CHICAGO – On Wednesday, the Illinois Education Association did the inevitable and officially endorsed Gov. Pat Quinn’s bid for re-election.

Rank-and-file union members can’t be too happy about the news. It was Quinn, after all, who signed a major pension reform bill last December that cut benefits for hundreds of thousands of public employees and retirees.

And if that isn’t enough to cause the unionists’ heartburn, Quinn is running for re-election with education reform-proponent Paul Vallas as his running mate.

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Vallas is an accomplished leader who, over the years, has helped reform public schools in Chicago, Philadelphia and New Orleans. During those stints, Vallas established a reputation for using private groups to turn around lousy public schools, expanding charter schools and supporting standardized testing.

Those policies are like kryptonite to teacher unions, which is why Vallas has emerged as a favorite union target over the past several years.

Vallas was serving as superintendent of Connecticut’s Bridgeport Public Schools – and doing battle with the local teachers union – when Quinn asked him to be his running mate.

So it’s more than a little ironic that by endorsing Quinn, the Illinois Education Association is also supporting Vallas.

The state’s other major teachers union – the Illinois Federation of Teachers – is doing the same. The IFT bit the bullet and announced its support of Quinn’s campaign back in January.

The unions are willing to call a truce in their battle against Vallas simply because they find Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner completely unacceptable. Not only is Rauner an enthusiastic charter school supporter (he even has a school named in his honor), but he’s a fan of voucher programs that allow students in failing districts to attend the private school of their choice.

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If Vallas’ views are like kryptonite to the teacher unions, then Rauner’s are like anthrax. And that’s why the unionists have swallowed their pride and climbed aboard Quinn’s quiet, half-filled bandwagon.

Despite some serious disagreements with Quinn, the unions say he’s been a reliable friend to public education. The unions may not be passionate about Quinn, but the governor won’t mind as long as they give his campaign access to their deep pockets and dedicated volunteer base.

But even those things might not be enough to get him re-elected. A poll from mid-June showed Rauner with a sizable lead over the governor, who has consistently struggled to crack 40 percent in many surveys.

There’s still five months until Election Day, but the way things stand now, Quinn will soon have a lot of free time on his hands and the unions will be without a friend in the governor’s mansion.

Yes sir, it’s shaping up to be a good 2015 for Illinois families who are sick of the K-12 status quo.

Stay tuned.