By IRN/Dave Dahl

Even a week later, we’re still hearing about Senate Bill 1229.

That’s the bill which would have provided for arbitration when public-sector contract negotiations hit an impasse. Gov. Bruce Rauner worked hard to preserve his veto, and he was successful when three House Democrats failed to vote for the override last week.

State Rep. Scott Drury (D-Highwood) was a No vote, and State Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) was on a New York trip that he said he informed House leaders of. State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) voted Present.

Steve Brown, the spokesman for House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago), issued a statement as Dunkin and Drury were defending themselves on a Chicago public television program Tuesday evening.

“It was my expectation that all 71 House Democrats would be in attendance for legislative session last Wednesday. Instead, 70 were present. Had all 71 Democrats been present, as was expected, the House would have voted to override the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 1229.

“Over the last several weeks, I worked with various interested stakeholders to gather support in the House to override the governor’s veto. During that time, every Democratic member of the House gave a commitment either to me or to these various groups that they would vote in favor of the override. Leading up to the vote, Representatives Dunkin and Drury, who had both previously voted for the bill, told members and representatives of labor that they would support the override motion. Even with Representative Dunkin’s absence, we called the bill for a vote at the request of the bill’s sponsor and AFSCME Council 31.

“I believe the failure to override the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 1229 will be used by the governor as part of his ongoing effort to bring down wages and the standard of living for middle-class families.”

In an interview Wednesday, Brown said the statement was meant to amplify and reiterate positions Madigan voiced during a post-session news conference a week ago.