05/02/2008 - The bill in a nutshell amends the “responsible bidder” requirements for participating in training and apprenticeship programs. Here’s the deal: starting in January, 2008 the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and other Illinois government agencies are not allowing non-union contractors to bid on government jobs. The irony in this is that there has not been any legislation preventing them from bidding, but the current administration has simply put a brick on their participation. I don’t think you’ll see it in writing, but rest assured its happening.

Why is this significant? First of all, nearly 75% of the construction workers in Illinois are non-union. There is no one in this great state that doesn’t understand our need for a jobs (capital) bill to replace and repair our crumbling infrastructure. Both sides of the aisle have been working to find an acceptable revenue stream to make needed improvements to roads, bridges and schools. Let’s see now; we pass a capital bill, create thousands of new construction jobs, but won’t let non-union contractors bid on those jobs. Wow! That seems fair…maybe in Russia, but not in America.