 The state's 44 regional superintendents filed a lawsuit in Sangamon
County Circuit Court late Friday against Quinn and other state
officials after working without pay for two months. The case has its
first hearing before a judge Tuesday."The action that has been
taken is viewed as totally unfair. State law clearly provides that
we are elected and should be paid. That is why we chose this route,
and we are looking forward to bringing this before the court to make
our case," said Bob Daiber, Madison County regional superintendent
and president of the Illinois Association of Regional
Superintendents of Schools, which lobbies for the 44
superintendents.
Quinn originally zeroed-out the $11 million for the regional
superintendents' pay in his proposed budget in February. The
Legislature passed a budget in May that restored the cuts, only to
have Quinn veto the funding.
The Legislature could override Quinn's veto, but the lawmakers
aren’t returning to the Capitol until late October.
Since regional superintendents are paid out of the Illinois
Common School Fund, a pot of money that includes proceeds from the
Illinois Lottery, they do not fall under the provision in the
Illinois Constitution that says "an increase or decrease in the
salary of an elected official of any unit of local government shall
not take effect during the term for which that office is elected."
"This is a very specialized situation. In fact the term ‘regional
superintendent of schools,’ I can tell you, doesn't appear anywhere
in the constitution," said Ann Lousin, a professor at the John
Marshall Law School in Chicago.
Lousin said that since the superintendents' pay is administered
by the Illinois State Board of Education, they should be defined as
elected state officials, giving Quinn the constitutional grounds to
cut the 44 superintendents’ average annual pay of $95,000 each.
However, the superintendents’ lawsuit is relying on a statute
rather than the state constitution. The lawsuit points to the law
that sets the annual salaries for the superintendents and says the
money is to be paid monthly or biweekly.
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Quinn said Monday that he isn't for eliminating the positions
that run background checks on school employees, certify teachers and
inspect schools for safety in the majority of the state's more than
800 school districts.
"I believe they should be paid out of local resources, not out of
the state of Illinois' resources, because I think we should use our
state money (for educating children) in the classroom," Quinn said
Monday during an unrelated event.
Last week, however, Quinn said his office has been working on a
plan to get the superintendents compensated.
"We have some ideas there. I hope we can at least have something
that ties us over until the General Assembly meets" in October,
Quinn said Tuesday.
One idea put out by the governor's office would shift the source
of the paychecks from the Common School Fund to the personal
property replacement tax, a 2.5 percent income tax on corporations,
paid to local governments.
Support from local governments that are receiving less state
funding would be unlikely. Beyond that, the shift would require
approval from the Legislature. Quinn could call a special session
before October, which would cost $40,000 per day.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]
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