Pritzker says Democrats "deliver." You bet they do; just ask the public employee unions

The governor pays them back with mind-boggling rich contracts.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker crowed on Democrat day at the state fair that “Republicans demagogue. Democrats deliver.” Oh boy, where do I start?

Never mind that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered on multiple promises, from guarding Floridians against the clutch of Covid closures so popular in blue states to recasting the state’s school curriculum back to basics.

On the other hand, it’s hard to find Pritzker’s deliverables. For example, the reason for his ballyhooed “balanced budget” is a massive, one-time payment from the federal government. It won’t be repeated next year.

But the latest ridiculous assertion came at the fair. He delivered but good— for his public worker union supporters, who have become his virtual boss. Think not? He just signed a contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) that private sector employees can only dream about.

Some of them:

• A 4.5 percent pay raise for the first year. But because of compounding, the raises over the life on the contract will amount to a 19.3 percent hike. According to the libertarian, nonpartisan Illinois Policy watchdog , those raises are 58 percent larger than average raises in the private sector.

• A $1,200 “stipend” to every worker for approving the budget. It’s the second such “stipend” Pritzker gave out; in his first his administration’s first contract it was supposedly to compensate everyone for the “hardships” they supposedly suffered under the previous, Republican administration. In other words, it’s a freebie that now will be excepted to be included in coming contracts.

• Health care premiums already are a mere slice of those in the private sector. In the contract’s first year, there’ll be no increase. In the second year a $10 a month increase and $8 monthly in the contracts third and fourth years. That’s a total increase of merely $26 a month.

• Pensions are the golden goose of government employee contracts and it’s no different under the new budget. Once again, there’ll be no reform of of a system that hangs over the state like the Sword of Damocles. Unfunded state pensions amount to at least $140 billion, while some estimates go as high as $200 billion. How much is that? It is the estimated total trade between China and Russia.

• Also, there are some generous benefits, such as extending parental leave to 12-weeks.

The first year of the contract will cost taxpayers an additional $204 million. Over the four years, the budget will cost about $625 million, a $200 million increase above previous contract. That $204 million appears not to have been included in the “balanced and transformative” budget. Not to worry, though. A governor’s spokesman said the budget was meant to be “flexible.” Which in truth some of the trumpeted “accomplishments” will have to be cut to satisfy the union’s greed.

Meanwhile. the Invest in Kids Act, which provides 9,000 low-income students with school vouchers, got the ax. More for AFSCME; less for the children.

Pritzker is like President Joe Biden, who insists—contrary to the evidence—that the economy is working better under his guidance. If Biden doesn't run for re-election, Pritzker would be the perfect replacement for a president who—to be charitable—shades the truth.