* As the Tribune editorial board notes, more than half the states require special elections in cases like this…

Voters on Chicago’s South Side didn’t have a choice last year in the race for the 27th House district. Longtime Rep. Monique Davis, D-Chicago, briefly faced a challenge from Justin Slaughter, but he dropped out before the primary. Davis ran unopposed in the November election.

Then just before Christmas, she filed paperwork to retire from the seat she has held since 1987. But voters won’t pick her replacement. Local Democratic leaders did it for them. A handful of Chicago aldermen and suburban township committeemen met privately Thursday and selected Slaughter, a Chicago resident who works for the Cook County Board, to fill Davis’ seat. Surprise, 27th District voters! You have a new state rep.

It’s a maddening pattern repeated by lawmakers from both parties: They resign midterm or just before or after an election when it’s too late for someone else to compete for the seat. The timing triggers a process that allows local power brokers to choose the next lawmaker.

Roughly one-third of the 177 lawmakers serving in the House and Senate first got their seats in the General Assembly because they were appointed, not elected. An appointed lawmaker still has to run for the seat in the next election cycle, but he or she gets a head start, sometimes nearly a full term, in Springfield. They gain access to staff, campaign donors and special interest groups. Their political patrons prop them up by giving them popular, noncontroversial bills to sponsor. They have all the benefits of incumbency, including campaign lawyers, advice and money.

Slaughter is highly qualified and should do a decent job.

Look, I know that special elections cost money, but other states manage just fine.

* Meanwhile…

In Georgia, lawmakers are set to pass a more than $20 billion budget this year and grapple with a failing hospital system.

But Georgia, like many other states, faces a serious human resource problem in its Legislature: Salaries are often low and many would-be politicians can’t afford to be lawmakers.

Former Georgia state Rep. LaDawn Jones loved serving in the General Assembly even as she juggled raising two kids and running a law practice. But she left after one term because the job didn’t pay enough.

“I absolutely believe that we need to increase the wage for legislators to keep up with the times,” said Jones.

Lawmakers in Georgia make $17,342 a year, plus a per diem for lodging and meals when the Legislature is in session and reimbursement for mileage. Serving in the Georgia Legislature is considered a part-time job, but it took much more of Jones’ time than that and she had to hire extra help for her law firm. […]

That low level of pay also keeps many people from entering politics, said Malhotra. “There’s very, very few working class people in legislatures. This might have something to do with why a lot of legislation does not seem very friendly towards working class people.”

We have the opposite situation in Illinois, where legislators make a base pay of about $67K per year, plus other stipends for leadership or top committee slots.

* And speaking of that topic…

The state’s bill backlog has surpassed $11 billion and there’s no budget in place, but two suburban Republican lawmakers each will get extra $1,506 checks for two days of work this week.

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin tells me the move is the only way to get around Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan’s seniority rules.

Durkin late last week named Rep. Peter Breen, of Lombard, and Rep. Keith Wheeler, of Oswego, to leadership posts. But instead of making it effective when a new session begins Wednesday, Durkin named Breen and Wheeler to the posts for Monday and Tuesday, the final two days of the 99th General Assembly.

The $1,506 stipends are for one month of work in those roles. Members of the General Assembly make a base salary of $67,836. Breen and Wheeler’s stipends would be $18,066 apiece if they’re kept in leadership a full year.

Durkin, of Western Springs, says he appointed the two because he wants them to serve as committee spokesmen. House rules say those positions can be held only by lawmakers with three terms of seniority, which Breen and Wheeler lack, or with leadership appointments.

I was told around 9 o’clock this morning that the HGOPs would be checking with those two members to see if they’ll be accepting their stipends. I’ll let you know if I get an answer.

*** UPDATE ***  I’m told neither Republican will accept the leadership stipends. Instead, they’re refund the stipends back to the state.