Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoes lawmakers' pay raise - Blogs On Politics - Crain's Chicago Business

 

With no agreement near on a new state budget, Gov. Bruce Rauner today sent lawmakers an unmistakable message: He vetoed their pay raise.

Rauner used his amendatory veto to eliminate from a budget implementation bill the money needed to pay for annual cost-of-living raises for legislative salaries and per diem expenses that automatically are adjusted up with inflation.

Unless overridden, the action will cost every legislator on both sides of the aisle $1,356 to $1,905 in pay for fiscal 2016.

The amendatory veto also applies to elected statewide executive officials, agency directors and other top state personnel. But I guarantee you it's the message to lawmakers that will make the news.

Rauner put a little bit of extra oomph in his action.

"The state is suffering from a debt burden well in excess of $100 billion. Instead of acknowledging this reality, the General Assembly passed an unbalanced and unconstitutional budget for fiscal year 2016," he said in his veto message.

"A balanced budget requires shared sacrifices. My administration has reduced state personnel costs among agencies under my jurisdiction by $4 million. . . . Under these circumstances, the state cannot afford to give legislators a raise."

Besides, he added, with a little bit of spit that might not go over well with GOP lawmakers either, "Illinois legislators are already among the highest paid in the United States, earning $68,000 to $95,000 per year for part-time service."

Somehow, I think we'll be hearing more about this. If you'll recall, former Gov. Pat Quinn a few years ago tried to put a brick on legislative paychecks, but his action was overruled in court.

Update — Illinois Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno is being a loyal lady about the veto, though I suspect she didn't appreciate the suggestion that she's overpaid.

"It is a fact: Illinois lawmakers are among the highest-paid in the nation,” she told me in a phone interview. "And I'm not sure that, in this budget environment, any raises are appropriate."

What is regrettable, she added, is what majority Democrats have done. "A person looking at this situation from outside would scratch their head that the Democrats passed this (unbalanced) budget."

So there

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