31 Comments - Skeptic Cal - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 1:25 pm: The Compensation Review Board was created to do the mischief we see. It is there to give generous pay raises that are automatic. The 2 houses can play games with one rejecting it or the other every time this comes up but still get the raises as long as the other chamber sits on their collective hands. There will never be enough voter outrage that will cause a bill to abolish this travesty to ever reach the floor for a vote. Open up your wallets. My bet is Jones will not let any resolution to reject the pay raises to get a vote or debate on the floor. - Wacker Drive - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 1:25 pm: It’s going to be a long hot summer, now’s the time to design some new t-shirts. - Bill - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 1:34 pm: Our hard working legislators deserve a raise. Being a state legislator is now more than full-time job. Many of them lose money on their real jobs because of all the overtime and special sessions. They spend hours meeting with constituients in their districts between sessions and Reps have to campaign every other year. We are lucky we can get the quality of legislator we do given the poor salaries and less than pleasant working conditions. They went a long time without a raise. Let’s pony up! - Rich Miller - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 1:35 pm: Bill, sometimes you are too much even for me. lol - SuperDave - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 1:44 pm: I think Illinois should adopt the model of Texas or Florida, where the GA is only in session for about 2-3 months, pass some meaningful legislation, adopt a budget and go back to their regular jobs. If the Illinois legislators were paid what those in Texas make (roughly $8K a year), then I suspect we might be able to accomplish that goal. The notion of a citizen-legislator may be impossible to do in Illinois because people like Bill have bought into the argument that it MUST be a full time job. Interestingly enough, there are legislators (Madigan, Rutherford, Bomke, Cross, and probably a few dozen others) who do manage to hold down full time jobs and meet with constituents. Rutherford is a corporate Vice President of a Fortune 500 company — and I doubt no one has the kind of constituent service he does. Imagine how much more constituent service they could do if they didn’t have to be in Springfield debating the merits of the Compensation Review Board’s recommendation. - This Guy - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 1:45 pm: So is this like all other things in the Senate where, if E. Jones doesn’t allow it to be called it simply dies? Regardless, one person’s having that kind of power is wrong on so many levels. What action can we, the voters, take to change things? Or can Jones just ignore that action too? Calgon, take me away. *sigh* - wordslinger - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 1:47 pm: That’s a relief. Touch and go there for a while. Today, if there is one thing that can unite all members of the General Assembly — House and Senate, Republican and Democrat, city, suburb, and downstate, white, African-American and Hispanic, male and female, Cubs, White Sox and Cardinal fan, it is this: They all want Emil Jones to take the heat for the pay raise. If he does, it will be Emil, and not Barack, who will be the transcendent, post-partisian leader — if only for a day. - DeepFriedOnAStick - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 1:47 pm: Is this Sen. Clayborne’s first time in the chair? Is he moving up in Jones’ organization? - Siyotanka - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 2:00 pm: So let me get this straight..The legislative folks get a rather substantial pay raise…and the negoiations put on the table last Friday at AFSCME asked for the working state folks (employees) to pay for 50% of their health care premiums…Hum…yea that sounds fair…?? - Dirt Guy - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 2:05 pm: Bill, I’m sure the working conditions would be much, much better if Rod wasn’t Guv. - Wacker Drive - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 2:13 pm: Best part of this is Blagojevich doesn’t get a $20G raise. Kuddos to the legislature for having the onions. - Crimefighter - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 2:14 pm: Are pay raises automatic to where they have to pass a resolution saying we don’t want a pay raise? I thought you have to vote on getting a pay raise, and this reject ought to mean there will be no pay raise this year. - Quit Whining - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 2:17 pm: What doesn’t Emil Jones get a second job like so many of us already have. - Irish 7 - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 2:38 pm: Has anyone found the report of the Compensation Review Board online? - Ghost - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 2:40 pm: Foster families in IL have gone much longer then the legislature without any increase. I think we should put the children who are in need of good homes in front of the adults who have already increased their pay recently. its time to increase the foster support payments which have been stagant for almost a decade. Il has a problem attarcting good foster families and getting our shildren what they need. Inflation with no increase has gutted the foster program. its time the legislature and the Gov consider providing real support and increasing the amount paid to foster families to provide care. Until they consider raising the pay of the people we charge with helping to protect IL future resource, our children, they can go without. If you think attracting legislatures is hard on their over median lvl income salaries as it is, try taking care of a foster child on income that has been gutted every year by inflation for almost a decade with no help in sight. - Six Degrees of Separation - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 3:17 pm: Bill 1:34: In the now-famous words of Sen. Chris Lauzen, “sometimes politics is a crappy business.” Rich- And if I understand this correctly, the Senate could pass legislation almost identical to the House denying themselves a raise, and if there was an extra “and” or “if” in the Senate Bill wording, the legislation wouldn’t be identical, and the raise would happen automatically. Then the State Senators as well as the State Reps can tell their constituents back home, “I voted against the raise” while still collecting it. - Doug Dobmeyer - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 3:27 pm: While the House may reject the pay raise, the Senate won’t under this structured response. Legislators are out of touch with rank and file citizens. Doug Dobmeyer - fedup dem - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 3:32 pm: If Emil Jones won’t permit a vote on this issue, than he should be considered at least as much of a threat to the people of this state as that damn cougar the Chicago police had to shoot recently. It’s time to demand democracy in this state! - Belle - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 4:02 pm: SuperDave - love the idea; fedup dem - I’m with you on that demand - fed up - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 4:04 pm: Emil Jones doesnt give a damn what you or anyother citizen of Ill. thinks. His family is employeed by state contractors and sub contractors and he wants more money. The taxpayers of this state are just marks inn his book and the non exisistant republican party cant do a damn thing about it. - daisy dukes - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 5:21 pm: Rep. Ken Dunkin was excused. He probably would have voted no also. I think I remember him saying something during the last go around of pay raises, something to the effect of you should take what you can get. Of course, if the legislators don’t want the raise (E. Jones isn’t going to vote on this, its as good as done) they can always refuse to take it. The state should set up a special fund that the donated salaries could go to. That would put pressure on some of them to refuse it. - Six Degrees of Separation - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 5:58 pm: Wouldn’t it be a good political move for Jones to at least call a non-conforming bill rejecting the raise to give his members some political cover? - Kevin Highland - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 6:20 pm: Crimefighter, Yes the pay raises are automatic unless the legislature votes to REJECT the pay raise and even then the Governor can veto the legislation! - Disgusted - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 8:07 pm: This whole boondoggle makes me sick on many levels. I want to know who’s on the Compensation Review Board!!! Emil Jones doesn’t even care about his own constituants who vote him in every single year. He’s willing to make them pay for his and his family’s many raises, too. Hopefully some day, the voters in his district will wake up to the fact that he’s using them to enrich himself. The whole elected force of the Capital Building will have to be buried with a corkscrew! - Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 9:01 pm: Hey Bill, can you write up one of those dandies for AA’s boss? I would be happy to return the favor. - Truth - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 9:37 pm: It’s easy fighting the Governor, like shooting fish in a barrel. That’s why the House doesn’t deserve the raise. The hard part is sticking with the Governor when he’s acting like a complete stroke. That’s why Emil and his gang deserve one. - PalosParkBob - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 9:54 pm: Hey, this pay raise issue really shouldn’t be much of problem. If the legislators don’t think all the perks, patronage, and overpaid jobs for family and relatives in state, county and local goverments, as well as with government contractors, is worth their efforts, they should feel free to resign and have people who are willing to accept legislative service as a true hardship take their places. The poor babies can then retire on their often multiple public pensions and get fat jobs from the contractors and unions for whom they’ve been screwing the taxpayers throughout their tenure. It works for me! - steve schnorf - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 10:04 pm: If we paid more attention to who we elect to the GA and less attention to how much they get paid, we would really far better off. BTW, most of the comments on here make the most eloquent argument possible against recall. - Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, May 7, 08 @ 11:38 pm: Hey, Pee Pee, it’s been awhile. Welcome back. - rubicon41 - Thursday, May 8, 08 @ 6:12 am: Why not get rid of the Compensation Review Board? And the answer was? I think our esteemed legislators forget the COL hits everyone, not just them. They can sit back and say “Goodness, I don’t want the raise” but in reality the Republicans don’t have the votes to block the commissions recommendation and neither do the Dems, so they are going to get it anyway. Our current legislators are professional ’smoke and mirrors’ people. Most of you who read Rich’s blog, I say MOST not all, know this already. - Ravenswood Right Winger - Thursday, May 8, 08 @ 8:55 am: Why was Careen Gordon excused? Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.