Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Dan Biss’ voting record is less progressive than he claims on the campaign trail. In his first two years in office, the progressive group Citizen Action/Illinois considered Biss’ voting record “mediocre.” Biss also had the lowest lifetime rating of Senate Democrats from the Illinois AFL-CIO thanks to a number of votes he’d taken to reduce worker benefits and limit collective bargaining rights.

REALITY CHECK 

• Cut Pension Benefits — SB 1: Biss voted to cut pension benefits for 467,000 teachers, university workers, and state employees in 2013. The bill was ruled unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2015.
• Slash Retiree Healthcare — SB 1313: Biss voted to slash healthcare benefits for nearly 80,000 state retirees including teachers in 2012. The Illinois AFL-CIO opposed the bill, and the Illinois Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.
• Strip Collective Bargaining Rights — SB 1556: In 2011, Biss voted for what AFSCME called a “union-busting bill” that “effectively strips thousands of public employees of collective bargaining rights,” according to the Illinois AFL-CIO.
• Cut Medicaid — SB 2840: In 2012, Biss voted to cut Medicaid by $1.6 billion, slashing coverage for 25,000 working parents and eliminating a program helping 200,000 seniors pay for their prescriptions.
• Garnish Wages — SB 3800: Biss voted to let state government go after people’s wages if they fell behind on their student loans in 2012.
• Limit Teacher Strikes — SB 7: Biss voted to limited teachers’ ability to strike and the topics about which they could strike in 2011.
• Stall Universal Healthcare — HB 311: In 2011, Biss failed to co-sponsor a universal healthcare bill, and in the years since has not introduced single-payer legislation.
• Increase Charter School Funding — HB 4277: Biss voted to increase funding for charter schools at the expense of neighborhood public schools in 2012. The Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Education Association, Chicago Teachers Union, and Citizen Action/Illinois all opposed the bill.
• Undermine Firefighters’ Workplace Safety — HB 5485: In 2014, Biss voted against a bill that clarified staffing levels for firefighters as a part of collective bargaining, a bill supported by the Illinois AFL-CIO and the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois.
• Restrict Wage Increases — HJR 45: Biss voted for a joint resolution that would not appropriate funds for wage increases for collectively bargained state government contracts in 2012, a resolution the Illinois AFL-CIO opposed.

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