70 Comments - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 8:54 am: As Gary Hannig said yesterday, to those who dislike (he said “hate”) the Governor already it won’t mean a thing. To many of us who were willing to give him a chance it will. - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 8:56 am: It won’t make any difference to the majority of MC people as a 4% raise while paying 4% pension still results in no gain (even a small loss for some). It is nice for MCers to get something though. - right of right - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 8:58 am: I definately think this should help ease the anger that some of these employees felt towards the governor. First of all, not all employees were angry with him. Many were angry at past administrations for bankrupting the state with poor fiscal management. Many of these employees are professionals and saw the decisions made by the Ryan administration as detrimental to the state. They felt ignored by the Ryan leadership. While nobody was thrilled to have their pay frozen by blago, at least they felt that some of those bad decisions had been reversed. Blago came in and has balanced the budget without raising income or sales taxes. I, for one, applaud that. As a non state employee, I don’t always feel the greatest sympathy for them when my tax dollars are wasted. However, by freezing their pay, blago made these pay raises acceptable to voters, thus making it more likely that there will not be voter backlash for more regular payraises in the future. This is good for the state workers because they will benefit in the long run. The general public feels that they have taken their lumps and have contributed to righting the ship of state. Future pay raises will no longer be taboo and their hard work will be more regularly rewarded. - leigh - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:03 am: There is an interesting article in the Southern Illinoisan today about a whistleblower from IDOT district 9. He has risked everything to bring light to the problems the current administration has created by putting politics above all else. There is mention of the pay raise, I don’t think it impressed anyone. If other agencies are as bad, I doubt money is even the issue. I don’t know how to link the story, sorry. - Bill - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:03 am: You guys still don’t get it. He is not giving them a raise to get their votes. He is giving them a raise because they deserve it and it is the right thing to do. We will win with or without the MC vote. - Louis G. Atsaves - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:07 am: The deficits have been eliminated? Really? Every last penny? The state is no longer running rivers of red ink, we are in the black? All the bills are paid? Previously the state employees who made this sacrifice were basically demonized by this administration. I don’t believe that a 4% increase right now will make things all warm and fuzzy between them after how crudely the pay freezes and forced increases in contributions were handled. Louis G. Atsaves - Former MC employee - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:07 am: If the Governor gets re-elected, MC employees can expect another 4% four years from now. There was an interesting story in today’s Southern Illinoisan about an IDOT engineer who complains about the politicizing of jobs that require technical proficiency. I left state government recently due to this same issue. Most people will never know just how poorly state government now operates because so much of the work is not frontline. In my 20 years with state government, this was easily the most incompetent, deceitful, yet arrogant, group of people that I’ve seen run Illinois government. - VanillaMan - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:12 am: HURRAY FOR JUDY! See! She’s been running for only a week, and already Blago is running scared enough to end the “I hate state workers!” line, and try to buy they off! There is no more money in the budget, and he has no idea where the money is coming from. What he did decide is that he needs to start making nice again to all those people who’s careers he left in ruins, all those retirees who he’s let his little flying monkey, Tusk, insult, and to all those demoralized, angry co-workers he has been mistreating for years. Thanks Judy, for forcing this big-headed egomaniac to start running scared! - Randall Sherman - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:15 am: Of course I’m sure it’s just one of those weird coincidences that the announcement comes just one week before the Governor files his nominating petitions for a second term. And if you believe that, you will also believe that today is a perfect day to stroll along Oak Street Beach in nothing but your swimsuit! - downstae - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:22 am: Hey guys as I said before a lot of those that had thier wages froze are gone and have been replaced with Blago people.All he is doing is taking care of his people.Elections are around the corner time to spend-spend-spend. - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:28 am: SEE Anon 8:54 comments. As I said . . . - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:28 am: As an MC employee, it is my opinion that this olive branch is too little, too late. The gov has spent a good portion of his term bashing state employees for being unethical and working slugs. With the early retirements and lack of rehiring for the front lines, all state employees have been forced to go above and beyond normal expectations. However, MC employees do it with no overtime pay. Additionally, many MC employees make significantly less money than private sector employees who perform the same type of jobs. Yet, our cost of living expenses continue to increase, just like everyone else’s. Most MC employees (classified “management”) make less money than union employees — in many cases, supervisors are making less money than their staff. In the interim, our agencies are top heavy, filled with senior staff that “average” around $100,000/yr. And after 3 years with no raises, a 4% increase should keep the MC folks happy? NOW, with the election looming, he is suddenly heaping praise on us for our sacrifices? Frankly, I would rather he give me enough money to pay doctor bills. I would rather he offer me a raise that would allow me to quit my second job, so I can spend more time with my family. So, while I thank him for waving a white flag, this effort is an obvious ploy and not enough to make me trust in his leadership. That makes me a little sad, too. The dems really had a great opportunity, here, and I feel like they blew it. - cermak_rd - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:44 am: Businesses accross IL have downsized, frozen salaries and yes, expected “management” employees to fill in the gaps and pay more for insurance and reduced pensions or eliminated them entirely in favor of 401Ks; so the state of IL doing the same thing to its employees doesn’t strike me as hideously unfair. If jobs are available for more money in the private sector, why aren’t those employees jumping to them? - downstae - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:51 am: At least this IDOT guy can write his legislator some agency’s people are forbidden to talk or write anyone about the mess going on. - Reality - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:56 am: Well………let’s see. In this mornings SJR, Sen.Bomke said the Gov’s pandering for election purposes. Hey Larry, why don’t you sponsor a resolution to delay the raises until after the 06 election.That will make yourselflook real non-partisan. Or how about polling your state employee constituents? I’m sure they would be willing to wait for another year, right Larry!! This raise may curry some favor but in REALITY most state employees in springfield are Republicans and hate the guy!! As one who works in the REAL world, state employees should thank their lucky stars for what they have!! Just read the papers every day and see what bush is doing to pensions around the country!!!!!!!! Be thankful!! - JSM - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:58 am: The merit comp employees deserved this raise. However, for those that did not like the Governor it will not make a difference. However, I dont think that the Governor did this to win their vote. Common sense tells you that a 4% raise would not achieve this. I honestly believe that Blagojevich did this because the MC workers have sacfiiced an increase the past three years while the Governor elminated the billion dollar defecit left by George Ryan. The Governor promised from day one that once the republican defecit was eliminated he would free up money for those that sacrificed. You are seeing this now. The timing of the announcement probably had more to do with Christmas than anything. Of course, it didnt stop the Republicans (Bomke, Radogno) from ripping it as a bad idea. For the person that thought the JBT announcement had anything to do with this, you obviously dont know how state government works. This raise would have had to been in the works for at least a month before announcing. As Democrats, we are NOT afraid of Judy Topinka… Of this I can assure you. - Reality - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 10:18 am: I just can’t keep my fingers off the keyboard. Wow….all the criticism about the raises!!! How about all you loyal republicans return the raise to the treasury or better yet……give it to the Salvation Army!!! Merry Christmas - Cassandra - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 10:32 am: State employees receive health and retirement benefits which are continually rising in value in comparison with the benefits (or lack thereof) of private and non-profit employees. In effect, therefore, they have been getting “raises” all along. Today, for example, we learn that the Verizon managers (sort of equivalent to “MC” state employees) will have their pensions frozen, thus potentially reducing their compensation packages. If this were a 0 percent to 4 percent raise dependent on performance, I would be in agreement. This approach in effect says quality of performance doesn’t matter in state of Illiois management. One can only hope that this extravagant and in a number of cases unwarranted outlay of taxpayer monies will be reduced at least slightly by a reduction in the number of state management employees, many of whom have little or no work to do. Apparently, these raises will be given regardless of performance. So the message to state employees really is, it doesn’t matter what you do or don’t do on the job, you get the same raise. Sort of like the tenured teachers. Regardless of performance, they all benefit from the lavish sslary increases many Illinois teachers (and school admins) have been getting lately. Clearly, this is a political move by the guv. But that is not surprising… it is Blagojevich. - A long time MC employee - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 10:33 am: I can tell you that this raise will not matter a bit to long time MC employees. Not only has our pay been frozen, employee contributions to our pensions have eaten further into our pocket books. Yes, the same pension that has helped to *balance* the budget. The part that stings the most is the fact that the “Blago” people have been receiving raises the whole time MC employees have had their pay frozen. This is seen as another transparent attempt by the gov to curry favor with another voting block he has alienated, the old time, front line WORKERS. Just another old tired gimmick from Rod. right of right - this state has a balanced budget? Balanced with funny money. If you think the state is in better shape now fiscally that it was before you must think it is OK to pay off credit card bills with a home equity loan. - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 10:45 am: First of all, I am not sure very many of the previous posts are from merit comp employees, because none of the comments I read mentioned the lost pension pick-up. If the merit comp employees do the math they will realize that since he has been governor, they have lost their pension pick-up (4% in 03)and gone without raises for 3 budget years, so the 4% raise this year only makes them whole (not a raise) for the pension pick-up loss, and does not make up for the 3 years of no COLA raises(unlike the union employees who, I believe, received their scheduled raises every year). Also many of the merit comp employees that were inherited by this administration see the practice of “musical chairs” by MC employees hired by Blago. They move from agency to agency each time getting the unwritten rule max 10% bump. These employees are not stupid and most of them know the system very well because they have worked it themselves for a lot of years. So, yes I do think this is a good tactical move by Blagojevich. It is better than the last two Christmas announcements (take early retirement or get laid off). Should it make a difference to merit comp employees he has been shafting since day one? No. - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 10:47 am: This is anon 10:45. Sorry, I missed the 8:56 comments that made the same argument I did. - JLM - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 10:51 am: I would assume that this letter and the 4% increase that is ensures, will quiet any staffer who may be brining information to the news media. Any staffer in a position to have news worthy information would need to be somewhat up the ladder. Which means they would see this increase and the supporting letter for what it is…another political piece. I don’t think a 4% increase and a cheerful letter will be enough to change the minds of those who have taken issue with the Governor. - downstate - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 11:14 am: JSM you have been believing to much of the Governor’s press releases.He did not cure the defecit he only borrowed to cover it and his backside.Now when he leaves office that leaves us holding the bag.Welcome to Blago style politics. - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 11:32 am: Well as a MC employee I am happy for the 4% but I am still about 12% behind. The “shared sacrifice” Blago refers to must be for MC employees only. Union employees had a offset for the 4% pension and raises since. AFSCME got 13% over 4 years. Now many MC employees are wanting to be covered by Union contract, AFSCME or Teamster to protect their seniority and to get their vacation earning rate back. The vacation policy for MC employees was just insult to injury which was more of an issue with most than the pay raise. Let’s hear from other MC people about the vacation carry over issue. - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 12:44 pm: This may be a stupid question given the 3 year dearth, but when were MC raises ever a press release and media event? Where’s the press release for each union raise? - anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 12:53 pm: This was a very transparent, pandering ploy on the Gov’s part. Merit Comp has been a badly broken system for years, and the current administration LOVES it that way. I watched a guy who had literally been caught stealing state property and converting it to private use,(several times) who only worked about half his appointed hours, get a maximum raise every year, while the unconnected regular folks doing an honest day’s work (including myself) went without “merit” increases for years. This had been going on since before Ryan. I finally got wise and joined the union out of self-preservation, and I’m not the only one, by far. And that’s why Blago is handing out raises: it’s to try and discourage more MC workers joining the union and making it too strong to mess with, as much as it is a sop to quell mutinous worker grumbling. As to the 4%, those of us who’ve been overworked with unpaid overtime, had our pension contributions reduced, been denied access to further training and support, been called in on holidays without overtime, not given raises or promotions, and seen our “great” benefits packages get whittled down a little bit every year… we see this 4% as much LESS than our due. Let’s not even go to the issues of overpaying outside vendors and “consultants” to do the work we were doing, but at twice the price, with half the competency… And this P.R. campaign-worker stuff they are trying to make us do, that’s just the last straw. Can we re-wind to Blago’s first year and his often-repeated mantra: “I will not balance the budget on the backs of hard-working state workers.” -Then why do I have these blue-swede-shoe-prints all over my back? Geez, I can’t figure it out! A colleague wouldn’t do that to me, surely! - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 1:11 pm: It only takes half a second to come up with a nickname. Doing so makes it much easier for the rest of us to follow the conversation. Please don’t just post as “Anon.” Thanks. - anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 1:19 pm: this is another pr stunt. how is this a pay raise when he took 4% from them in 2003? this guy is just one thing after another and who isn’t sick of him ny now. - So-Called "Austin Mayor" - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 1:22 pm: It is too late for Blagorgeous to buy the love of all those unhappy state employees, but it may not be too late for him to buy their silence. - right if right - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 1:41 pm: To “A long time MC employee” if I had my way, you would all be at will employees. I think that anything that protects do nothing employees of the state is a disservice to the taxpayers. And in response to your criticism of blago balancing the budget, I would rather have the debt refinanced as he did, then to pass on record low interest rates and continue to pay more towards interest than principal. He didnt create the unfunded bond obligation — he is paying more into it than past governors. What you fail to mention is that the refinance saved millions in state paid interest. I’m not a big fan of government (in fact, I’m pretty much a libertarian), so I’m not a fan of blago’s health insurance plan for kids, nor the money he has dumped into education. however, he did us good with the refinance — it was fiscsally smart. And he did so without raising my damn taxes. - another former mc employee - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 1:43 pm: Completely agree with Anon 10:45, but the “max 10%” bump is wrong. Thats low. Way low. Take the former Chief of Staff for ISBE….he came from the Gov’s office hauling in under $30K. A quick move over to ISBE (the guy was barely 25, if that) and he vaults to the $75K bracket. That seems more like 250%. If I were to guess, most of the bumps are in the 40% range when staff gets moved to other offices. If I’m a MC employee right now, I’d be offended at the meager 4% that Blago is so magnanimously handing out. It would mean more if the group on 16 gave their raises to the front line employees… - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 1:55 pm: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I think current state employees would be much happier if they felt like they were valued, and ensuring their offices are well run and they have the resources to do their job would mean alot more in that respect than a 4% raise. Having said that, state employees should recognize how lucky they really are to enjoy the economic security of a publicly-funded job. You still have your job and your pension. You don’t have to worry about your job being outsourced to Mexico like Maytag did or your pension being yanked from beneath you as American Airlines employees had happen to them. And, as was mentioned elsewhere, you enjoy some of the best employer health care benefits in the state, so you don’t really need to worry everyday about what happens if you or your kid gets sick. This Holiday Season, take stock of your blessings. - Naidirem - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 2:20 pm: To Right of Right- First, there is a reason the vast majority of State Employees are not ‘at will’. Mass swathes of experienced workers would be wiped out and replaced with each transfer of party power in the executive branch. The ‘at will’ employees are there to direct policy and program. The protected employees are there to make it happen. Without them little would be accomplished as new employees try to figure out how to negotiate the process. However since as a ‘libertarian’ you don’t like government anyway, I guess this matters little to you. Second, while refinancing may have been a good thing, common sense dictates that when dealing with debt only one of two things will eliminate it. Reduce current spending and/or increase income. Our state, as with our nation, has not done either successfully and therefore any real debt/deficit elimination has not been achieved. -Naidirem (formerly Anon 8:56am) - another former mc employee - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 2:22 pm: Yellow Dog: I was happy to serve the State when I worked for them. It was an honor to give back, even if it were only the tiniest fraction of the “big picture” of state government. I did “take stock” of how much I appreciated working, and sacrificing for the state. But the 4% raise still a slap in the face. The health benefits weren’t all that great either, however it was health care…. What Rod has done is wrong, 4% across the board is a terrible way to dole out much neded raises. Somewhere we lost the definition of “merit.” The unfortunate detail missing is that the Governor instituted no plan to credibly measure performance, so the folks that ARE doing a good job get the same raise as the schmucks. - LittleEgypt - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 2:40 pm: Oh Bill, puhleeeeze, what planet did you come from. He’s giving the MC employees a raise because they deserve it? Even a grade schooler could see through his agenda on this one. If the MC employees were so deserving of a raise, why didn’t it come sooner? Oh, I forgot, the State was in dire financial shape and Mr. Miracle has pulled us out of the bankrupty abyss in just 3 short years. But wait a minute, we have the new Allkids program to pay for, which he says we have money for (barely). So stay tuned Bill for the next State of the State speech and see what shell game Blago plays with YOUR children’s future to balance the budget. Perhaps at that speech he will also announce that all of the hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, and pharmacies have now been paid the past due money they are owed. And he may even announce that Elvis will appear at the Inaugural Ball. Vanilla Man - couldn’t have said it better. YDD, the State of Illinois has been outsourcing jobs not to Mexico but to consultants for many years now. Edgar claimed to have cut the workforce drastically and got rid of the excess workers. But what people did not understand was that each and every person was replaced by at least one consultant at 2-3 times the money. It’s a fact. My spouse supervised more consultants than State employees. 4-1 ratio. FACT. And that practice still exists today. FACT. The State seems to think they can justify this practice by not having to pay benefits. That’s a laugh when the consultants who get the contracts are greasing the Gov’s palm with campaign contributions. And Blago (it won’t be business as usual) has taken that ball and ran with it. The consultants number more now than ever before. As for the MC employees playing musical chairs and using the system, most are just keeping their heads down while the bullets whiz by. They are trying to do their job and the job of the person who used to sit at the empty desk next to them. A 4% raise is laughable, especially considering that JBT announced her run for Gov last week and next week Blago will file. So the raise is nothing more than the filling between the politicians and I don’t like Blago’s assumption that I can be bought. It’s not enough for me to close my transon and stop flying paper airplanes made out of confidential memos hoping they land on the desk of Rich Miller. - Bobby Hicks - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 3:12 pm: This is for all of the overworked, underpaid, bony fingered MC state employees: Cargill Meat Solutions in Beardstown Illinois is hiring. Your pay will increase from $11.75 to $12.75 after you complete your first 90 days on the job. I hear that the kill floor is a lot of fun this time of year. Leave that crummy state job behind, join the Cargill team today. - Pale Face - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 3:48 pm: Right of Right I think that was a little harsh in refernce to making MC employees all employees at will. But, to be fair, you would have to include union workers in your little rant as well as it is easier to discipline and/or fire MC workers in comparison to union ones. - Bobby Hicks - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 4:21 pm: Absolutely, it will make a difference. I’m happy with the 4 % increase; I’d be happy with a 1 % increase. Some, not all, state employees would be complaining if they received a 10 % increase. The vast majority of the MC employees appreciate the pay bump. I doubt that the average Joe Public citizen is going to shed too many tears for the self proclaimed poor, overworked, underpaid state worker. However, if Joe Public is curious as to how much their favorite state worker earns, they should visit the Illinois comptroller web-site http://www.ioc.state.il.us/ and request that person’s yearly income. What a spoiled bunch! - Beowulf - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 4:25 pm: Blagojevich had told the state employees to make sacrifices by forgoing raises and tampering with their pensions. Yet, he has failed to show leadership by example. Did he get ever get a backbone and tell his wife, “Honey, we are moving to Springfield where I am needed for my work”? NO!!! Did he ever personally bill himself rather than the Illinois taxpayers because he could not in good conscience pass the cost on to the taxpayers for being flown back and forth between Chicago and Springfield? NO!!!! Did he shut down the expensive driveway project at the Governor’s Mansion ( he doesn’t even live there)whereby the driveway was heated so snow would melt as it landed on the driveway? NO!!!! Did Blago say to the state employees that he would no longer give special favors to large political contributors? NO!!!! Even his own father-in-law (Dick Mell)finally blew the whistle on that one. His letter announcing the 4% pay raise treated the state workers in a demeaning way. It was as if he and Marie had decided to “Let them eat cake.” In the letter it probably said “I feel your pain and by the way, thank you for shopping at K-Mart.” He is dummying down to the state employees. I would be insulted if I were them. Forrest Gump had it down cold when he said, “Stupid is as stupid does”. I think that a large percentage of the state employees have had a belly full of him. They will show their true feelings when election day rolls around. - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 4:28 pm: Cargill treats all their workers fairly from management to those on the kill floor. The state does not and that is the rub. Union employees at the expense of supervisory employees has been the theme the last 3 years. Most private companies would not survive with this mentality. - packman - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 4:45 pm: Everyone is talking about the top dog’s/MC employees who make “Big Bucks” well no one is discussing the SG (Salary Grade) employees who have also been without raises for almost 4 yrs. I have lost 6 raises + my 4% and I don’t even make $30,000 a year but because I wasn’t able to be in the union I have sacraficed my family for the State of Illinois. Guv give me a break your personnel people had no clue when they froze all non-union salaries. CMS didn’t realize it effected alot of other individuals besides Merit Comp. This may show others how they think they can run the State of Illinois - we won’t really know until after Blago is long gone and all we will be able to do is clean up the mess. What a shame!!! - A long time MC employee - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 4:53 pm: Right of Right FYI. I work long hours, pick up the slack from the clueless “entitlement” children who do nothing. Plus I have to keep my head down as the bullets whiz by as stated by LittleEgypt. I am happy that we refinanced some debt, and I am sure the friends who work those deals are too. Even though we may saving on reduced interest payments what do you call having to pay back over $20 billion borrowed/bond money to *balance* the budget? Just doing business? - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 5:23 pm: long time mc 4:53 Borrowed $20 billion? Check your facts dude. Also, you can’t use GO bond debt to cover operating expenses, period. If you’re talking about the $10 b pension bond, well remember that was used to reduce pension debt — so it’s not new debt. And, someone has to issue the bonds. You think that comes for free? Republicans have been feeding off that trough for years, so why make that an issue now that a Dem is gov? I’m sure you will try to say I believe too many of blago’s press releases, but I’m more interested in facts than speculation by those who are either republicans or have an ax to grind because they don’t like change. - No ax to grind - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 5:44 pm: Dear anon 5:23: Check YOUR facts, dude. Fact #1: The law was changed AFTER Rod & Co. used bond funds to pay $2.4 billion of current pension contributions, pay part of Filan’s salary, and sundry other operating expenses. Fact #2: The pension bonds reduced the State’s IOU to the pension systems, true. But there is no such thing as free money. The State is paying for the bonds by reducing pension contributions for the life of the bond issue. Fact #3:In terms of the State’s financials and the prevailing Wall Street view, this is new debt. You and OMB acolytes may choose to believe otherwise. PS: To the earlier poster who wrote that “Rod is paying in millions more than his predecessors” take away the borrowed money and that statement is false. - DefensorPacis - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 5:53 pm: A few comments: 1) It is generally considered good form to live in the capital of the state of which you are Governor. (New Jersey is an exception, but not one that Illinois should particularly strive to emulate.) 2) After the current Governor has laid off numerous state employees, changed their vacation accrual policy to prevent them from being compensated for vacation they were unable to take because of the demands of their job, and otherwise demeaned them, I doubt that a 4% pay increase will change many minds. (Is that even above inflation?) 3) On a related note, I just ran across the Governor’s remarks regarding Judge Alito, and it looks much more like shameless pre-election pandering to socially progressive Democrats than a statement of any real substance (that is, unless he knows something about Obama and Durbin that we don’t). If the Governor really does want to win in 2006, he might be better served by not trying quite so hard to woo voters. As it stands, his frantic scrambles to win votes seem like proof positive that our hopes are justified, and that the Blagojevich campaign is sinking quickly. - Dragon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 5:58 pm: We all knew he would give up something in a raise. The fact is while Directors father-in-law are getting half million dollars to power wash buildings that do not need to be, the employees are asked to sacrifice. Time and time we see the waste of taxpayer’s money along with the mismanagement to resources. I hope each State employee and each of their family send the Governor a strong message on election night. Yes the prior administration left a mess. This administration has done no better. The so-called reform Governor and his promises as delivered nothing. The apathy of the average voter to elected officials needs to stop. Illinois deserves better. Illinoisans need to send this Governor away. Illinoisans deserve better. - Paul Powell - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 6:18 pm: Sam Flood left a job as downstate patronage chief for the governor at $72,000 to take a job at the Sparta shooting complex at $96,000. Is that a 4% raise? So now he will draw how much pension on this gig? I’m happy that MC got some recognition and more money but this administration is always in a circuliar firing squad and think people don’t see all that is going on. Time will tell whether the average Joe has had enough of this. - A long time MC employee - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 6:39 pm: Thank you No axe for clarifying my thoughts. I guess I am not myopic enough. While it is true there was only a $10 billion bond issue for the *pensions* I seem to recall some other bonds being floated to pay GO’s. As a matter of fact, didn’t Hynes request about $2 billion just to try to catch up on back payments to medical providers, pharmacies, etc.? I guess when you add it all up it starts to seem like a lot of money, that will need to be paid back. - Norseman - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 6:47 pm: The question is not whether state employees should be happy they have a job or if the pay raise is justified or not. The question is whether this will soothe the anger of employees. It will not. Everyone will see this for what it is, a campaign ploy. - Looking for another job - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 6:49 pm: Just for those who like numbers- the loss to state employees was more than 12% because each additional 4% raise would have been added to the previous (compounded), for example, had employees received raises each of the last 3 years: Year 1 $50,000 X 1.04 = $52,000 Year 2 $52,000 X 1.04 = $54,080 Year 3 $54,080 X 1.04 = $56,243 $50,000 X 1.12 = $56,000 Plus the time value of money has meaning. Pay has effectively been as illustrated below for each of the years the retirement contribution has been in effect: $50,000 X .96 = $48,000 Therefor, if the retirement contribution was in effect each of the 3 years, a merit comp employees net loss (assuming base pay of $50,000)is: raise $50,000 X 1.04 = $52,000 2 yr retirement contributions $2,000 X 2 = $4,000 $52,000 X .04= $2,080 $52,000 - ($4,000 + $2,080) = $45,920 Either way, understand that your retirement contribution will adjust to reflect the raise, i.e., will take 4% of adjusted pay. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news- I do think this is just a quick fix. Hopefully state employees, like myself, won’t vote him back in! - El Conquistador - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 6:57 pm: It’s important to keep in mind that during the last 3 years all other constitutional office staff (management employees too), legislators and their staff, judges and their staff, the Governor’s staff and his cronies (largely through unscrupulous job shifting), as well as all AFSME employees continued to receive raises. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe any of the aforementioned groups went 3 years with nothing and a 4% reduction. So, I guess only MC employees of agencies directly under the Gov. are supposed to bite the bullet when when the budget goes south… That seems fair. - 6 Degrees of Separation - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 7:22 pm: 1. I am grateful for the 4% raise, because I never look a gift horse in the mouth. 2. CMS had to come out with a corrective memo after the gov’s announcement. Apparently, true “MC” employees represent a small fraction of the employees covered by this raise. The true MC positions are listed in JCAR 310.410: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/080/080003100C04100R.html A more correct description of this group would be “non-bargaining unit” employees, which basically covers non-bargaining unit managerial and technical staff, of which MC is a small subset. 3. No one but a complete idiot would think the $14 million (for this 4% raise) was a major stumbling block in the state budget that had to be deferred for 3+ years, especially considering other items like the AFSCME/Teamsters/SEIU state worker union contracts ratified in 2004 gave a collective raise of somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 million for its members. In addition, many of the policies (including vacation carryover) were eliminated for managerial employees but retained by the unionized employees as a result of the contract negotiations. 4. In light of the above factors, the inattention to state managerial employees, especially in relation to the more favorably treated unionized employees, can only be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to get them to leave, or to demean them, for whatever reason. I think the proper term for this treatment is “Tusking”. 5. I see most of the managerial units of the state, except high level policy making, Rutan exempt positions, being unionized by 2006. There is a strong movement afoot to do this, and many supervisory classifications at several state agencies have already reached the 51% threshhold that automatically enables the unions (whose potential members have signed authorization cards) to enter into negotiations with the state. 6. Did anyone pay any attention to what Tim Martin did at IDOT about a month ago? He froze IDOT’s payment of raises to employees of consulting firms, with the rationale that IDOT employees aren’t getting raises so why should they? Unlike the average IDOT worker, consulting firms make political contributions and have influence. A little “influence” may have led to the state releasing money for pay raises for its managerial staff…let’s see if IDOT “unfreezes” consultant pay raises soon, and let’s also see what kind of campaign contributions are made, and to whom. - Pete Rose - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 8:43 pm: 6 degrees of seperation is onto something. Follow the $. Idot is the greatest for seeking contributions. Big budget projects let out multiple times per year. You can string people all the way through an administration. I would BET, like all politicians, the blago folks have promised more than is even possible to deliver. Watch out for Pauly fellas. HE HATE YOU - IDIOT to Stay - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:23 pm: A 4% raise, and no idea when we will get another raise??? Mr Martin has been assuring his management employees for years that he has been working hard to get us a raise. Well, 3 years equals 4%, I can’t imagine he’ll do any better next time out. Unionize, it’s probably the best way to go. Many of our front line management positions are vacant, and we have no way to fill them. Anyone who isn’t in need of a pysch exam, sees they are all dead ends. Gee - maybe we’ll have to get a consultant in here to handle it. When Blago’s people negotiated contracts with all the Unions in 2004, the average raise for the 4 year contracts will be over 15%. (Gee, Gov - might want to get the political spinners working on how to blame that on Ryan.) I agree the pension benefit in Illinois is worthwhile to work for, but losing out on 3 years of raises has put a real crimp in my final pay. Now that I’ve got my 20 years, time to go looking for a ‘real’ job - one that pays overtime, where I’m not held responsible for things beyond my control, where I can fire non-performing employees. Goodbye State of Illinois, hello real life. - Anon - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 9:30 pm: Cassandra - you think it’s unfair that all merit comp employees are getting a 4% increase across the board rather than for doing a good job? H E L L O - what do you think the step increases that the AFSCME employees get? They get those raises yearly (and cost of living increases) whether they’re hard workers, do a good job, etc.! So it’s fair that for the last 4 yrs even if we went above & beyond we couldn’t even get a cost of living increase, let alone any type of increase based on job performance!?! - IDOT wife - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 10:02 pm: I sure appreciated the figures that “looking for another job” worked out. However we seem to have forgotten that not only have there been no raises for the last 3 years, but our beloved Blago TOOK AWAY the raise that Ryan gave to us on January 1, 2003. So actually Januay 1,2006 would be our 4th COL raise bringing the total 2006 salary to $58,493. I know we sure needed the extra money. But thank goodness we have an extra 30 munutes every week saved by open tolling to get to the second job needed just to stay afloat. - cynically anonymous - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 10:48 pm: I think the most galling thing about Rod’s letter to his “colleagues” (yeah, right) was the implication that there was actual choice involved in paying into our pensions, going without raises, and working harder - most of which involved things like promoting I Save Rx or numerous other “urgent” projects from his office. Whatever the motivation for this may have been, it doesn’t even come close to making up for the nonsense this administration has subjected us to. I only hope that Patrick Fitzgerald has enough to indict this campaign fund, just like he did Ryan’s! - Jeff Gerth - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 10:54 pm: The comments about politicizing technical jobs - doesn’t anyone remember Thompson’s people doing the same thing? Blagojevich has hit some home runs and struck out a time or two. But why can’t the press recall the Thompson, Edgar, and Ryan strikeouts … like the year before an election, no one got a raise - or the year everyone got a $464 lump sum? - observer - Tuesday, Dec 6, 05 @ 11:04 pm: IDOTs TM or MS or someone had to sign on that powerwash contract whats up with that in addition the MS family is now making over $170,000 after the current raises and he worked for RM when the contract was signed someone had to see something nobody is that stupid oh well tell on the teamsters why not tell on fellow employees???? - 6 Degrees of Separation - Wednesday, Dec 7, 05 @ 1:24 am: Jeff Gerth: You are correct the advent of the “Technical Manager” positions was with the JRT administration. It also didn’t hurt the agencies as much when staffing was much greater than it is now and the worker bees could cover up the lack of productivity of the TM’s much more easily. Nevertheless, a trend that many old-timers did not agree with when it started. And some of them actually worked out well; I guess if you throw enough stuff at the wall, a little of it will stick. Then as it is now. The lump sum payment in lieu of a raise (which I think was actually something like $545 or $565) was accompanied by the state’s pickup of 4% of the pension, and was negotiated by the unions. It wasn’t such a bad deal as the take home pay on the paychecks actually went *up* as a result. Many of those union members who sacrificed their raises got promoted to supervisory positions, only to have that 4% pension payment deducted several years later during this admin, with no raise…and the take home pay went *down*, and stayed *down*, and stayed *down*, and stayed…oh, you can have your 4% back now that the state is in “top fiscal order”. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for the 4%. - IDOT Watchdog - Wednesday, Dec 7, 05 @ 5:53 am: The IDOT engineer from Carbondale that squealed like a little girly-man is paid to supervise the preparation of plans and specifications. He is not paid to make administrative or policy making decisions, and is not qualified to distribute press releases or to contact local legislators. He certainly needs to be disciplined, and his supervisors also need to consider transfering him to a less stressful position since he appears to be a little off balance. Someone needs to take his kool-aid away. - Cassandra - Wednesday, Dec 7, 05 @ 9:29 am: One advantage to unionizing routine MC positions is that those positions become less susceptible to political influence, since, assuming the MC contract follows the current state labor contracts, employees bid on vacant positions based on seniority and job classification and the union would no doubt resist political appointments to these jobs. The problem I see with unionizing a substantial number of MC positions is that it is even harder to get rid of nonperforming union employees than it is to get rid of (now) MC employees. Since there are way too many MC employees now, moving them into a unionized bargaining unit would virtually lock in the overage…which taxpayers have to pay for…and now forever. These folks aren’t going to leave…they don’t have the skills to get a non-government job. They are lifers. One hopes that if unionizing MC employees becomes a reality, the remaining management positions will change to at will. Currently, especially at overstaffed agencies like DHS and DCFS, there are far too many upper level administrators who are on four year term who are doing little or no work and sitting out their terms. These folks need a taste of the pressures of the real working world in exchange for their $80,000 and up salaries. Right now, they are protected for their four years even if they do absolutely nothing (and doing nothing is not uncommon). - voter bob - Wednesday, Dec 7, 05 @ 4:22 pm: You Rs can bithc about IDOT-ISBE-GOV office and Ts all you want but the truth is most of these folks are still making thousands less than those who had the same position under the Ryan and Edgar administration. No you cant use the experience excuse because most of these guys slid into the jobs a couple of months before the admin changed and were in there last(final) positions a short time before let go. You lost get over it and get on, you’re killing yourself. The medicine you made doesnt taste good does it. - Anon - Wednesday, Dec 7, 05 @ 6:31 pm: cassandra you said One advantage to unionizing routine MC positions is that those positions become less susceptible to political influence, since, assuming the MC contract follows the current state labor contracts, employees bid on vacant positions based on seniority and job classification and the union would no doubt resist political appointments to these jobs. I am sorry to say that your assumption is false. Union positions are indeed filled as the result of politcal pressure. Think about it…. if you really want to reward a poltical hack put them into a union postion. They are then protected no matter what administration is in office. - 6 Degrees of Separation - Wednesday, Dec 7, 05 @ 9:12 pm: “The IDOT engineer from Carbondale…is not paid to make administrative or policy making decisions, and is not qualified to distribute press releases or to contact local legislators.” How true! “Ordinary” citizens should never be able to approach our royalty. They should know their place in society and get to the back of the bus, and never speak unless spoken to. “He certainly needs to be disciplined, and his supervisors also need to consider transfering him to a less stressful position since he appears to be a little off balance. Someone needs to take his kool-aid away.” This does not go far enough. He clearly needs to be sent to the Gulag Archipelago to be “re-educated”. Once he realizes the error of his ways and apologizes to the “Worker’s Paradise”, he may be allowed to return to earn a few rubles here and there. - Yellow Puppy Democrat - Thursday, Dec 8, 05 @ 10:08 pm: IDOT Watchdog, save your propaganda for someone who care. - stephen - Friday, Dec 9, 05 @ 9:12 am: Somebody has got to tell me , why did increase come on Dec 2 and not Dec 1 which is start of a pay period , do you know how much time payroll has to spend to figure out 1 less day at lower rate, there must be some stupid reason why? - MC Gamer - Friday, Dec 9, 05 @ 10:17 am: TO: - stephen - Friday, Dec 9, 05 @ 9:12 am: I *think* the Dec. 2 date is because the Pay Plan amendments making the 4% happen would only become effective upon public notice. The public notice here is publication in the Illinois Register, which is published on Fridays. The better way of doing it would have been to publish the Pay Plan amendments on a prior Friday (e.g., sometime in November), with an effectiveness date for the amendments of Dec. 1. - Ex-State Employee - Monday, Dec 12, 05 @ 12:27 pm: Now that Rich Miller has politely informed us of the true identity of “Right of Right”, I hope that NO ONE believes any load of BS that this administration has to say about caring for the people who keep this state running (the average state worker). Mr. Right of Right has voiced this administration’s true opinion of it’s state employees right from the ole Guv’s campaign headquarters! As for you, Mr. Yellow Dog Democrat, what the heck do you mean state workers don’t have to worry about losing their jobs or their families health care??? My husband is still a state worker and I am now a stay at home mom of two young boys. There hasn’t been a day go by in the past three years that we haven’t feared the loss of his job (and our benefits) to this administration. They are cold-hearted, ruthless and uncaring. Thank God we do still have an income to be thankful for this year and I also thank God that we are blessed with a better sence of caring than those now running our state government. - Peppermint Patty - Saturday, Feb 4, 06 @ 4:15 pm: The so called 4% raise amounts to very little after taxes, etc. Yeh, I’ve heard plenty of jokes about state workers not doing anything but those of us who are working doing the work of what used to be 3+ employees consider this to be just what it was…a political ploy to get some votes. As a state employee of 15 years, it would have meant more if it would have been put back where it was taken from in the first place. Our retirements! I’ve seen what a real governor can do and now is the time to get rid of smilin’ Rod. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.