Marathon Pundit: General Assembly overrides Quinn veto on convention reform, blocks Teamster pay-to-play bid

Thursday, May 27, 2010

General Assembly overrides Quinn veto on convention reform, blocks Teamster pay-to-play bid

A reform bill designed to stop the exodus of conventions from Chicago received an amendatory veto by Governor Pat Quinn today, which was trumped by an almost immediate General Assembly override.

Quinn used his amendatory power to merge the smaller decorators and riggers unions in into the carpenters and Teamsters unions. At first glance that seems reasonable. For instance, when I was a convention service manager when I worked in the hotel business, carpenters built booths. Except for the sign--a decorator had to do that--even if the sign. It was labor's way, to use President Obama's phrase, of spreading the wealth around.

But Crain's Chicago Business' Greg Hinz gets to the real reason Quinn married off the unions. The Teamsters have been quite generous to his campaign.

Quinn campaign aides confirm that the Teamsters on April 23 sent him checks for $50,000 and $25,000. And buzz is that local Teamsters chief John Coli has sent or is about to send another $100,000.

Mr. Coli failed to return phone calls seeking comment. Team Quinn notes that the Teamsters has been an early and regular financial contributor, and the guv's spokesman says his "only" intent in the veto is to "improve" McPier, the nickname for the agency that runs McCormick Place.