* This has been expected all week…
A group of state representatives filed a lawsuit over legislator pay against Illinois state Comptroller Leslie Munger on Friday — Munger’s last day in office.
The suit was filed by Reps. Emmanuel Chris Welch, Kate Cloonen, Mary Flowers, Sonya Harper, Lisa Hernandez and Silvana Tabares.
Legislators haven’t been paid since June. Several legislators have been vocal about their disdain over not getting paid amid the state’s budget impasse — on the Senate and House floors and in private.
More as it comes in.
* Press release…
State Reps. Emanuel Chris Welch, Kate Cloonen, Mary Flowers, Sonya Harper, Lisa Hernandez and Silvana Tabares released the following statement Friday regarding their lawsuit to restore legislators’ pay and end unwarranted political pressure being brought by Gov. Bruce Rauner and Comptroller Leslie Munger:
“The decision by multimillionaire Comptroller Leslie Munger and billionaire Gov. Bruce Rauner was a thinly veiled attempt to force their political opponents into taking positions in support of the governor’s positions and against the beliefs of their constituents,” Welch said. “Many lawmakers don’t have the multimillion dollar side incomes the governor and comptroller enjoy.”
“Our lawsuit is a principled stand for an independent Legislature that cannot be bullied by any governor, Republican or Democratic,” Cloonen said. “The 177 members of the General Assembly are elected to serve the people of our districts, but the comptroller’s and the governor’s actions show they believe we are elected to serve them, and that they can use illegal means to force us to bow to their extreme agenda.”
“Just like when Pat Quinn tried to eliminate lawmakers’ salaries in an attempt to get his way, the governor and comptroller would set a dangerous precedent under which any future governor or comptroller could unilaterally coerce duly elected legislators by tying their salaries to any number of demands that could hurt local residents and their families,” Tabares said. “We urge the courts to recognize the Legislature as a co-equal branch of government, not a subsidiary of a billionaire governor.”
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Cook County.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The complaint is here.
From the complaint…
The Illinois Constitution of 1970 provides that each legislator “shall” receive a salary as provided by law. ILL. CONST. 1970, art. IV, § 11. The Constitution further prohibits any “changes” to the salaries of legislators during their terms of office. Id. The General Assembly Compensation Act mandates that legislators’ salaries be paid in “12 equally monthly installments.” 25 ILCS 115/1. By intentionally withholding salary payments from legislators, the Comptroller has violated both Article IV, Section 11 of the Constitution and Section 115/1 of the General Assembly Compensation Act. The Comptroller’s actions are a direct threat to the independence of the General Assembly.
In 2004, the Illinois Supreme Court invalidated Governor Blagojevich’s attempt to threaten the independence and integrity of the Judiciary by eliminating judicial salary increases. In doing so, the Court stated as follows: “For checks and balances to work properly in protecting individual liberty, each of the three branches of government must be kept free from the control or coercive influence of the other branches.” Jorgensen v. Blagojevich, 211 Ill. 2d 286, 299 (2004). Protecting the Judicial or Legislative Branches of government from unwarranted intrusion by any executive branch officer is vital to preserving the separation of powers. As the Supreme Court stated, “Avoiding the concentration of governmental powers in the same person or political body was seen by the founding fathers as essential to freedom and liberty.”
In 2011, the Circuit Court of Cook County, Hon. Judge Neil Cohen presiding, invalidated Governor Quinn’s attempt to eliminate legislators’ annual salaries through a line item veto. Judge Cohen held that “the Governor’s line item veto of SB 214 was constitutionally void and of no effect.”
The Comptroller’s refusal to make monthly payments to legislators constitutes an unconstitutional change in salary and a violation of the General Assembly Compensation Act. As in Jorgensen, and Cullerton & Madigan, this Court should invalidate the Comptroller’s attempts to hold hostage the salaries for members of the General Assembly.
The Comptroller lacks legal authority to deny the members of the General Assembly their salary for a simple reason: the members of the General Assembly are elected by their constituents to represent their interests. By denying the members of the General Assembly their salary, the Comptroller is attempting to force the General Assembly to forgo representing the interests of their constituents and accede to the policy preferences of an executive office that has no formal role in the legislative process.
If the Comptroller is permitted to unilaterally decide when and how often General Assembly members receive their salary, the independence of each member of the General Assembly is threatened. For some legislators their legislative salaries constitute their principal or only source of income. Accordingly, if the Comptroller were permitted to withhold salaries of members of the General Assembly, unless and until they acceded to her legislative preferences, he or she would use that power to unconstitutionally influence the will of the Legislative Branch.
In this particular instance, the Comptroller has stated that her dispute with the General Assembly concerns the appropriation process. If the Comptroller’s actions are sustained, there will be no limit to the power the Comptroller could assert over members of the Legislative Branch. Future Comptrollers could refuse payment until any policy demands are met to the Comptroller’s satisfaction. Allowing such power to be vested in the Comptroller would irrevocably alter the separation of powers so carefully crafted by the framers of the Illinois Constitution of 1970.
By this action, Plaintiffs, elected members of the Illinois General Assembly, respectfully request this Court declare that the Comptroller is required by the Illinois Constitution and Illinois law to pay their salaries and the salaries of all other members of the General Assembly in the full amounts required by law, and in a timely manner. As the Comptroller lacks discretion to withhold the members’ salaries, Plaintiffs further request this Court issue a writ of mandamus ordering the Comptroller to pay legislative salaries forthwith to remedy that constitutional and statutory violation.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Says the guy who made $180 million last year…
*** UPDATE 3 *** Munger press conference…
*** UPDATE 4 *** From Comptroller-elect Mendoza…
“I was very clear on the issue of withholding legislators’ pay during my campaign: Everyone needs to
share in the sacrifice. My policy will be to prioritize the most vulnerable people in our State and continue the delay in legislators’ pay, unless a court instructs me to do otherwise.”
Sorry about the original post of that statement. I cut it off accidentally.
