At the Hideout: Mitchell explains how pension theft is constitutional
It was monthly political junkie night again at the Hideout last night. This time around it was Ben and Mick engaging soon-to-be State Rep. Will Guzzardi, Rep. Christian Mitchell, and AFSCME lobbyist Adrian Alexander. The trio found plenty of common ground in the sense that they were all under 30 and in many ways, represent the future of progressive Democratic politics in the state. Of course, that future isn't written yet.
Springfield neophyte Guzzardi made clear his opposition to so-called "pension reform" and correctly framed the current crisis as a revenue problem. His call for a progressive tax system was met with loud applause.
Mitchell stood out from the others in the sense that he's the incumbent who narrowly defeated my favorite, Jay Travis in a close hard-fought election. Mitchell ran with backing from his patron, Cook County Board Pres. Toni Preckwinkle and with a war chest stuffed to overflowing with one-percenter money from the likes of California billionaire Eli Broad and teacher-union busters Stand For Children. Unfortunately, he was never asked about his views on corporate school reform or the expansion of privately-run charters.
Mitchell did his best to explain to the liberal Hideout crowd, why he voted for SB1, the unconstitutional pension-robbing bill, a vote he described as, "the most difficult he ever had to make." For a moment, I almost felt sorry for him (not really). He must have been in so much Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: At the Hideout: Mitchell explains how pension theft is constitutional: