We discuss the aftermath of the Wisconsin vote this week, with an eye toward the CTU’s strike authorization vote which began hours after Scott Walker was re-elected.

Curtis Black (Newstips.org) says that the Wisconsin recall was the first major, deeply partisan contest on the national stage since Citizens United, and it has proven the power of Republican-oriented deep-pocket contributors to profoundly sway elections.

Lorraine Forte (Catalyst-Chicago) explains that the CTU felt it had strong incentives for taking the strike vote now, since state legislation had mandated a higher 75% approval level. In addition, the affirmative vote must now include the entire membership, not just those who voted. We talk about the influence of Stand For Children, the Oregon-based organization that sponsored the original legislation and boasted that it had made future strikes almost impossible.  With this backdrop, it makes the apparent wide support for a strike authorization among teachers all the more remarkable.

Curtis Black also talks about his recent Newstips.org post about Illinois’ regressive tax policies. Just switching to a tax law similar to Iowa’s, he says, could net Illinois six billion dollars each year in additional revenue, which could make a serious dent in the pension issue, education funding and the backlog of payments to service providers. It’s recommended reading.