26 Comments - A guy - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 10:41 am: Some live close enough to go home for the evenings. I’m not sure how much nobility there is in giving up per diem and Mileage (specifically ‘once’ back and forth, when several made more trips) It’s not a very smart precedent to set. Before anyone calls a special session, there should be the factor of cost to consider. It’s their personal prerogatives, but I wouldn’t factor it in as an “atta boy” in my thought process. More of a SMH. - Real - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 10:45 am: Who cares. Lets see if IPI ever deny there salaries or benefits. - CCP Hostage - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 10:46 am: IPI would like serving in the General Assembly to be something only the wealthy can do, so they’re framing accepting money as compensation for work as something not noble. And they’re controlling the conversation on this right now. - Under Influenced - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 10:49 am: Another click-bait story served hot and fresh by our friends at the IPI. True journalism at work…/s - plutocrat03 - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 10:49 am: Has to be an att bot there. If they had done their jobs right in the first place, no special session would have been necessary. - Chicagonk - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 10:49 am: Well they considering they passed a budget, they might actually have deserved the special session per diem. - Real - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 10:50 am: IPI would like serving in the General Assembly to be something only the wealthy can do, so they’re framing accepting money as compensation for work as something not noble. And they’re controlling the conversation on this right now. …. Exactly.. Republicans believe it too. - Augie - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 10:53 am: Big deal! Gimmicks like this are old and worn out,we all know its mostly about them trying to gain a political advantage for themselves. If they want to change the way there paid put it up for a vote. No news here in my view. - Amalia - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 10:54 am: interesting list. probably not just about what IPI wants. - Rabid - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 11:03 am: From OODA loops to radical candor this is fun - Montrose - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 11:05 am: It’s the perfect story for IPI. It highlights government “waste,” it predominantly makes Democrats look bad, it has no nuance whatsoever, and it feeds their narrative - politicians are making money while they take more of yours. These are the people now running the State of Illinois. - DuPage Bard - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 11:07 am: Guess Rauner won’t be picking up the tab like he said he would/s IPI folks complained they shouldn’t get paid if they didn’t do their jobs. Well they passed a budget so I guess they did their jobs, whether the IPI likes that outcome or not. - Real - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 11:13 am: This just goes to show either republicans are more into playing politics or more republicans have enough money so they don’t need the per diem. - Honeybear - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 11:19 am: It is simply a pietistic gesture of the privileged So I guess those who need to utilize the stipend are lesser? Are only the leasure/privileged class allowed to be legislators? Talk about implicit class warfare. But that’s what republicans are these days Privileged and leisurely - Real - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 11:28 am: I have noticed that IPI and Rauner always speak against government workers salaries and benefits, but they never speak against the money going into political campaigns or campaign finance reform. Rauner says he is a volunteer that doesn’t take a paycheck, but he isn’t volunteering to not use his personal fortune in his campaign. - d.p.gumby - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 11:57 am: Well said, Real @ 11.28 - Clark - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 12:01 pm: “This just goes to show either republicans are more into playing politics or more republicans have enough money so they don’t need the per diem.” Let’s say either of this was true, are people really going to gripe over legislators not taking their per diems? Are you going to ignore that Democrats also rejected their per diem? - Shemp - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 12:11 pm: ===- Honeybear - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 11:19 am: It is simply a pietistic gesture of the privileged So I guess those who need to utilize the stipend are lesser? Are only the leasure/privileged class allowed to be legislators? Talk about implicit class warfare. But that’s what republicans are these days Privileged and leisurely=== Um, I know a couple of those GOP folks and their day jobs, and they aren’t exactly what you would call the privileged sort. At all. But I suppose it’s fair for you to paint with a broad brush while you detest the same behavior. - Robert the Bruce - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 12:18 pm: I shouldn’t care about this. But somehow it bugs me that both Cullerton & Radogno, who absolutely did their jobs, were among those who declined, while Madigan cashed his check. - George - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 12:45 pm: Robert the Bruce–a lot of house members don’t have jobs other than their job as state rep. Those per diems pay for the lodging while they’re in Springfield. They need them. Madigan doesn’t, but denying his could make his members look bad for taking it. It’s not too dissimilar from Herbert Hoover taking the new enacted presidential pension he didn’t need to spare Harry Truman the indignity of taking it alone because he needed it. Then again, maybe he just wanted the check. Who knows? But the governor’s the one who called the special sessions. If anyone wants to gripe about the costs, they should gripe at him. - Past the Rule of 85 - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 1:05 pm: After seeing the update on Senator Cullerton I’m shocked that IPI had an inaccurate release. - LINK - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 1:23 pm: DuPage Bard. It will be interesting to see what pay…I mean donates that Rauner provides in the next go-around to the Republican legislators campaign funds. - Honeybear - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 4:01 pm: Yeah right Shemp. Go ahead and tell me about how they are suffering everyday people. Go ahead Republicans- real republicans , are members of the monied investor/owner privileged class. If you aren’t amongst the monied and privileged then you aren’t really amongst them. You’re being used. To be fair the DEMS do the same thing with the poor. But I have to hand it to Repunlicans who have managed up convince regular people that the Republican Party cares about them. Rauner bought the ILGOP This is all about destroying labor for big business My proof Small business centers, DCEO, economic development under Rauner—–totally ignored and neglected EDGE tax incentives for big business Hundreds of millions You have to be rich to be in that club So go on now. Please tell me How they are regular folk I highly doubt it. Politics is a money sport You don’t have the money you don’t play - RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 12, 17 @ 9:47 pm: -Honeybear-, The one point above that not all the GOP members belong to the wealthy class is accurate. Off the top of my head, I can think of one who gave it up that could really use it. - Honeybear - Thursday, Jul 13, 17 @ 7:04 am: RNUG- No I get it. I am making the point that only Raunerites, feckless, privileged Raunerites hold power. True conservatives need to stand up and rebuke the elitist, classist stance and actions of Raunerites and reclaim. I’m going to goad until they do. I am with you, OW, a guy, and other true conservatives as always. Raunerites I’m going to go after like a pit bull. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jul 13, 17 @ 9:25 am: The reimbursement rate for mileage seems awfully thin. The US government rate for mileage is higher than 39 cents. It is about 53 cents. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.