While Illinoisans will be paying higher taxes, Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he’s going to give state lawmakers at least a $1,600 pay increase because they’re hard workers.
Pritzker said he’ll sign the budget bills being sent his way, despite the ire from taxpayers that lawmakers gave themselves a raise while doubling the state’s gas tax.
Pritzker was asked multiple times in Chicago Tuesday if he’d line-item veto more than $280,000 in lawmaker pay increases when he gets the budget that was passed in overtime session.
“Look, this was a highly negotiated budget,” Pritzker said. “We had the Republicans and Democrats coming to the table back and forth on this and so I’m going to sign the budget that we put forward.”
State Representative Mike Marron of Danville signed on as a co-sponsor, along with the entire House Republican Caucus, to stop automatic legislative Cost of Living Adjustments. However, House Democrats refused to allow for a vote on the legislation so now Marron is calling on Governor Pritzker to veto the planned raises for Illinois’ politicians. ”I am completely adamant that Illinois legislators do not deserve to have a pay increase until we start working together on both sides of the aisle to address our growing pension debt,” said Representative Marron. And Marron pledged to donate any increases in his legislative salary to charity.Illinois lawmakers are the highest paid state legislators in the region, making a base pay of $67,836 with a $111 a day per diem. That’s going to go up.
The measure to keep lawmaker pay flat passed the Senate late Friday but when the bill got to the House, state Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, put a non-concur motion on it, holding the measure from a floor vote. He hasn’t responded to messages seeking comment.
Multiple lawmakers have called on the governor to line-item veto the pay raises. Pritzker was insistent he’s going to sign the budget as is. He even defended lawmakers.
“They’re working night and day, Republicans and Democrats, I credit them all,” Pritzker said. “Many of them are taking on much more than people expect. They’re also away from their families for days, sometimes a week at a time.”
Illinois’ backlog of bills isn’t the only debt. Illinois also has $136 billion of unfunded pension liability, among the worst credit rating in the country, the second-highest property taxes and more problems.
Before leaving town, lawmakers approved the biggest spending budget in Illinois state history without addressing some of the main cost drivers like the increased pension debt.
