Judge Orders Quinn To Honor Contract Raises
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- A Cook County judge has ruled that Gov. Pat Quinn must pay the 2011 wage increases promised in a contract with most state workers.
Judge Richard Billik ruled that the state must pay what it can now of the $60 million still owed to members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The remainder can be paid later -- at 7 percent interest.
A spokesman for Quinn said Friday that the administration plans an appeal.
Billik stuck with an earlier decree in Quinn's favor that he couldn't pay the raises because the Legislature didn't appropriate money. But he ruled that the state can't abandon the contract obligation and must pay up when it can.
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