Blagojevich

Illinois: Where Raising Taxes Isn’t Enough

1 August 14, 2011  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

Illinois taxpayers are having a rough go of it lately. While leaders in many states have reshaped their state governments to use public funds more efficiently and provide some relief to taxpayers, Illinois lawmakers have decided to go the other way on this issue. Illinois lawmakers went after people’s pocketbooks directly in early 2011, enacting […]

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PLA Projects Delayed By Chicago Construction Union Strike: Another PLA Myth Busted

2 July 17, 2010  State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure, Uncategorized

Government officials often argue that the increased costs and discriminatory and anti-competitive nature of union-favoring government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) are “bitter pills worth swallowing” for Big Labor’s promise not to strike, picket and engage in other forms of labor unrest on jobsites that could impact the on-time, on-budget delivery of a construction project. That flawed logic makes […]

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Reaching For the Big Labor Lifeboat

1 April 8, 2010  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

Another embattled governor has reached out for the Big Labor lifeboat.  On March 31, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn issued Executive Order 03 of 2010, which reaffirms former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s 2003 order essentially requiring wasteful project labor agreements (PLAs) on many state projects, and additionally, authorizes the state to use PLAs on federally assisted projects […]

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