Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady is calling for more transparency from Gov. Pat Quinn about campaign contributions he is expected to pocket from public employee unions within the next two weeks.
Brady is pressing for more details on an agreement that was recently struck between Quinn and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – the largest union in Illinois.
Quinn agreed not to lay off Illinois union workers or close any facilities where AFSCME members are employed until June 2012. Two days later, the union publicly announced that it would be supporting Quinn and agreed to come up with $50 to $100 million in spending cuts. Causing further uproar, Quinn brought along state budget director David Vaught, the man behind the union negotiations, to his endorsement meeting.
“Pat Quinn is no different from the same political insiders he once protested,” Brady said.
Brady also suggested in a recent press release that Gov. Quinn has signed legislation in the past that calls for openness about large public donations. The A-1 disclosure period starts Oct. 4, meaning it’s only a matter of time until the large union donations will be made public.
“Show us any ASFCME, SEIU, or other public employee union contributions and prove to the public that you are Pat Quinn the reformer,” Brady said. “Or hide the donations, abide by the same failed campaign laws Rod Blagojevich abused, and be remembered as Quinn, the governor who learned from the pay-to-play master himself — Rod Blagojevich.”
“This controversy has been manufactured because we’re in the middle of a political season,” AFSCME Council 31 spokesman Anders Lindall said. “Normally, an agreement like this would not draw a lot of attention or opposition.”
Lindall went on to say AFSCME has not decided to trade their support for Quinn because he’s promised not to cut jobs., but rather, that the decision is “based on the fact that he is more supportive of workers than his Republican opponent.”
Steve Kim, the Republican candidate for Illinois attorney general, has called on Attorney General Lisa Madigan to issue an investigation on whether any laws have been broken.
“Lisa Madigan has subpoena power, she can investigate, she needs to protect the taxpayers of Illinois,” said Kim. “She needs to follow the money.”
“The governor is proud of his close ties with the AFSCME. Those are the people Gov. Quinn is looking out for and will always look out for. Pat Quinn will never let down the workers of Illinois,” Quinn spokesperson Mica Matsoff explained.
Matsoff went on to say that Quinn did not enter the agreement looking for a “quid pro quo” contract, but that the governor is concerned about the workers of Illinois, and that the deal will save the state millions of dollars.