Pope's stance leaks; calls for urgent action on environment

 

NICOLE WINFIELD

Associated Press

‎June‎ ‎15‎, ‎2015

 

Pope's stance leaks; calls for urgent action on environment

NICOLE WINFIELD

Associated Press

‎June‎ ‎15‎, ‎2015

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A draft copy of Pope Francis' eagerly awaited encyclical on the environment calls for urgent action to protect the Earth and fight global warming, which the pope says is "mostly" due to human activity and the burning of fossil fuels.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the document that was leaked to the Italian newsweekly L'Espresso and published on its website Monday was not the final version and that the official encyclical would still be released as scheduled on Thursday.

The L'Espresso draft, which was published in galley form in Italian, makes many of the same points that Francis and his advisers have been making in the months-long rollout of the document.

In the draft, Francis lays out both the scientific and the moral reasons for protecting God's creation, noting that the poor are already suffering the most from air pollution and toxic dumping and will continue to bear the brunt of rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions. The draft says population growth isn't to blame for ecological problems but rather the consumerist, wasteful behavior of the rich.

Francis backs up his comments with science showing the impact on the planet of the continual loss of biodiversity in Amazonian rainforests, the melting of Arctic glaciers, the overfishing of the seas and the pollution of the world's water supply.

Francis has said he wanted the encyclical to be read by everyone — not just Catholics — and he notes in the introduction that the document is now part of the formal teaching "magisterium" of the Catholic Church. That could be read as a warning of sorts to climate skeptics, including many Catholics in the U.S. who have suggested they simply will ignore the encyclical since the pope's views on the environment clash with their doubts about climate change.

Francis in September will travel to the United States and address both the United Nations and the U.S. Congress. Some Republicans are vocal climate skeptics and many conservatives have criticized the pope from even taking up the environment in an encyclical, the most authoritative teaching document a pope can issue.

Francis has said previously that climate change is "mostly" man-made and that humankind has a moral imperative to radically change its behavior to protect the planet for future generations — as well as to prevent the poor from suffering due to the sins of the rich.

In the draft, the pope repeats that scientific studies have shown that global warming is due "mostly" to human activity and the emission of gasses that prevents heat from dispersing in the atmosphere. He says that is worsened by a development model based on using fossil fuels as the main source of energy in the world.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as many environmental groups, declined to comment on the content of the document, noting the Thursday embargo set by the Vatican for the official release.

 

FROM:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/draft-popes-eagerly-awaited-environment-encyclical-leaks-182821141--finance.html

Closer Look: Rauner, public unions not close on contracts : News

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. • The contracts for more than 40,000 Illinois state workers will expire at the end of the month, and their unions and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's negotiating team apparently aren't close to agreeing on new ones. The impasse has gotten more public attention in recent days, with union members staging nearly 100 protests throughout the state to rally public support to their calls for fair contracts. With the potential for a far-reaching strike or lockout looming, here are some things to know:

STATUS OF NEGOTIATIONS

The state's contracts with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the state's largest public employee union representing roughly 36,000 state workers, and those with roughly two dozen smaller unions representing roughly 5,000 nurses, police officers and others expire June 30. Although they have been negotiating new pacts for six months, the sides remain far apart on several key issues, including wage increases, health insurance costs, the promotion process and how overtime pay is calculated.

Rauner has said little publicly about the status of negotiations. But AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch indicated they're not going well, telling members in a letter last month that Rauner had indicated he planned to "force a strike and shut down state government" until the union agrees to his terms.

In response to Lynch's allegations, Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly told The Associated Press that the governor's "negotiating team is committed to bargaining in good faith with the government unions to reach a deal that is fair to employees and taxpayers."

CONTRACT EXPIRATION

If agreements can't be reached in time, it's possible that the unions and Rauner could agree on contract extensions of several months to help facilitate negotiations under a less-pressurized setting, as has happened under past governors, including Rauner's predecessor, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. If not, a strike or lockout could occur.

AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said the union is committed to "doing the work required at the table" to reach an agreement, and that a strike "is not in the public interest."

Rauner, who has called for allowing cities to create union-free zones to attract development and has proposed an end to prevailing-wage laws, hasn't gone that far.

Kelly said that "as long as AFSCME is committed to bargaining in good faith, we are confident we can reach a contract by the deadline that benefits state workers and the taxpayers."

STRIKE

Without a contract in place, many unionized state workers would be allowed to vote to strike and walk off their jobs, though Lindall said that hasn't happened in Illinois history. That includes caseworkers at the Department of Children and Family Services, and home health care workers, among others. State agencies like the Department of Human Services and Secretary of State's office could shut down.

Without a contract, Rauner would also be able to lock out workers from their jobs.

Eyeing the possibility of a strike, lawmakers in the Democratic-led Legislature late last month approved a bill that would prohibit state workers from going on strike or being locked out of their jobs by the administration if negotiations on a new contract reach an impasse. Under current law, only prison guards and other public safety workers are barred from striking.

The proposal would allow either side in labor talks to declare an impasse, starting a process in which the contract would be sent to binding arbitration.

Rauner's attorneys have said that they believe the legislation would "change the nature of collective bargaining." The governor is expected to veto the bill.

Kelly said "the administration is not going to lock out employees and our team will continue to negotiate in good faith. If AFSCME members decide to strike, it will show they are placing their personal interests above the people they serve."

HISTORY SHOWS

History shows a mixed bag in terms of negotiations with past governors.

In 2004, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed off on a 13 percent wage hike over the course of a four-year AFSCME contract which union leaders called the best deal in the country at the time. Blagojevich approved another contract with the union in 2008 that included average annual raises of roughly 4 percent.

Quinn's negotiations with the unions were tougher. After 11 months of bargaining sessions, the Democratic governor moved to terminate the state's extended contract with the unions.

The administration had been seeking a pay cut for state workers followed by a wage freeze. It also sought to have employees pay more for health insurance. Three months later, an agreement was reached giving employees a 2 percent wage increase in the final two years of their contract, but also requiring workers to pay more for health insurance.

From:  Closer Look: Rauner, public unions not close on contracts : News

BGA Public Eye: Now agency chairman, Schillerstrom's law firm to end tollway bond work

 

BGA Public Eye: Now agency chairman, Schillerstrom's law firm to end tollway bond work

Written By Better Government Association Posted: 06/14/2015, 11:22am

 

When Bruce Rauner ran for governor last year, he counted former DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom among those endorsing him.

Schillerstrom hosted a campaign fundraiser that brought in $25,000, gave $1,000 from his own political fund and introduced the future governor to other potential backers.

“I was a supporter of the governor early on,” Schillerstrom said in an interview.

Now Rauner has become a supporter of Schillerstrom, appointing the attorney and fellow Republican to the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board of directors in May then, this month, naming him chairman of the agency, which oversees billions of dollars in road projects in northern Illinois and controls more than 1,500 government jobs.

 

Schillerstrom’s law firm, Indianapolis-based Ice Miller LLP, has been doing legal work for the tollway system since at least 2008 for which it’s been paid a total of $236,945 over the past several years.

Ice Miller is involved in two current bond deals that could get the firm another $200,000, according to records and interviews.

Schillerstrom said he isn’t directly involved in those deals.

In any case, a tollway spokeswoman said Schillerstrom “will forgo any financial participation from Ice Miller’s work on these transactions.”

Schillerstrom initially said he could indirectly benefit from the tollway business because he’s an equity partner at Ice Miller’s Lisle office and shares in profits. He later said he won’t benefit from the tollway legal work in any way.

 

Ice Miller will continue working on the current bond transactions because “leaving now could stop or delay the deals,” Schillerstrom said.

But agency officials and the firm have agreed that Ice Miller, which has a four-year contract that was to expire in 2017, won’t get future bond work as long as Schillerstrom is on the tollway board “to avoid future conflicts,” a tollway official said.

“We want to make sure there’s no conflict,” Schillerstrom said. “We recognize that, going forward with me on the board, we have to change this.”

His law firm was hired in March to provide legal counsel on the two pending tollway transactions: a $400 million bond sale to help pay for road projects that may include widening the Jane Addams Tollway and the refinancing of $350 million of bonds sold in 2007 and 2008.

The $400 million deal could close as soon as July, with the law firm getting $100,000 in fees, according to the tollway authority. The other deal could close at any time and pay the firm up to $100,000 in fees.

Schillerstrom, who has been with Ice Miller since 2004, said he informed Rauner’s staff before his appointment of the firm’s work for the tollway.

Ice Miller is one of a pool of 10 law firms that provide legal counsel to the tollway on bond offerings and related matters, according to the agency.

Schillerstrom, who was DuPage County Board chairman for 12 years, left the  board in 2010 and since 2012 has been a registered lobbyist with clients that have included an Indiana technology firm and the South Suburban Joint Action Water Agency.

Schillerstrom said he is stepping away from lobbying: “I will not and cannot be a lobbyist if I’m a tollway director.”

As chairman of the tollway board, a position most recently held by Paula Wolff, Schillerstrom is paid $36,077 a year and gets health insurance. That’s in addition to the $119,640 yearly pension he receives from the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund stemming from his DuPage County government tenure, according to interviews and records.

BGA Public Eye: Now agency chairman, Schillerstrom's law firm to end tollway bond work