State payroll official nixes raises despite Quinn veto

SPRINGFIELD - The state official in charge of payroll has no plans to start writing bigger paychecks for lawmakers even though a plan changing how raises occur was vetoed by the governor.

"Absent a court order or specific appropriation, nothing changes," said Alan Henry, spokesman for Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, whose office processes payroll.

Lawmakers, the governor, comptroller, attorney general and myriad other state officials were slated to get a 2.7 percent cost-of-living increase this budget year. Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved forgoing that adjustment and doing away with the obscure state panel that sets lawmakers' pay. Instead, there would have to be a vote anytime lawmakers and state officials wanted raises.

But Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed that plan last week, saying he wanted the automatic cost-of-living adjustments wiped out for every future year, not just this one. He suggested language to that effect and sent the plan back to lawmakers for their consideration.

The potential problem is that by taking this course, Quinn runs the risk that nothing will happen and all the efforts to overhaul the pay system will simply expire and the current system will remain in place.

Aurora Republican state Sen. Chris Lauzen sponsored the legislation barring the automatic adjustment and pay raises and what happens next is up to him. Lauzen said Monday he was surprised and confused by Quinn's actions.

"It's hard enough to get anybody in any circumstance to agree to a pay cut and eliminate a pretty automatic system for getting pay raises. We got that accomplished. I thought it was a small miracle and now to press it even further, I think jeopardizes the progress that was made," Lauzen said.

Lawmakers aren't scheduled to take up the governor's vetoes until the October session. At that point, they can accept the governor's changes and the plan would be come law, or they could push to override the changes and enact the original plan. If they take no action or if the plan fails to pass, then none of the changes hit the law books.

Lawmakers' annual base pay is roughly $68,000, but members collect thousands more by serving in leadership positions and running committees. The governor's pay is nearly $177,000, though Quinn did not accept the nearly $27,000 raise that came when he moved from the lower-paid lieutenant governor's post following the impeachment and ouster of Rod Blagojevich in January.