Friday, February 18, 2011

Wisconsin unions: Fleeing Wisconsin lawmakers bring circus to Illinois resort - latimes.com

Wisconsin unions: Fleeing Wisconsin lawmakers bring circus to Illinois resort - latimes.com: "A Rockford hotel and water park took on a circus-like atmosphere Thursday as a band of runaway Wisconsin legislators milled about the lobby and parking lot, a news chopper hovered overhead and a TV reporter chased after a leprechaun.

It was enough to make Bernie Thiteca, who owns a local factory, order a second glass of white wine at the hotel bar and bemoan the invading Wisconsinites who brought such chaos across the border into Illinois.

'I think they're traitors,' Thiteca said of the protesting Democratic senators, who fled their state to prevent passage of a Republican-backed bill that would force most unionized state workers to pay half their pension costs and 12.6% of their healthcare coverage. 'Whether you're GOP or Democrat doesn't matter. Never leave the battlefield.'

The 14 Democrats' absence left the state Senate one vote short of a quorum, and thus unable to act."

No comments:

Post a Comment