Village Trustees were joined by a packed house Tuesday night as the Illinois Turnaround Agenda was on the consent agenda.
Mayor Sean Widener suggested the board table the topic for later discussion as a room full of opponents wanted to share their thoughts. The agenda was full of discussion topics as the Village’s fiscal year winds down.
The Turnaround Agenda seeks to give rural communities more control over local issues, while also making adjustments that would affect worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance. Rauner’s proposal calls for union reform, seeks to increase minimum wage to $10/hour by 2020, and puts limitations on terms for elected officials.
Home Rule, which was passed in the 1970s also sought to give municipalities local control over local issues, but the communities are leery about voting for Home Rule because it gives local governments the authority to raise taxes without a referendum.
Although the non-binding vote for support on the Illinois Turnaround Agenda and Illinois Home Rule was tabled, Widener and Trustees still listened to 20 minutes of concerns from the crowd.
While union representatives from Champaign, Rantoul, Dewey and Tolono talked about how they perceive the Turnaround Agenda to take away worker rights and fair work conditions the union provides, the Village also heard from three Mahomet residents who also oppose the proposal.
Joan Jordan, who taught in the Mahomet-Seymour School District, and has been a union advocate for many years, talked about how she now teachers iron apprentices about what union life is like.
“People have perceived unions as the bad guy,” she said. “My father was a union worker, and had it not been for unions at the time, I don’t know how he would have raised five children.”
She also talked about being a union member as a teacher. With her husband in the union as an ironworker, too, they were able to afford to live in and raise their family in Mahomet. Jordan also said the state government is what has put the financial status of the state where it is today, and workers in Illinois should not be held responsible for their mistakes.
Christa Deacy-Quinn, a non-union, State worker also spoke out against the Governor’s proposal. She said although she has a comfortable life here in Mahomet, she fears living in a state where wages and benefits are cut.
Bill Studley, who has lived in Mahomet since 1966, also believes the proposal will hurt workers and businesses. He believes that people, whether they are part of a union or not, are the real job creators because they help small businesses by patronizing them. Studley also said union workers reap the benefits of being a part of the union, so they should pay their dues.
The Village supported union workers by passing a four-year agreement with the Illinois Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 26 at the end of the meeting.
Village staff is interested in showing their support for the Turnaround Agenda because it will give the local government more control of local issues without always having to look to the State for approval.
The Village Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a $8,892 Toro mower from Awesome Machines in Savoy.
The mower came up for discussion earlier this year, but after the Trustees heard from the community about purchasing outside of the Village, Mahomet Parks and Recreation Director Dan Waldinger compared and tested a variety of mowers from local vendors.
With a three-blade system, a sustainable warranty and a rear drop system, Waldinger continued to support the purchase of the Toro mower. Trustees agreed with and trusted Waldinger’s proposal by unanimously voting for the purchase.
