Recent complaints from a state Democrat that Illinois’ lawmakers should get paid despite its statewide financial crisis are proof that current legislators are putting themselves ahead of their constituents, according to several GOP candidates.
Mike Babcock, Republican candidate for House District 111, recently put a Democratic lawmaker on blast after she proclaimed that current Illinois legislators deserved to be paid despite the state's budget impasse.
His comments are in response to those from state Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Dist. 4), who said last month that it’s wrong for lawmakers’ income “to be held for months and months and months” and that they should be paid for the work they do.
Lightford said last month that for lawmakers’ income “to be held for months and months and months” is wrong, and that they should be paid for the work they do.
“We’re not vendors," she said on the Senate floor. "We deserve to get paid."
Illinois is now entering its second year without a budget, leaving several vendors without funding.
Babcock spoke out unequivocally against Lightford’s remarks, saying that she and other lawmakers are putting their own needs ahead of those of their constituents by demanding compensation in spite of the ongoing and severe statewide financial predicament.
“She needs to go back to the Senate and pass a balanced budget so that all the other entities who are counting on that money can get paid,” Babcock said.
But the question everyone seems to be asking in retort is: Are you guys actually working in Springfield?
The House sent an unbalanced budget to the Senate, which was voted down on May 31. The Senate presented its own education funding bill, which was turned down by the House.
The state constitution requires a balanced budget at the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1. At this point, only bills being paid by the state of Illinois are those mandated by court orders.
Illinois has been operating without a working budget for more than a year, and the state’s approximately $8 billion tab in outstanding bills isn’t going away. Among the unsettled accounts are the state’s social services providers and various companies that conduct business with Illinois.
“(Those) that need to get paid first (are) all of the institutions (that) have been waiting for their paychecks for a year now,” Babcock said. “Until they get paid, she should not be paid.”
Candidates are saying something has to be done about the inaction that plagues the House and the Senate, and that there has to be more accountability put into place.
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