Marathon Pundit: Pat Quinn's quid pro quo public-sector union cash, part two

Monday, March 21, 2011

Pat Quinn's quid pro quo public-sector union cash, part two

One month ago Governor Pat Quinn was supposed to don a Green Bay Packers jersey and volunteer at a Wisconsin food pantry. Why? He bet Scott Walker, Wisconsin's governor, that the Chicago Bears would defeat the Packers in the NFC championship game. Of course not only did the Packers win that game, but they went on to triumph in the Super Bowl.

But Quinn so far has welshed on his wager, citing the ongoing public-sector labor dispute in Wisconsin.

Were there conditions with that wager?

However, in a good-spirited gag dreamed up by WLS-AM's Roe Conn and Richard Roeper, another Pat Quinn from Illinois filled in for the governor. That Quinn didn't need union permission to cross the "cheese curtain."

Yesterday I started a new Marathon Pundit series, "Pat Quinn's Quid Pro Quo Public-Sector Union Cash," which listed the contributions from government-unions to the Chicago Democrat's campaign committee, Taxpayers for Quinn from the first half of 2009. Now we move on to last six months of that year. You will notice fewer, but better contributions. Quinn was gearing up for the Democratic primary election the following February, and my guess is that most labor organizations were hedging their bets in case Quinn's opponent in that race, Dan Hynes, prevailed. But as he did in the general election, Quinn won a narrow victory.

Quinn was probably thanking the stars for that fiend of the taxpayer, the Service Employees International Union, after he bested Hynes by 8,000 votes.

Below you will find the contributions to Quinn's campaign from public-sector unions from the first half of 2009. Click here for the entire report.

Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois PAC Fund
927 South Second
Springfield, IL 62704
$25,000
12/23/2009

Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 Political Committee
440 W. 43rd St
Chicago, IL 60609-2715
$10,000
12/31/2009

SEIU HealthCare IL/IN PAC
209 West Jackson
Suite 200
Chicago, IL 60606
$250,000
12/22/2009

SEIU Illinois Council PAC Fund
111 E. Wacker Dr
Suite 2500
Chicago, IL 60601-3757
$250,000
9/14/2009

SEIU Illinois Council PAC Fund
111 E. Wacker Dr
Suite 2500
Chicago, IL 60601-3757
$100,000
11/17/2009

SEIU Illinois Council PAC Fund
111 E. Wacker Dr
Suite 2500
Chicago, IL 60601-3757
$150,000
12/22/2009

Total--$785,000