Payroll Processed, Illinois Employees Will Get Paid

The comptroller’s office is dealing with dueling court rulings on how to pay state employees in the absence of a state budget.

“””(The governor) has asked (Central Management Services) to explore all of its legal options, including seeking an expedited appeal of this order or other emergency relief to ensure that employees are paid and critical state services are not disrupted”, said Lance Trover, a Rauner spokesman.

The Illinois comptroller’s office processed the paychecks after a St. Clair County judge ruled last Thursday that state workers could be paid in full despite the lack of a budget. That Downstate judge ruled in favor of 13 unions representing state employees who argued that not paying workers would be a breach of their collective bargaining agreements.

Reaction to Madigan’s filing was not immediately available from Munger’s office.

The decision contradicted an earlier order from a Cook County judge who said Munger should pay workers only the $7.25-per-hour federal minimum wage until Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly can agree on a spending plan for state government.

“The court can provide important guidance on what the constitution allows when the governor and Legislature have failed to act”, a statement from the attorney general’s office said.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger says her office has completed processing paychecks due Wednesday and 6,800 employees will be paid on time. “Ultimately, as we have repeatedly said, the only way to fully resolve this unfortunate and damaging situation is for the Governor and the Legislature to do their jobs and enact a budget”. Legislative Democrats sent Rauner a plan they acknowledged was billions short on what was needed to cover expenses with the hopes that he’d support new taxes.