Two Republican state representatives and two
representative candidates held a news conference Thursday in Palatine to
denounce Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's pay raises for top staff people at
a time when the state budget is billions in the red.
State Representatives Ed Sullivan of Mundelein and Suzie
Bassi of Palatine, along with Republican candidates for representative
Ruth Munson of Elgin and Ryan Higgins of Schaumburg are backing
legislation that would limit future salary increases for political
appointees of the governor to the lesser of 3 percent or one-half of the
Employment Cost Index for state workers.
Last week, The Associated Press reported that Governor
Quinn has given 43 pay raises averaging 11.4 percent to members of his
staff since he was named governor last year. Quinn defended the raises
as needed to get the best employees and reward workers for taking on new
responsibilities as he cut staff and reduced the office's overall
spending by 35 percent.
Available online at http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=394377.