Report shows illinois union participation declining despite growth in new petitions
BY JeRRY nowicKi capitol news illinois
Overall participation in labor unions has declined in recent years in Illinois, although the state has seen an increase in successful unionization efforts for the second year in a row.
That’s according to the State of the Unions 2024 report, the latest installment in an annual review of unionization in Illinois and the U.S. by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois’ Project for Middle Class Renewal. ILEPI is a nonprofit research organization with a board of directors that’s closely tied to organized labor.
The study found that Illinois saw 86 successful union petitions in 2023, up from 67 the year before. Those are the two highest totals in a 10-year period dating back to 2014. The prior eight years ranged from 25 to 62 successful petitions.
“When you see a couple of posi-
See ‘unionS’ page 4
Forest preserve’s annual woods walk hiking challenge begins Sept. 1
The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s annual Woods Walk hiking challenge begins Sunday, Sept. 1, and runs through Saturday, Nov. 30.
Participants who hike at least seven of 10 designated trails earn a special medallion that can be pinned to a backpack or walking stick. The 2024 medallion will feature a bald eagle for the first time in the challenge’s history.
“We were thrilled at the hatching of seven eaglets in four nests in the preserves this spring and wanted to commemorate the boom,” said Em Wilcher, the Forest Preserve’s recreation coordinator.
Brittany Schaller, who now works for the Forest Preserve District as an interpretive naturalist, said Woods Walk was the first program she participated in when she discovered the Forest Preserve back in 2011. She has completed 10 more since then.
“The best thing about this program is that you don’t have to reserve a specific date or time to complete these hikes,” she said. “You can complete the hikes whenever you feel the urge to be in nature within the three-month time frame.”
Woods Walk entices participants
to go where they haven’t gone before, she added.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to check more forest preserves off your list, and an excuse to explore different preserves and have amazing new experiences,” she said. “It is peaceful, calming, and restorative to be in nature. Woods Walk is the perfect no-brainer, just choose a preserve off the list and go!”
This year’s trails are:
Forsythe Woods Nature Trail at Forked Creek Preserve – Forsythe Woods, Florence Township: 0.5 mile*
Evans-Judge Nature Trail Loop at Evans-Judge Preserve, Custer Township: 1.5 miles
Spring Creek Greenway Trail at Messenger Marsh, Homer Glen: 2.2 miles*
Plum Creek Greenway Trail at Goodenow Road Access, Crete Township: 2.2 miles
Hickory Creek Bikeway and LaPorte Road Nature Trail at Hickory Creek Preserve – La Porte Road Access, Mokena: 2.2 miles*
Wauponsee Glacial Trail at Sugar Creek Preserve, Joliet Township: 2.6 miles*
Normantown Trail at Vermont Cemetery Preserve, Naperville: 2.9
miles
Rock Run Greenway Trail at Hammel Woods – DuPage River Access, Shorewood: 3.2 miles*
Old Plank Road Trail at Washington Street Access, Joliet township: 3.2 miles*
Spring Creek Greenway Trail at Hadley Valley – Bruce Road Access, Homer Glen: 4.4 miles*
Starred trails feature routes that are easily extended to lengthen a walk. More details, including trail maps, are included in the Woods Walk booklet, available at Forest Preserve visitor centers and online starting Sept. 1. Trail information is available on an interactive GIS map.
Walks also can be entered into the free Goosechase smartphone app. Simply download the Goosechase app either on iOS or Android devices and join the 2024 Will County Woods Walk Challenge to get started. The deadline to submit a completed travel log is Sunday, Dec. 8.
Funding for Woods Walk is provided by The Nature Foundation of Will County.
tive years where you’re seeing growth in in numbers, it does suggest that there’s some change in the labor market, there’s some change in worker attitudes, there’s some change in the strategy of union organizers,” Robert Bruno, a report co-author and director of the Project for Middle Class Renewal said in an interview. “It all suggests a positive turn.”
The successful petitions led to 4,399 additional workers being unionized in 2023, down from 9,497 in 2022.
“That’s from coffee shops to hospitals to cannabis producers to topranked universities,” said Frank Manzo, a report co-author and economist with ILEPI, said. “You know, private and nonprofit workers successfully organized dozens of workplaces, showing that the labor movement is gaining traction in new and emerging industries.”
Manzo and Bruno spoke to Capitol News Illinois for the latest episode of Capitol Cast ahead of the Labor Day holiday. Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts.
Despite the increase in private sector unionization efforts, the percentage of Illinois’ workforce that is unionized dropped below 13 percent for the first time in the 10-year period surveyed. At 12.8 percent, Illinois had the 13th-highest unionization rate among
all states. A total of 707,829 people in Illinois were unionized in 2023, down from nearly 847,000 in 2015.
The public sector unionization rate has declined by a total of 4.1 percentage points since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in Janus vs. AFSCME, from 52.1 percent to 48 percent. That ruling put an end to public sector unions being able to charge fees to individuals who benefit from union representation but choose not to join the union.
Those fees, often referred to as “fair share” fees, helped unions better negotiate wage and benefit structures for all employees, regardless of whether they are part of the union. Without them, Manzo said, unions are required to represent those individuals without compensation.
“It is true that the most significant contributor to the declines in Illinois’ unionization rate has been drops in worker bargaining power in the public sector that was sparked by a 2018 Supreme Court decision,” Manzo said.
Another contributor to union participation decline is that the economy has added jobs in sectors with “low union densities,” like management, professional services, e-commerce and the gig economy, he said. At the same time, careers with long-standing union ties, such as mining and manufacturing, have either grown more slowly or “been lost altogether,” he said.
But he added that other states, including many surrounding Illinois, have enacted “right-to-work” laws, which create “Janus-like conditions” in the private sector.
Illinois’ Workers’ Rights Amendment – an amendment to the state constitution that was approved by voters in 2022 – “effectively bans those so-called right-to-work laws from ever coming to the state,” Manzo said.
“And the data show that states that protect workers rights, like Illinois, have higher wages, faster wage growth and stronger unions compared to those that have weakened collective bargaining rights,” he said.
While Illinois’ unionization rate was 12.8 percent in 2023, nearby states that have right-to-work laws – Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky and Wisconsin – had rates ranging from 7.1 percent to 8.8 percent.
Average hourly earnings in Illinois were $36.82 in 2023, compared to rates of $28.82 to $31.84 in the four neighboring right-to-work states, although Illinois’ cost of living is generally higher than in those states, which don’t have a city comparable to Chicago’s size.
Illinois’ wage growth from 2017 to 2023 was an average of 4.6 percent higher than those four states, based on the study’s review of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Current Population Survey data. Unionized Illinois workers earn about 12.6 percent more than non-union workers, per the same analysis.
The study found Black workers, men, military veterans, and workers with master’s degrees have the highest unionization rates in Illinois. Nationally, the U.S. added 135,000 new union members in 2023, following a gain of 277,000 union members in 2022, according to the report. Unions are also seeing near record-high support, with 67 percent of respondents viewing them favorably, per a Gallup poll cited in the report.
Sheriff Dart applauds prison sentence of former Backpage owner
Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart commended the U.S. District Court’s decision to sentence Michael Lacey, a former Backpage owner, to five years in federal prison for money laundering tied to sex trafficking on the website. “This is a clear warning to those who believe they can profit off illegal sex trafficking and get away with it,” Sheriff Dart said. “For too long, Lacey and his associates hid behind technology and the falsehood that the First Amendment protected Backpage’s illegal activities, all the while profiting off the pain and suffering of the most vulnerable among us.” U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa sentenced Lacey on one count of money laundering for his role in operating Backpage, a notorious online marketplace that facilitated the exploitation and trafficking
of countless of victims. He was also fined $3 million. Additionally, former Backpage executives John Brunst and Scott Spear were sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for their convictions on money laundering and conspiracy to facilitate prostitution through Backpage ads.
Sheriff Dart has been at the forefront in the battle against online human trafficking for more than a decade and has played a pivotal role in the campaign to shut down Backpage. As early as 2009, Sheriff Dart recognized the growing threat of online classified advertisements for illegal prostitution and human trafficking. That online threat first permeated the internet via Craigslist and later migrated to other websites, including Backpage. While under pressure from Sheriff Dart and oth-
ers, Craigslist shut down its erotic services section. Sheriff Dart’s efforts culminated in 2018, when federal authorities seized Backpage and indicted its founders, including Lacey, on numerous charges related to facilitating prostitution and money laundering. Sheriff Dart’s work was instrumental in helping to build the case that ultimately led to the website’s shutdown and the convictions of its owners.
Sheriff Dart has been a vocal advocate for the victims and survivors of human trafficking and has led numerous initiatives aimed at disrupting the networks that perpetuate this modern-day slavery. He has worked tirelessly to implement policies and practices that focus on the protection of victims and prosecution of those who exploit them.
“This is a victory not just for law enforcement, but for every victim harmed by the cruel and inhumane practices of Backpage,” Sheriff Dart
said. “As long as there are people who believe they can profit from the suffering of others, our work will never be done.”
Real eSTaTe Real eSTaTe
TAX DEED NO.: 2024TX000227
FILED: 08/13/2024 TAKE NOTICE
County of: Will
Date
Premises Sold: December 5, 2022
Certificate No.: 21-00154
Sold for General Taxes of (year): 2021
Sold for Special Assessment of (Municipality) and Special Assessment Number: N/A Warrant No.: N/A Installment No.: N/A
THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN SOLD FOR DELINQUENT TAXES
Property Located at: 167 West Boughton Road, Bolingbrook, Illinois
Legal Description or Property Index No.: 1202-10-201-002-0000
This notice is to advise you that the above property has been sold for delinquent taxes and that the period of redemption from the sale will expire on February 11, 2025.
The amount to redeem is subject to increase at 6 month intervals from the date of sale and may be further increased if the purchaser at the tax sale or his or her assignee pays any subsequently accruing taxes or special assessments to redeem the property from subsequent forfeitures or tax sales. Check with the county clerk as to the exact amount you owe before redeeming.
This notice is also to advise you that a petition has been filed for a tax deed which will transfer title and the right to possession of this property if redemption is not made on or before February 11, 2025.
This matter is set for hearing in the Circuit Court of this County in Joliet, Illinois on February 27, 2025 at 9:00 A.M. in Courtroom 905, Will County Courthouse, 100 West Jefferson Street, Joliet, Illinois 60432.
You may be present at this hearing but your right to redeem will already have expired at that time.
YOU ARE URGED TO REDEEM IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT LOSS OF PROPERTY Redemption can be made at any time on or before February 11, 2025 by applying to the County Clerk of Will County, Illinois at the Office of the County Clerk in Joliet, Illinois.
For further information contact the County Clerk:
Address: 302 North Chicago Street, Joliet, Illinois 60432
Telephone: (815) 740-4615
P&N PROPERTIES INC
Purchaser or Assignee
Dated: 08/13/2024
CASE NUMBER: 2024TX000227
CERTIFICATE OF PURCHASE NUMBER: 2100154
Lolita Ranchero
Eduardo Ranchero
Occupant - 167 W Boughton Rd., Unit A, Bolingbrook, IL 60440
Occupant - 167 W Boughton Rd., Unit B, Bolingbrook, IL 60440
Occupant - 167 W Boughton Rd., Unit C, Bolingbrook, IL 60440
LMR Home Health Care, Inc.
Michae J Raiz as R/A for LMR Home Health Care Inc
L.M.R. Nursing Services
TAX DEED NO.: 2024TX000228
FILED: 08/13/2024
TAKE NOTICE
County of: Will
Date Premises Sold: December 5, 2022
Certificate No.: 21-00296
Sold for General Taxes of (year): 2021
Sold for Special Assessment of (Municipality) and Special Assessment Number: N/A
Warrant No.: N/A Installment No.: N/A
THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN SOLD FOR DELINQUENT TAXES
Property Located at: A parcel of leand measuring 170.08 feet by 256.61 feet located on the South side of Belmont Drive, starting approximately 179.44 feet West of Anderson Drive, 2Romeoville, Illinois
Legal Description or Property Index No.: 1202-34-315-004-0000
This notice is to advise you that the above property has been sold for delinquent taxes and that the period of redemption from the sale will expire on February 11, 2025.
The amount to redeem is subject to increase at 6 month intervals from the date of sale and may be further increased if the purchaser at the tax sale or his or her assignee pays any subsequently accruing taxes or special assessments to redeem the property from subsequent forfeitures or tax sales. Check with the county clerk as to the exact amount you owe before redeeming.
This notice is also to advise you that a petition has been filed for a tax deed which will transfer title and the right to possession of this property if redemption is not made on or before February 11, 2025.
This matter is set for hearing in the Circuit Court of this County in Joliet, Illinois on February 27, 2025 at 9:00 A.M. in Courtroom 905, Will County Courthouse, 100 West Jefferson Street, Joliet, Illinois 60432.
You may be present at this hearing but your right to redeem will already have expired at that time.
YOU ARE URGED TO REDEEM IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT LOSS OF PROPERTY
Redemption can be made at any time on or before February 11, 2025 by applying to the County Clerk of Will County, Illinois at the Office of the County Clerk in Joliet, Illinois.
For further information contact the County Clerk:
Address: 302 North Chicago Street, Joliet, Illinois 60432
Telephone: (815) 740-4615
P&N PROPERTIES INC
Purchaser or Assignee
Dated: 08/13/2024
CASE NUMBER: 2024TX000228
CERTIFICATE OF PURCHASE NUMBER: 2100296
Skyland LLC Illinois Secretary of State for Skyland LLC Agents of Delaware Inc. as R/A for Skyland LLC
Brodzinski Law PC User Village of Romeoville c/o Village Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry, Will County Clerk Claimants, Judgment Creditors and Decree Creditors, if any of the above described as “unknown owners” “Unknown owners or parties interested in said land or lots” 8146-945847
or lots”
8147-945848
Published 8/28/2024 , 9/4/2024, 9/11/2024
