Not all bad news on Election Night
For public employees and others in the Illinois labor movement, the outcome of the governor’s race was undoubtedly a big disappointment.
However, AFSCME members can take heart from other races which demonstrated that candidates who stand with public employees and defend public services can win, even in the worst of political climates.
Among constitutional officers, Republican State Comptroller, Judy Barr Topinka, who was backed by AFSCME, won re-election. Topinka had spoken out forcefully against cutting public employee pension benefits and in favor of paying back wages owed to state workers.
In the 71st House District around Moline, Democratic Rep. Mike Smiddy prevailed in a tight contest over his opponent.
Smiddy, an AFSCME member who worked at East Moline Correctional Center before being elected to the General Assembly, has a 100-percent voting record on issues important to AFSCME members.
In the 103rd House District, which includes Champaign-Urbana, AFSCME-backed Democrat, Carol Ammons, won handily election to a rare open seat. Ammons is on the record supporting efforts to have pension cuts overturned and is also a defender of collective bargaining rights for public employees.
At the national level, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin won out over his Republican challenger and most incumbent members of the House of Representatives from Illinois were re-elected, including Jan Schakowsky, Cherie Bustos and Tammy Duckworth, all of whom had 100 percent AFSCME voting records.
AFSCME members also helped win resounding victories for two advisory ballot questions: Raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour won 66 percent of the vote, while raising taxes on millionaires to fund education received 64 percent.
“Tuesday’s election showed that candidates who stand with public employees and aren’t afraid to defend vital public services still have the support of voters,” Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said. “As we prepare for the battles ahead, we hope other elected officials will take that lesson to heart and stand with hard-working frontline public service workers.”
Click here for a list of outcomes in all races in which AFSCME made a recommendation.