State Comptroller: Lawmakers Will Have To Wait For Paychecks
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois lawmakers may soon have a new appreciation for what the state's budget stalemate,now in its tenth month, is doing to its vendors. WBBM's Nancy Harty reports the comptroller will make them wait for their paychecks.
State Comptroller Leslie Munger says starting at the end of this month, members of the General Assembly and constitutional officers will have to get in line with all the social service agencies and other groups that do business with the state and wait until there is money available to pay them.
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"I feel it's fundamentally unfair for those of us that are elected including myself to receive our pay when we cannot pay the people who we are elected to serve," Munger said.
Munger says other than groups paid under court order, it takes about two months to get money from the state. She says she did not consult with Governor Bruce Rauner or other Republican leaders before making the move.
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall says not having a budget since June has been devastating for social service agencies, universities and others who rely on state funding.
He gives Munger a great deal of credit for coming up with a way to pressure lawmakers and the governor to reach deal before the legislature's scheduled May 31st adjournment.
Msall says he and plenty of others have been waiting over the last several months to see what exactly will finally prompt lawmakers and the governor to reach an agreement.
Three years ago, Democratic Governor Pat Quinn tried to deny lawmakers their paychecks over a dispute on pension reforms, but a judge ruled it was unconstitutional.
