Jun 12, 2008 8:42 pm US/Central
Unions: Impeachment Memo A "Distraction"
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) ―
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Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has distributed a memo laying out the case for impeaching Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Four labor unions say that memo is a distraction from "issues that matter."
CBS
Four labor unions are accusing House Speaker Michael Madigan of creating a distraction for Illinois Democrats with a political memo laying out the case for impeaching Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The letter was sent to the Democratic State Central Committee on Thursday and urges party leaders to work together.
"It is time to focus on issues that matter to people, and to set aside our personal fights and private agendas," the letter reads. "Please join us in demanding that fighting for people -- not against other Democrats -- becomes the priority of our party once again."
It was signed by leaders of the Service Employees International Union, Teamsters Joint Council 25, UNITE HERE and the Midwest Region of the Laborers International union.
The memo, first disclosed by The Associated Press, was intended for legislative candidates who wanted to call for impeachment hearings. It lays out a litany of reasons why the embattled governor should be booted from office.
The union letter echoes Blagojevich's complaints that the memo distracts from important issues such as expanding health care and ending a long-running dispute over a massive capital construction program. It urges the central committee, the party's governing body, to push Madigan to "focus on the priorities of working people."
The unions are strong backers of the $34 billion construction program that passed the Senate last month but stalled in the House under opposition to the major gambling expansion counted on to help pay for it. SEIU also has been one of Blagojevich's biggest financial backers in his two terms in office.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said reports about the memo have made it out to be "more glamorous than it was" and said the letter seemed to follow that pattern.
He said the speaker has worked long and hard on the issues the unions want action on.
"All those core goals we share," Brown said. "Those are all things we are trying to do."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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