Macon Reporter

Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Paris) recently posted on Facebook and criticized Amendment 1. 

The amendment would create a constitutional amendment regarding collective bargaining in Illinois.

"Amendment 1 is scheduled to be on Illinois' Nov. 8 ballot after a petition filed by parents and teachers from Chicago Public Schools to remove it from the ballot was blocked by a Sangamon County Judge last month," Halbrook said in the post. "Under the guise of 'collective bargaining rights,' the measure will unconstitutionally enshrine union powers in the Illinois Constitution, making it impossible for lawmakers to curb union powers and giving union contracts more weight than state law. Labor organizations have already spent millions of dollars promoting the amendment."

The Illinois General Assembly referred the constitutional amendment to the Nov. 8 general election, according to the legislature's website. This occurred when the amendment was adopted on May 26, 2021, in both the House and Senate. The amendment would allow employees to organize and bargain collectively through their chosen representatives. They would be able to negotiate wages, hours, and working conditions and protect their economic welfare and safety at work. The synopsis of the amendment said that the provisions listed in it would overrule home rule powers.

Raylene Grischow, a Sangamon County Circuit Court judge, ruled against the plaintiffs in the case of Sachen v. Illinois State Board of Elections in June, Advantage News reported. The lawsuit sought to keep Amendment 1 off the ballot in November. The court decided to block the petition due to the process that lawmakers undertook to place it on the ballot. The judge's reasoning was that lawmakers got the amendment on the ballot legally, so they cannot petition to have it removed.

The amendment would give teachers' unions power over children's health, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. 

"The constitutional change on the Nov. 8 ballot seeks to give teachers' unions more power than state law," members of the think tank said recently. "It is an example of special interest groups having a louder voice in the lives of Illinois children than their own parents or elected lawmakers. The change is called Amendment 1 and would grant Illinois public workers' union bosses powers that no other state allows them."

The Illinois Policy Institute was among the plaintiffs in the Sachen v. Illinois State Board of Elections case. Mailee Smith, director of labor policy and staff attorney for the organization, issued a statement after Grachow's ruling in June, the Liberty Justice Center noted.

"We are committed to pursuing our claims in court and ensuring Illinois voters are not forced to vote on an unconstitutional amendment," she said. "The law is clear that Amendment 1 would do more than the state is allowed to do. Illinoisans deserve to have this addressed now, not later. Not after their tax dollars have been wasted putting an unconstitutional measure on the ballot. We look forward to our next opportunity to argue on behalf of taxpayers."