WRITE THE GOVERNOR
Our best advice from state legislator visits in the last two months may be surprising. When we ask, “What is the most effective thing we could do as retired teachers to help you protect our pensions,” the unified answer has been, “It would help if you all would speak directly to the Governor.” Our first response to the suggestion was not positive—“Well what good would that do? He doesn’t listen, seems unaware of our needs, openly argues his anti-labor, anti-union, anti-collective bargaining stance and he is ignoring the recent Illinois Supreme Court decision overturning Senate Bill 1— so why would letters from individual retired teachers (or police or firefighters) make any difference?
Because----The Governor needs to hear your voice; he needs to hear our voices-- one and many. If we are silent, we have failed in our advocacy. In this case writing your congressperson isn’t the right choice—contacting the Governor is. Hearing from us individually, not through our union reps or our sympathetic congressperson lends a new level of push-back to the debate over the unbalanced budget and the Governor’s 500+ page plan to again attack our pensions and ask us to take a diminished benefit. Your letter does not have to be long or full of research. It does have to be heartfelt in your defense of your contract with the State of Illinois to provide you with the pension you worked for and contributed toward all those working years.
I encourage you to send JB Pritzker a letter at:
GOVERNOR JB Pritzker GOVERNOR JB Pritzker
207 State House James R. Thompson Center
Springfield, Illinois 62706 100 West Randolph 16-100
Phone: 217-782-6830 or Chicago, Illinois 60601
217-782-6831 Phone: 312-814-2121
Actually, send two letters—one to each office! The aides must read and count each letter that arrives and report to the Governor on the subject matter.
Questions: Please contact: Victor Corder, WLSU Legislative Committee, [email protected]
Because----The Governor needs to hear your voice; he needs to hear our voices-- one and many. If we are silent, we have failed in our advocacy. In this case writing your congressperson isn’t the right choice—contacting the Governor is. Hearing from us individually, not through our union reps or our sympathetic congressperson lends a new level of push-back to the debate over the unbalanced budget and the Governor’s 500+ page plan to again attack our pensions and ask us to take a diminished benefit. Your letter does not have to be long or full of research. It does have to be heartfelt in your defense of your contract with the State of Illinois to provide you with the pension you worked for and contributed toward all those working years.
I encourage you to send JB Pritzker a letter at:
GOVERNOR JB Pritzker GOVERNOR JB Pritzker
207 State House James R. Thompson Center
Springfield, Illinois 62706 100 West Randolph 16-100
Phone: 217-782-6830 or Chicago, Illinois 60601
217-782-6831 Phone: 312-814-2121
Actually, send two letters—one to each office! The aides must read and count each letter that arrives and report to the Governor on the subject matter.
Questions: Please contact: Victor Corder, WLSU Legislative Committee, [email protected]