No Budget, Huge Deficit Just The Beginning For Illinois' Fiscal Year
From the Associated Press
Illinois government by the numbers: 27 days into a new fiscal year, the state has no budget, a deficit of up to $4 billion and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner insisting that Democrats in the legislature embrace his five pro-business and anti-corruption initiatives.
And in the face of those recalcitrant lawmakers, Rauner has brought some new figures into the equation: A 2 percent automatic cost-of-living increase, set to take effect this month to boost the $68,000 base legislative salary by nearly $1,400.
"They've taken a pay hike for themselves without any budget and without any real reforms," Rauner said last week.
It's also the first pay hike in seven years for salaries that have not kept pace with inflation.
The time lapse, the way this year's pay hike played out and the defense Democrats have assumed this year after having rejected a pay bump in 2014 all represent a new chapter in what's been a sordid compensation history for the General Assembly's 177 members -- a number that used to be higher until taxpayers voted to reduce it because of a pay hike.
The plot twists have Democrats cornered. House Speaker Michael Madigan won't answer questions about it. After years of well-intended, politically popular votes to reject raises, Chicago Senate President John Cullerton now says it would violate the Illinois Constitution not to take the pay. The charter prohibits "changes in salary" during a legislator's term.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Associated Press
Illinois government by the numbers: 27 days into a new fiscal year, the state has no budget, a deficit of up to $4 billion and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner insisting that Democrats in the legislature embrace his five pro-business and anti-corruption initiatives.
And in the face of those recalcitrant lawmakers, Rauner has brought some new figures into the equation: A 2 percent automatic cost-of-living increase, set to take effect this month to boost the $68,000 base legislative salary by nearly $1,400.
"They've taken a pay hike for themselves without any budget and without any real reforms," Rauner said last week.
It's also the first pay hike in seven years for salaries that have not kept pace with inflation.
The time lapse, the way this year's pay hike played out and the defense Democrats have assumed this year after having rejected a pay bump in 2014 all represent a new chapter in what's been a sordid compensation history for the General Assembly's 177 members -- a number that used to be higher until taxpayers voted to reduce it because of a pay hike.
The plot twists have Democrats cornered. House Speaker Michael Madigan won't answer questions about it. After years of well-intended, politically popular votes to reject raises, Chicago Senate President John Cullerton now says it would violate the Illinois Constitution not to take the pay. The charter prohibits "changes in salary" during a legislator's term.
Read more in our daily News Update...