Courtesy of Illinois Policy

With less than six months to go until the November 8th general election, Illinois Policy experts are raising warnings about an amendment on the ballot that would lead to alarming consequences for Illinois residents. Analysis from Illinois Policy shows Amendment 1 – dubbed a “workers’ rights amendment” by its proponents – would give special interest groups unchecked power to guarantee higher taxes and nullify more than 350 Illinois laws. It also violates the U.S. Constitution. 

What Illinoisans need to know about Amendment 1: 

Amendment 1 would give government union leaders unchecked power by guaranteeing the right to bargain over virtually anything as a “fundamental right.” The amendment would prohibit lawmakers from ever restricting the subjects that can be bargained for or from limiting the length of union contracts. 

Amendment 1 would change the state constitution but violates the U.S. Constitution because it usurps federal authority. Amendment 1 would apply to both private and public sector employees, but the National Labor Relations Act already governs private-sector collective bargaining nationwide. 

Amendment 1 would allow union contracts to overpower more than 350 state laws, some overseeing health and safety of children. For example, state prohibitions against employing “sexually dangerous” persons in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services could be nullified. 

To learn more about Amendment 1, visit www.illin.is/countdown.