Lawmaker pay raises scaled back

Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the new state budget into law today (Wednesday). The $50 billion dollar spending plan lays out all of the priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, including increased investments in education, more money for local governments and some commitments to pay down some of the state’s pension debts.

““From the beginning, I promised to work together with the General Assembly to restore fiscal responsibility to our state government after years of mismanagement,” Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement. “Thanks to our firmer fiscal foundation, we have been able to put billions of dollars back into the pockets of Illinois taxpayers while investing in our future. "

The Governor made some changes before signing it, though. He is issuing a reduction veto to cut down the pay raise lawmakers are giving themselves in the budget. The Illinois Constitution gives lawmakers a Cost of Living Adjustment to their salaries each year. With inflation sky rocketing, both Senate and House members were going to see a five thousand dollar increase to their salaries, from $85 thousand to $90 thousand per year. That increase turned out to actually violate the Constitution, which limits the cost of living adjustment to a maximum of a five percent raise.

94.1 WGFA