Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker could delay the $313 million in raises state workers have yet to receive, but instead he’s considering taking $75 million from their paychecks and leaving taxpayers without their services.
State workers represented by AFSCME Council 31 will see pay increases averaging $1,343 starting July 1. Total cost of the raises is $261 million as COVID-19 continues depleting state revenues.
How fair is it that some of the highest-paid state employees in the nation are getting a raise that must be funded by an economically wounded bunch of taxpayers?
Illinois’ self-employed workers have been unable to receive assistance since the pandemic began. Now the state wants them to apply, be denied, and apply again for help.
With more than 755,000 Illinoisans out of work, state employees are still scheduled to get their automatic raises. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is treating those raises as non-negotiable. Governors in other states would disagree.
Illinois residents pay more of their income toward state and local taxes than any other state’s residents. A progressive income tax proposal on the ballot in November would raise the state’s total tax burden by $3.7 billion.
Pritzker should join other Democratic governors in postponing automatic pay raises, which would free up funds for needy Illinoisans and potentially preserve state worker jobs in the long run.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on March 20 ordered state residents to stay home except for essential workers and trips for supplies. The order came as Illinois recorded its fifth death and 585 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.