Ill. Gov. Quinn suspends legislative pay for inaction on pensions

CHICAGO, July 10 (UPI) -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, frustrated by legislative inaction on pension reform, Wednesday suspended lawmakers' pay until "they get the job done."

Quinn called a special legislative session on pension reform but a conference committee missed a deadline set by Quinn to craft compromise legislation.

Quinn used a line item veto to suspend pay for lawmakers, who can override the action with a supermajority vote. Base pay for legislators is $67,836 a year and leaders get $27,477 more.

Lawmakers already have been paid for the month of July.

"In this budget, there should be no paychecks for legislators until they get the job done on pension reform," Quinn said in a statement. "Pension reform is the most critical job for all of us in public office. I cannot in good conscience approve legislation that provides paychecks to legislators who are not doing their job for the taxpayers."

The Illinois pension system is $85 billion in the red because of chronic underfunding, with the liability growing $17 million daily. The crisis is described as the worst in the nation.

Competing House and Senate bills in the spring legislative session failed to gain traction in the other chamber.

"This is an emergency. The taxpayers of Illinois are waiting and there is no excuse for further legislative delay," Quinn said. "The taxpayers cannot afford an endless cycle of delays, excuses and more delays."

Pundits said lawmakers were trying to put off action until after the 2014 elections to avoid retaliation by state unions likely to withhold campaign contributions from legislators who trim benefits. There is also a question of whether altering pensions would violate the state Constitution's pension protection clause.