 Attorney General Lisa Madigan took Illinois by surprise Jan. 26 when she filed a
petition seeking court approval to stop paying state employees.
The governor and government-worker unions alike decried Madigan’s legal maneuver
as political interference at a time when the state needs less politics and more
action.
Speculation is rampant that Madigan filed the petition to shut down state
government and cause a crisis, forcing the General Assembly into a budget deal
with multibillion-dollar tax hikes that would devastate Illinoisans.
But there is no need for either a government shutdown or a bad budget deal. The
General Assembly can avoid both by passing a continuing appropriations measure.
The legal background
In 2015, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sought
a court order to ensure that state employees would keep getting paid during the
budget impasse. A St. Clair County Circuit Court complied, and since then, state
employees have been paid under that court order.
But in the meantime, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a decision holding that
the state could not pay AFSCME workers raises promised by former Gov. Pat
Quinn’s administration because the General Assembly had not appropriated funding
for this.
Madigan is now pointing to that Supreme Court decision, asking the St. Clair
County Circuit Court to reverse course in the AFSCME case. She argues that
because the General Assembly has not appropriated funds for state worker pay,
the state cannot pay.
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 The better answer
The General Assembly doesn’t need to rush into a bad budget deal in
order to avoid a government shutdown. Lawmakers can pass an
appropriations measure to fund state worker pay without a full
budget.
Even if the St. Clair County Circuit Court goes along with Madigan’s
request, the pay stoppage would not take effect until Feb. 28. Until
that time, state workers will be paid. And that gives the General
Assembly time in which to put together and pass an appropriations
measure.
Such a measure would not be unprecedented. In 2015, the General
Assembly passed an education appropriations measure that would keep
K-12 schools open and operating during the budget impasse. That same
year, Gov. Bruce Rauner expressed support for a continuing
appropriations measure for state worker pay.
Throughout Illinois’ budget gridlock, politicians have been immune
to worries about their pay. In 2014, the General Assembly passed a
law ensuring that legislator salaries are funded.
To be sure, Madigan’s petition to the St. Clair County Circuit Court
is loaded with political implications. But this isn’t just politics.
Shutting down the government would hurt workers. It would hurt
families relying on the state for social services. It would hurt all
Illinoisans who depend on core governmental services.
But the General Assembly has a way out. And lawmakers shouldn’t let
Madigan’s political maneuverings convince them that a bad budget
deal loaded with multibillion-dollar tax hikes is the only option.
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