the realm of the hypothetical,” Grischow wrote. “There is no basis for denying the voters the opportunity to decide whether to enact a state right to collective bargaining as a supplement or backup to federal rights secured by the NLRA.

“The proposed Amendment would serve at least three permissible purposes,” she continued. “First, it would create rights for public employees, which Petitioners concede is not preempted by the NLRA. Second, it would restrain the power of the General Assembly to pass laws restricting union-security agreements, a subject left open to the states. Third, it would act as a state-law failsafe to preserve rights for private-sector employees in the event the federal government ever decided to abandon the NLRA.

“There are no grounds for denying the voters the opportunity to decide whether to add the Workers’ Rights Amendment to the Illinois constitution,” she added.

The Illinois General Assembly in May 2021 passed by a bipartisan vote – 49-7 in the state Senate, and 80-30 (with 3 “present”) in the state House. Peoria’s Sen. Dave Koehler and Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth were co-sponsors of the measure.

Illinois State Senator Ram Villivalam (D), who authored the measure, told Don Wiener of the Center for Media and Democracy that old and new barriers to organizing “have only exacerbated the income inequalities and wage gaps existing between diverse groups, especially the huge difference in what workers get and what management gets. Putting collective bargaining rights into the state constitution is a way for workers, unions and the community to move forward.”

Besides the Illinois Policy Institute and Liberty Justice Center, organizations opposing the Workers’ Rights Amendment include the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, and the National Federation of Independent Business.

Humbling, hopeful ‘Wings over Water’ at Peoria Riverfront Museum

With so many wetlands drained and plowed, conservationists such as Charlie Potter, CEO of the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation and a producer of the new “Wings over Water” documentary, decided people don’t know enough about it and resolved to “change the perceptions,” he told a preview audience at Peoria’s Riverfront Museum, where the state’s largest screen will show it this year.

The result is a joyful, informative and alarming film.

Featuring stunning 3D, high-definition cinematography by director Andrew Young (“Backyard Wilderness”) and footage from Michael Male and Neil Rettig, the 45-minute gem showcases the importance of wetlands in the upper Midwest, the millions of migratory birds that depend on it, and threats to the vitality of the freshwater marshes of the Prairie Pothole region. An area of some 300,000 square miles extending from Iowa, Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana into the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the Prairie Pothole area is where more than 60% of North American ducks are born.

The delicate dynamics of migration and mating is moving, reminding viewers that some of the feathery, fragile birds come from Costa Rico, New Mexico and Arkansas to the Prairie Potholes. The mundane yet majestic continental travelers contribute to an ecosystem of harmony that’s also key to plants and people, from flood management to insect control.

Narrated by award-winning actor Michael Keaton, the film aims to increase public awareness and mention the story of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, key legislation enacted 30 years ago by far-sighted conservationists hoping to provide a continent-wide insurance policy for birds and their habitats.

“Wings over Water” is emotional as well as educational, since the loss of such habitat is also the loss of wildlife that greatly benefit the planet’s water, air and food.. Assisted by Wetlands America Trust, Dorsey Pictures, Peorians Diane and Doug Oberhelman, Ducks Unlimited and others, “Wings over Water is a magnificent call to action.

A sampling snapshot of Peoria brews

Beer goes beyond Homer Simpson and the less-animated Brett Kavanaugh, so I did a quick, light-hearted (not Lite-hearted) report from visits to a few Peoria breweries:

BEARDED OWL BREWING – Low Key Basic has a mild bitterness, like Bernie Sanders after Hillary’s 2016 nomination. Described as a “hazy” India pale ale, its sweet aftertaste features hops with an air of “Norway spruce,” but the toasty, restful result won’t make you feel like a lumberjack.

Shaky Knees, fermented with sourdough culture, is a strawberry/vanilla potion akin to some sort of Fizzie blast with a nice bite. Despite the key ingredients, it’s less fruity than full-bodied and floral.

 

INDUSTRY BREWING CO. – Sunday’s Sidework is a robust wheat, dry, spry, even grassy. It goes well with the joint’s “amber ambience” of Tidy Warehouse, with walls and fixtures adorned with corrugated metal and rough-hewn wood planks that give it a Destination setting..

2021 4 Roses Imperial Stout is a cherry vanilla concoction that might seem like a failed soda-fountain experiment, but it has a terrific tension, with a weighty heft yet a “Dramamine Dreamcicle” effect that clears your head and resists the strong stout dizziness that can befall Libation Loons.

 

OBED & ISAAC’S MICROBREWERY AND EATERY – Peoria Skyline, sipped in the stellar environment that used to be a church, and then a venue for weddings and music (I saw Johnny Winter there in 1989), the crisp delight has a citrus seasoning that’s slightly surprising but not overpowering.

Strawberry Blonde’s heady fragrance makes it a bright and wistful favorite: a real memory maker.

Full disclosure: I also had a Ditzy Blonde (rim shot!) with my brunch of Andouille sausage, and the smooth, savory beverage was as pleasant a companion as a good-humored teammate from a losing sports team.

 

RHODELL BREWERY – Mid West Wheat avoids the safe “amber waves of grain” imagery with a soft bite without the sense of drinking with training wheels.

Blueberry Cream Ale is more creamy than fruity, although the berry flavor is present. Swishing it around the mouth is as refreshing as homemade ice cream on a blistering summer afternoon.