Labor Day represents the unofficial start to the November elections and Bill Brady is receiving a very nice send-off gift: an endorsement from the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, FOP officials said they're backing the GOP nominee for governor because, even though Democratic nominee Pat Quinn is arguably better on pensions, Mr. Brady is closer to them on core issues.
"There's fundamental agreement on Brady's message that the state has to cut and cut more" to balance its books, said Dan Nelson, executive director of the 35,000-member law-enforcement union.
Even though Mr. Brady has talked about abolishing all public-sector pensions and requiring workers to plan for their own retirement through a 401(k)-style system, "The guy really understands" the need to end deficit spending, Mr. Nelson added.
FOP leaders also were struck when Mr. Brady appeared before the group and delivered "a very strong law enforcement message of protecting officers."
FOP endorsed former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, in each of the past two elections, Mr. Nelson said. That makes Tuesday's announcement a bit of an embarrassment for Mr. Quinn — even if most police are a bit on the conservative side.
Beyond that, the union tends to be highly visible on the campaign trail, and, while its wallet is on the small side, its members tend to be active in doing precinct work.
I'll let you know if Team Quinn responds.
Mr. Nelson did say one other thing of interest when we talked: Negotiations continue in Springfield about cutting back on retirement benefits for police. He suggested the union may have room to move if, in exchange for concessions, governments (like Illinois) that often fail to make their required pension contributions are forced to do so.
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