Illinois Policy Institute - Blog - BIllions in the Hole? Time for Pay Raises!

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BIllions in the Hole? Time for Pay Raises!

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7/1/2010

by Kristina Rasmussen

Even though the state budget is billions of dollars out of whack, many state government employees are set to receive a pay raise today. From the Pantagraph:

SPRINGFIELD -- Despite a state budget that is billions of dollars out of whack, more than 46,000 state workers will see bigger paychecks on Thursday.

Judges, prison guards, welfare office workers and mental health specialists will see raises and cost-of-living adjustments worth an estimated $105.6 million.

Some of the increases are significant:

And, personal assistant workers represented by the Service Employees International Union will see a more than 7 percent increase on July 1. [my emphasis]

Quite a few folks are cool on the idea of giving raises during a major economic downturn:

"I just think it shows how Gov. Quinn isn't serious about getting a handle on this problem," said state Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth.

State Rep. David Leitch, R-Peoria, said companies throughout the state have cut back on raises during the economic meltdown and the state should follow suit.

"I think everybody ought to share in the pain," Leitch said.

Governor Quinn is holding a press conference today at 10:30am to talk about his ideas for spending cuts. Here's an idea: don't hike wages and save $105 million. This would seem like a no-brainer, especially as many government jobs already pay far above the statewide average.

User Comments

The following is a letter I am faxing to all the members of the Illinois State Senate. If time permits I will include the members of the House Of Representatives: Elected officials of every office must first declare their interest in serving the will of the voters by performing the duties of that office. Only after can the voters choose that person over the alternatives. The majority of the voters decide who most probably will represent their interests in the appropriate manner. The State of Illinois is in a financial crunch not experienced by any before. The Governor has asked and not received a tax increase to balance the budget. The members of the Legislature say it is not the will of the people to increase taxes. The State has many, many bills unpaid and city, county and township districts are now in financial hardship because the revenue sharing from the state has been interrupted. It is no doubt the will of the voters that the elected officials who professed their wish to serve stay in session and work out the differences. They were elected to a full term and should serve a full term, not throw up their hands and say they cannot come to an agreement. Their job is to negotiate and compromise until an agreement is made. It seems to me that they are closing their eyes and waving their hands as if to profess that they cannot find any spending cuts before them. My township taxing district recently sent me my tax bill. The assessed property value went up slightly and the tax bill increased $250. That represents an increase of almost 8% when home values are dropping. My concern is that while the Illinois Legislature is refusing to pass a tax increase and cannot come to an agreement on spending cuts to balance the budget to avoid the tax increase, our smaller taxing districts are passing their own revenue generating measures. The $250 increase in my property tax bill is considerably less than the $800 I calculated the Governors requested one percent state income tax increase would cost me. The members of congress who think they are saving the voters from a tax increase are not doing anybody any favors. The net effect is my taxes still increased and state vendors and a lot of state workers are suffering the stress and anxiety about what to do with the money shortfall. The voters of this state elected you to address these issues after you said you wanted the job. Please do your job. Brad Sewell Collinsville, Illinois

Posted by Brad Sewell on 11/5/2010 10:43:00 AM

Generally I support pay raises during the recession, but only for people working at private companies. During an economic meltdown it's not wise to raise the salaries of government employees. Usually these salaries are cut back, to save money on the state budget.

Posted by Gordon, the Pay Raise Maniac on 8/12/2010 2:58:41 PM