One of Rauner's original anti-union proposals was to eliminate all so-called "prevailing wage" requirements on state and local public works. That is unreasonable. Like it or not, Illinois is a pro-union state and big contractors on big projects should pay union scale. But why require a small contractor to pay a carpenter more than $40 an hour just because the city of Chicago is helping with the rehab of a foreclosed two-flat in the Roseland neighborhood? Our poorest neighborhoods are rife with homes that could be restored and resold but for the high cost of doing so.