{"id":2521911,"date":"2025-12-16T19:35:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T00:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-tops-nation-for-public-sector-union-political-spending\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T19:37:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T00:37:27","slug":"illinois-tops-nation-for-public-sector-union-political-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-tops-nation-for-public-sector-union-political-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois tops nation for public sector union political spending"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fillinois-tops-nation-for-public-sector-union-political-spending%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2521911&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A recent report by the Commonwealth Foundation reveals that Illinois leads the nation in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/marriott-att-airbnbheres-the-list-of-corporations-announcing-they-wont-donate-to-gop-lawmakers-who-objected-to-electoral-votes-from-contested-states\/\" title=\"Marriott, AT&amp;T, Airbnb\u2026Here\u2019s The List Of Corporations Announcing They Won\u2019t Donate To GOP Lawmakers Who Objected To Electoral Votes From Contested ...s\">political spending<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/navy-reading-checklist-includes-anti-racism-guide-for-sailors\/\" title=\"Navy Reading Checklist Includes Anti-Racism Guide for Sailors\">public sector unions<\/a>, investing nearly $30 million in state elections during the 2023-24 cycle-more than any othre state. Illinois officials supported by union money include Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and key state lawmakers like House Speaker Emanuel &#8220;Chris&#8221; Welch and Senate President Don Harmon. David Osborne, Senior Director at the Commonwealth Foundation, criticizes the influence of these unions, arguing they drive policies that increase taxes and government size to benefit their own membership. Nearly 96% of Illinois union political donations whent to Democrats. The report also notes that major unions such as the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers spent a combined $915 million nationally, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >predominantly backing left-wing candidates<\/a> and causes. Osborne emphasizes that this system ultimately harms taxpayers and public employees alike, as unions grow government and political power at their expense.Other states with critically important union political spending include California, Washington, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Illinois tops nation for public sector union political spending<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2447150\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; Commonwealth Foundation Labor and Policy Senior Director David Osborne says <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chicago\/\">Chicago&rsquo;s<\/a> growing reputation as the place where <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/public-employee-unions\/\">public sector unions<\/a> flex plenty of political muscle is more than well deserved.<\/p>\n<p>Osborne points to a new Commonwealth Foundation&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/commonwealthfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Union-Political-Spending-Report-Dec2025-12-2-25.pdf\">report<\/a>&nbsp;highlighting how public sector unions across <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illinois\/\">Illinois<\/a> spent nearly $30 million on state races over the 2023-24 election cycle, or far more than what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/labor-board-dismisses-union-misconduct-complaints-following-biden-purge\/\" title=\"Labor Board Dismisses Union Misconduct Complaints Following Biden Purge\">union officials<\/a> in any other state dedicated to such causes.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/economy\/3918317\/maga-republicans-economy-concerns-poll\/\">MAGA increasingly concerned over economy, poll shows<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/3915622\/population-decline-problem-right-now-washington-power-reverse\/\">Population decline is a problem right now. Does Washington have the power to reverse it?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/3916298\/hochul-weighs-ai-regulations\/\">Hochul weighs AI regulations as Trump sets federal rules<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>At $5.5 million, Chicago Mayor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/brandon-johnson\/\">Brandon Johnson<\/a> tops the State Government Union Pac Money List of those most benefiting from government employment unions&rsquo; support. In addition to Johnson, at least six other state lawmakers land on the list&rsquo;s Top 20, led by House Speaker Emanuel &ldquo;Chris&rdquo; Welch (D-Hillside) at No. 2 and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) at No. 4.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the state of Illinois, political spending is bigger than in any other state,&rdquo; Osborne told <em>The Center Square<\/em>. &ldquo;Unions seem very focused on who gets elected to be the mayor of Chicago and the governor of the state. What you&rsquo;ve got really is a downward spiral in Illinois where the kinds of unions that have gotten so powerful have really done it at the expense of taxpayers, and then they&rsquo;re pouring more money into getting the right kind of people elected for them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>With researchers adding that almost 96% of all donations for Illinois-level candidates went to Democrats, Osborne said it&rsquo;s past time someone addresses the imbalance.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Public sector unions, they&rsquo;re not often talked about as the cause of problems,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We often look to high taxes, bigger government, economic policies, but really what&rsquo;s driving states and cities to enact policies that are harmful to individuals, that raise taxes, that grow the size of government beyond its purpose are public sector unions.<\/p>\n<p>He said public sector unions have all the incentive in the world &ldquo;to bring in new public employees, to bloat government so that in the end they can have more members, which means more influence and power.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>With the system being as broken as he views it, Osborne said there are few winners in the state.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Taxpayers are definitely losing under this system, but I also want to urge the public to understand that teachers and other public employees who are represented by unions are also losing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think they&rsquo;ve lost their voice. I&rsquo;m not nearly as concerned about the dollar amounts as I am the fact it&rsquo;s public sector unions. Public sector unions represent public employees, and they sit down and negotiate with the very people that get elected to office to hash out deals.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3918042\/chicago-small-business-advocate-pushes-less-red-tape\/\">CHICAGO SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCATE PUSHES FOR LESS RED TAPE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With Commonwealth Foundation researchers arriving at their findings using publicly available information, data shows Illinois was followed in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whose-children-are-they\/\" title=\"Whose Children Are They?\">union spending<\/a> by California at $25.8 million, Washington at $18.6 million, Massachusetts at $17.9 million, and Pennsylvania at $12.8 million.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, researchers found the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, Service Employees International Union, and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees combined to spend upwards of $915 million on political and ideological causes, with almost all the funding going to left-wing causes and candidates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Illinois leads U.S. in public sector union political spending<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2869,"featured_media":2521912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/brandon-johnson-protests.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[6413,39978,68935],"class_list":["post-2521911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-illinois","tag-political-spending","tag-public-sector-unions"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/brandon-johnson-protests.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2521911"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2521915,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521911\/revisions\/2521915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2521912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2521911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2521911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2521911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}