No End In Sight For Deadlock In Wisconsin
UPDATED 02/22/11 1:10 p.m.
CHICAGO (WBBM/CBS) -- There seems to be no end in sight to the deadlock over the budget bill in Wisconsin that would strip collective bargaining rights from union members.
Meanwhile, several Democratic senators are still hiding out in Chicago to avoid a vote, and one of those 14 senators says protesters have discovered the hotel where a number of the lawmakers are staying.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Mike Krauser reports, Democrats say the bill would bust public unions, but Republicans led by Gov. Scott Walker say the bill is non-negotiable. Several Democratic senators are still hiding out in Chicago to avoid a vote.
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State Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) says the senators are trying to keep their locations a secret because they're concerned for their safety. For example, he says someone e-mailed him threatening to burn down his house.
Larson was speaking to The Associated Press by cell phone on Tuesday when protesters pulled up in front of his hotel. He said he and his fellow Democrats would likely move, although he wasn't sure whether that meant going to a different hotel or a different city.
Another state senator, John Erpenbach (D-Middleton), is also in a Chicago hotel. His colleagues who are also hiding out here are close, he says.
The state senators been holding meetings, getting some business done, and waiting it out – for good reason, Erpenbach says.
"We're known for the Packers, and we're known for cheese, and we're also known as a very pro-worker state," Erpenbach said. "People stand up for those rights every time they're under attack."
When will the Democrats give it up and go back home, he was asked?
"This is all up to the governor," Erpenbach said. "We want to be home now. We didn't want to have to do this. We've been away from our districts, we've been away from our families and obviously we'd like to be home now, but that's up to the governor."
And the governor isn't open to compromise. Democrats and the unions say they would accept an increase in the cost of benefits, but not removal of collective bargaining rights. Walker rejects the idea.
Chicago union workers have returned from Madison after a day of protesting with Wisconsin state workers.
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"As soon as we came, the police opened the doors for us, and we marched in, and they were like, 'Wow, Chicago's here,'" said Rae Wright. "It was a very transforming experience."
Anthony Skorzo says it's an experience he'll never forget.
"It was amazing. It was nothing I've ever seen before," he said.
Plumbers, steel workers, teachers, and electrical workers were amongst 100 Chicagoans who made the road trip.
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