Governor Rauner Vetoes Pay Hikes For Construction, Home Healthcare Workers
Gov. Bruce Rauner is joined by Republican Senators Chapin Rose and Jason Barickman at a stop at Middletown Prairie Elementary School in Mahomet earlier this year. Jeff Bossert/Illinois Public Media
Gov. Bruce Rauner has vetoed legislation that would tie the prevailing wage on public construction projects to the nearest union-worker wage agreement.
The Illinois State Chamber of Commerce applauded Friday's veto. The measure would have required state officials to set prevailing wages based on the nearest collective-bargaining agreements.
The Chamber says 60 percent of Illinois construction workers are non-union, so a rate could be based on wages several counties away.
Rauner also vetoed bills affecting in-home care workers. One would have raised the hourly wage to $15 over four years for workers helping seniors stay in their homes. Another would have provided more paid training for child-care workers. The third would increase the base hourly wage to $15 for workers who help disabled people in homes.
State Representative Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) released a statement through SEIU Illinois in response to the governor's veto of the child-care worker legislation.
"While other states expand child care and provide more opportunities for parents to work, Illinois under Bruce Rauner is headed in the wrong direction and in ways that disproportionately harm women, African Americans and Latinos. I hope my colleagues will join me in standing up for children and the workforce who cares for them."