Around the country, Conservatives are pushing back on the Liberal agenda -- and winning! This isn't just happening in Wisconsin. It is happening in Ohio, Indiana and even places like Massachusettes. Think about that. The Democratically controlled Massachusette's House voted to curb public sector union rights 111-42.
Back to Illinois. Are Republicans rallying flag for the taxpayers attempting to limit public sector union rights? No. Are they laying out a detailed solution to the public sector pension problem? No. Are they offering a long term budget solution with significant cuts? No.
Right now, even something as simple as eliminating the corrupt, abusive, Legislative Scholarship Program does not garner all Republican support. For those of you who do not know what the Legislative Scholarship Program is, here is a review:
Each legislator has the authority to grant two tuition waivers to an in-state instituion. The University has to absorb the cost. Senator AJ Wilhelmi gave a tuition waiver to the nephew of the Larry Walsh, the Senator that proceeded him. BTW, AJ was appointed to the seat. He also gave waivers to the children of three other politically tied individuals. It's not just AJ, several stories have been written about politicians abusing this program. It costs the universities millions of dollars, and increases tuition for paying students. Eliminating this program should be easy.
State Senate Minority Leader Christine Rodagno has long advocated eliminating this program. Kudos to her. She speaks about it here. Senator McCann introduced legislation here. Democrat Jack Franks has introduced legislation. The questions is, "Where's Tom Cross?" This should be a "slam dunk". If the Republican Minority leader cannot even stand against this corrupt program, do we really think he is capable of fighting for something significant? He should call on his entire caucus to support an elimination of the program. If he can't even manage that, he should be removed to leadership.
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