Attorney General Lisa Madigan says Gov. Bruce Rauner's plan to keep paying state employees even without a budget agreement could hit a legal snag.
The Republican governor sent a memo to employees Monday in an attempt to reassure them that they will get their paychecks as scheduled and should continue punching in on Wednesday. That's the beginning of a new fiscal year and there's no spending plan in place.
"What state law -- the Illinois constitution and state statutes -- as well as case law, show, very clearly, is that without a budget in place you cannot fully pay for state employees while they're in the midst of this budget impasse."
That's Natalie Bauer, spokeswoman for Democratic Attorney General, Lisa Madigan.
The governor says a court order from 2007 -- a previous instance of Illinois politicians failing to reach an agreement -- should be the model. Workers then got paid. But the court made clear it was not to serve as precedent in the future.
Madigan, a Democrat, released a statement Monday afternoon saying a 1991 appellate court ruling decreed there can be no paychecks without a budget. She says a union lawsuit in 2007 during a budget impasse allowed the state comptroller to make payroll under very limited circumstances.
Some employees could take home some money if this year's stalemate continues. Bauer says a federal law requires rank-and-file level employees get paid the minimum wage. There are a few other exceptions, like settlement agreements.
AFSCME, the state's largest public workers' union, says it's prepared to take legal action if needed so its members take home their full salaries on time.
- WUIS's Amanda Vinicky contributed to this report.
