Ex-Lawmaker Gets State Job After Backing Tax Hike
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A former Illinois state lawmaker was given an $86,000 state job after she voted in favor of a major income tax hike backed by Gov. Pat Quinn, but she and the governor's office say there's no connection.
Former Rep. Careen Gordon, a Democrat who recently moved from Morris to Chicago, was one of the 60 lawmakers to vote for a 66 percent income tax hike this week – the bare minimum number of votes needed to pass the plan.
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She lost her re-election bid in November and her term ended on Wednesday. Now, Quinn has appointed her to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Gordon told the Tribune that her vote "was never for sale" and Quinn's office said she was appointed because of her past work on criminal justice issues.
Quinn signed the tax hike proposal into law on Thursday. The 66 percent personal income tax hike – along with a corporate income tax hike – were aimed at eliminating a $15 billion state budget deficit.
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