Taxpayers again footing the bill for special session
SPRINGFIELD -- In a state where the government plans to spend $59 billion this year, it's not a lot of money. But taxpayers can expect to cough up at least $80,000 for this week's special legislative session.
Lawmakers will return to Springfield Wednesday and Thursday at the beck of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who says they sent him a fiscal blueprint in which expenditures exceed revenues by $2 billion.
Like anyone on business, Illinois' 118 representatives and 59 senators are entitled to reimbursement for their expenses.
It's $129 per day for lodging and meals, for a total of $45,400.
And for hopping in the car and crossing the flat prairie to the capital, each gets 50.5 cents per mile. They'll drive 60,260 miles and get $30,400 in taxpayer reimbursements, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.
Last year, when the General Assembly was in session after its May 31 adjournment deadline, Blagojevich often flew to Springfield and home to Chicago each night, at a cost of nearly $6,000.
State-owned aircraft operation and lodging for staff members likely will put the total over $80,000.
That's a fraction of the overall budget cost, which was supposed to take effect with the state's new fiscal year July 1. The bigger cost might be the emotional toll taken on those under the Capitol dome after last summer's budget standoff between Blagojevich and House Democrats, which is shaping up to be a rerun.
Blagojevich had revenue-generating ideas the Democrat-controlled House rejected. Then the governor threatened $1.5 billion in cuts, but has since softened his stance.
Not everyone in Springfield is heaving a "here we go again" sigh. Those who run hotels or restaurants are rolling out the welcome mat.
That's all well and good, says Sen. Larry Bomke, a Springfield Republican. But his idea of economic development is more along the lines of Blagojevich's $34 billion statewide construction plan, which passed the Senate before dying in the House.
"We're the only ones benefiting when we're in session," said Bomke, who does not take the $129 per diem. "It just costs extra money."
Legislators are reimbursed for one round trip per week between home and the Capitol.
On average a lawmaker's round trip is 340 miles, for a reimbursement check of $172, according to the analysis. The longest trip belongs to Republican Rep. JoAnn Osmond of Antioch, who will put in nearly 500 miles on the road.
The Internal Revenue Service last month increased the tax-deductible allowance for business mileage 8 cents, to 58.5 cents. It was a rare midyear move by the IRS because of soaring gas prices.
But lawmakers, like federal employees, may not claim that amount unless it's adopted by the federal General Services Administration, which is investigating whether an increase is justified.
A federal employees' union has asked the GSA to adopt the increase and supports legislation in Congress to raise it to 70 cents per mile. At that rate, lawmakers' reimbursement would jump $12,000 overall, to $42,000 per weekly round-trip.