Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state’s largest public employee union announced Tuesday that they have agreed on a new contract that will provide a nearly 18 percent pay raise over four years, including a 4 percent raise this year.

The contract also expands parental leave to 12 weeks and calls for new joint efforts to improve workplace safety.

A spokesperson for the governor’s office said in an email that the contract is projected to cost an additional $204 million in the first year and $625 million over four years.
Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, which represents about 35,000 state employees, voted in local union meetings over the last two weeks to ratify the contract, which negotiators had tentatively agreed to on July 1.

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