Marathon Pundit: ILL-inois: Dem legislative big shots sue Dem governor to get dem paychecks

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

ILL-inois: Dem legislative big shots sue Dem governor to get dem paychecks

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, who last year said he was "put on earth" to fix the state's woefully underfunded, told the state comptroller, a Republican by the way, to withhold the paychecks of all state legislators until they pass pension reform.

Quinn, the the leaders of both houses of the General Assembly, are Chicago Democrats.

Needless to say, the legislators aren't buying into Quinn's payroll robbery.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Tuesday as Illinois' two top legislative leaders filed a lawsuit challenging Gov. Pat Quinn's decision to withhold lawmakers' paychecks until they send him a measure to overhaul the highly indebted government worker pension system.

House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton cast the issue as a Civics 101 lesson, arguing that denying pay undermines the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. The two Chicago Democrats want a Cook County judge to overturn Quinn's action and grant an injunction forcing Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka to issue paychecks — with interest if there's a delay. The first check lawmakers are scheduled to miss would be cut Thursday.

"If the governor's line-item veto is upheld, the independence of each member of the General Assembly is forever compromised. Any governor will hold a trump card over a co-equal branch of government, attempting to bend the members of the General Assembly to his or her will with the threat of eliminating their salaries, which for some legislators is their only source of income," the lawsuit states.

"In this particular instance, Governor Quinn has stated that his dispute with the General Assembly is over the lack of pension reform legislation. Next time it may be gun control, abortion rights or tax policy," the suit states.