Illinois Republican Party

Republicans question pay to play on Quinn cash
7/28/2010

By Rich Miller - Capitol Fax

I’ve been telling my subscribers about massive labor union donations to Gov. Quinn for weeks. The Republicans are a bit late to the game, but better late than never, I suppose…

Two leading state Republicans questioned [yesterday] whether union donations given last month to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn had anything to do with administration pressure on road builders to settle a strike that had brought area highway construction to a halt.

Pat Brady, the state GOP chairman, and unsuccessful Republican governor candidate Kirk Dillard tried to tie the donations to the trial of Quinn’s predecessor, disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, which was being held across the street from the site of their news conference in downtown Chicago.

Quinn blasted the allegations as a political ploy.

Both Republicans wouldn’t say whether they believed the donations led to actions by the Illinois Department of Transportation to threaten road construction firms with a rebidding of contracts and other moves if roadbuilders didn’t settle with union workers. They said they were only “questioning” if pay to play politics had occurred.

More…

Dillard and Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady are linking Governor Pat Quinn’s acceptance in June of a $500,000 campaign contribution from labor unions to the administration’s intervention in July aimed at ending a laborer’s strike that shut down highway and construction projects.

On July 19, Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig sent a letter to inform road builders their state highway contracts might be rebid if the work stoppage continued.

“In fact, the letter sent by Secretary Hannig is very threatening in its tone. It is not impartial,” said Dillard.

“I think it’s sickening that citizens could again be subjected to the same pay-to-play politics that rocked Illinois under Rod Blagojevich,” Pat Brady said

It wasn’t one $500,000 contribution. It was several totaling about that amount, from the Operating Engineers and the Laborers.

The governor responds…

“When you take a look at that letter from your transportation secretary to the contractors, it seemed to be pressuring the contractors more than unions. How does that not pass the smell test?” Levine asked Quinn.

“That’s a lot of baloney, and you know it and they know it,” Quinn replied. “We told the unions the same thing we told the contractors: get to the bargaining table, be serious, resolve your differences. They came up with a contract.” […]

“That’s a smear,” Quinn shot back, “And those who made it, the Brady Bunch, know it’s a smear. It’s totally untrue, it’s completely untrue, and they know it. It’s all politics.”

Though Quinn made no apologies for his allegiance to labor.

“The unions, they have a right to support their candidate, and I happen to be their candidate,” said Quinn.

Actually, the letter was quite one-sided, even though IDOT claimed to remain “impartial” in the matter.

Not only could IDOT have cost the contractors a fortune in loss of their incentive bonuses, but they were in danger, via a PLA, of actually being replaced by contractors who would sign a union deal.

The contractors caved almost immediately.

Quinn is definitely a pro-union guy. Those big contributions certainly raise questions that he has to answer. The question is whether he knew about the strike when he got that money. I’m told he didn’t. But it’s a fair hit.

SOURCE: Capitol Fax

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