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.

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.

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.