OELWEIN, Iowa --- In the middle of tense debate in the Wisconsin Statehouse over a union-limiting bill, when all 14 Democratic senators decided to depart for Illinois, one of the first messages in support of them came from an Iowan.

The call was placed from former Gov. Chet Culver to Wisconsin State Sen. Chris Larson, a Milwaukee Democrat.

The freshman lawmaker was the featured speaker at a fundraising dinner for the Fayette County Democratic Party.

Larson said the decision to flee wasn't one that the group spent much time planning.

"One thing you might not realize is we had no idea what we were doing," he said.

The lawmakers were trying to delay a vote on the bill, which would have curtailed collective bargaining rights for public workers. Many lawmakers, Larson claimed, didn't get much warning over the bill and many were caught off guard.

"It just seemed so out of nowhere," he said.