Fewer lawmakers should get stipends

Back in 1989, Gov. Jim Thompson signed a law giving more money to most state lawmakers in the form of stipends, skirting a rule against midterm legislative salary increases.

It took two years to get past legal challenges, but for the next two decades legislative stipends continued to grow, like so many other government perks that have come into focus during Illinois’ recent financial implosion.

Now, the stipends range from $9,851 to $26,212 a year on top of legislators’ $64,716 salaries, and they are collected by 136 of Illinois’ 177 lawmakers, Daily Herald reporter Jake Griffin pointed out Wednesday in his Suburban Tax Watchdog column.

That’s for a legislature that’s in session no more than six months a year.

The leader of each political party on each committee gets a stipend. A bevy of assistant and deputy majority and minority leaders get them. The biggest stipends go to House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, House Minority Leader Tom Cross and Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno.

The stipends add another $1.7 million to the legislative payroll and raise Illinois to fourth in the nation for lawmakers’ total pay, behind Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. The total spent on extra stipends for Illinois legislators is higher than in every state except New York.

It’s time to pare down these add-ons that significantly boost lawmakers’ pay and count toward their pensions but are largely out of public view. Plenty of lawmakers maintain the extra work that goes into some leadership roles warrants additional pay, and in a handful of cases they might be right. But extra compensation should be a rare exception, not something handed out to three out of four lawmakers.

From our point of view, being a legislator should imply that you can run a committee. So no extra reward is automatically warranted, especially for the plethora of do-little committees.

We particularly object to stipends for leadership positions handed out as political perks. The 35 assistant and deputy majority and minority leaders and caucus and conference chairs fall into that category. That group shouldn’t get stipends at all.

Lawmakers deserve credit for agreeing last week to cut their pay 4.6 percent, reducing the base pay from $67,836 and cutting the top stipend from $27,477. It’s the third year they’ve cut back on pay, and it will save the state $565,000.

To the extent that shows recognition of the depth of financial problems facing our state and its residents, we are encouraged.

But we shouldn’t forget that their salaries plus stipends still push legislators — whose jobs are intended to be part-time — well above the $53,974 median household annual income for Illinois residents.