Illinois lawmakers hike their own salaries 27%, to nearly $90,000, in one year – Wirepoints

By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner

Illinois lawmakers are responsible for policies that consistently leave Illinois at the bottom of the barrel nationally – from debts to taxes to credit ratings to out-migration

And yet, those lawmakers have just hiked their base pay by nearly $5,000 – to $89,675 a year. That’s on top of a 17 percent raise they gave themselves just six months ago. Illinois lawmakers now have the 4th-highest pay in the country. 

They don’t deserve an annual salary that’s 25 percent higher than the state’s median household income ($72,205).

The rapid growth in lawmaker salaries is the result of several increases they’ve given themselves over the past year:

  • Lawmakers grew their base pay to $72,906 from $70,645 at the beginning of FY 2022.
  • Lawmakers enacted a 17 percent increase during the lame-duck session back in January of last year, pushing their pay up to $85,000.
  • Lawmakers just used the 2024 budget negotiations to enact yet another raise of about 5 percent.

Illinois politicians are now the 4th-highest paid state lawmakers in the country, surpassing the salaries of their counterparts in Michigan.

Only lawmakers in California ($119,702), New York ($110,000) and Pennsylvania ($95,432) pay themselves more, according to 2022 pay data from the National Conference of State Legislators.

Most lawmakers in Illinois’ neighboring states make due with far less. Kentucky pays its lawmakers $188 per day of work. Iowa lawmakers receive just $25,000. Indiana pays just $28,791 a year. Only Michigan comes close with $71,685, but Illinois lawmakers’ new salary is still 25 percent higher than that.

And that’s not all

The benefits for Illinois lawmakers don’t end with their salaries. Dozens of lawmakers also receive additional stipends worth anywhere between $11,000 and $30,000 for holding leadership positions in the House and Senate.

House Speaker Chris Welch, for example, currently receives a base salary of $85,000 plus a stipend of $29,530 for his role as Speaker. That’s $114,530 a year (soon to be nearly $120,000) in all. 

On top of that, lawmakers also receive compensation worth tens of thousands of dollars in health insurance benefits, travel reimbursements, per-diem payments and, of course, pension benefits. (Though it should be noted there are only about 30 Tier 1 lawmakers remaining and an increasing number of lawmakers have opted-out of receiving a pension altogether.)

***********

Ordinary Illinoisans don’t get to vote for raises for themselves. Their wages have actually lost ground to inflation. Yet they’ll be forced to pay for their politicians’ higher compensation, no matter the cost.

Illinois politicians don’t deserve it. 

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Spike Protein
9 months ago

Illinois lawmakers are extremely greedy and corrupt. They destroyed the state and turned it into a radical, woke, far-left, socialist hellhole and then rewarded themselves with an onerously large raise paid for by the very taxpayers that they continuously screw over with their bad policies and high taxes. It’s disgusting that Illinois lawmakers get paid more if they have leadership positions that are party related such as majority leader or minority leader. Political parties are private entities and politicians shouldn’t receive extra public funds for holding a leadership position that is related to membership in a private party. The parties… Read more »

The Paraclete
9 months ago

They’re Novice Thieves, they should have raised it to20k! Compensation for having to go Springfield. I’m 72y/o and have never set foot in Dpringfield! Am I denying myself one of life’s pleasures. I loved Paul Powell.

Old Joe
9 months ago

Great work if you can get it….

mqyl
9 months ago

Can’t anything be done about this runaway taxpayer abuse in IL? Who the heck gets a 27 percent raise over a one-year period? For example, shouldn’t there be an oversight body in place in IL to prevent this type of extreme abuse from occurring?

Pensions Paid First
9 months ago
Reply to  mqyl

shouldn’t there be an oversight body in place in IL to prevent this type of extreme abuse from occurring?”

We already have an oversight body in place but this body doesn’t appear to be bothered by it. It’s called the Illinois voters. If they feel this raise is out of line then they can choose to vote for different candidates. This oversight body must not believe this is “extreme abuse”. Raise approved.

mqyl
9 months ago

Corruption in IL is so entrenched that it’s nearly impossible for IL voters to make any significant changes for the better. Therefore, IL voters as a whole would make an awful oversight body.

Pensions Paid First
9 months ago
Reply to  mqyl

So the voters aren’t smart enough? It’s so tiring that people keep pretending that voters are victims. If voters believe there is corruption they can vote the incumbents out. The fact remains that voters want these policies and these politicians otherwise they would take Illinois in a different direction.

Politicians answer to the voters. They are the oversight body. If they are awful at it then they are getting the government they deserve.

Freddy
9 months ago

It is rare when the voters actually have a choice. In 2022 there were more contested races but most of the time at least 50% or more of the races have only one candidate. Even though there were more choices those in power spent more money to stay in office. In the meantime since 2018 maps were drawn to ensure they stay in power even with opposition. https://www.illinoispolicy.org/2022-illinois-elections-to-be-the-most-competitive-in-over-24-years/ In 2018 over 50% of the House candidates had no oppositions so voters in those district wanting a choice stayed home and did not vote. https://www.illinoispolicy.org/nearly-half-of-illinois-house-candidates-face-no-opponent/ Hard to vote someone out who… Read more »

Pensions Paid First
9 months ago
Reply to  Freddy

They are running unopposed because the voters in that area are so entrenched in their political leanings that the opposition doesn’t run a candidate because it’s considered a high risk/low reward outcome. Basically, the voters don’t want the opposition. Republicans can’t win one statewide office in this state where an alternative choice was offered. The majority voters of Illinois don’t want republicans in office in this state. That’s the simple fact. Complain all you want about people not running in certain districts but that’s more of a sign at how little republicans and their policies are wanted by the overall… Read more »

Last edited 9 months ago by Pensions Paid First
mqyl
9 months ago

I think many voters are gullible. Corrupt pols will continue to take advantage of them. Even worse, when AI kicks in further, these voters will have no chance to make informed decisions. They’ll see an AI video showing something that never happened and vote accordingly.

Pensions Paid First
9 months ago
Reply to  mqyl

So you and others that vote like you are thinking clearly but people that don’t see the world through your lens are gullible? Why are more Illinois voters gullible compared to other states? You seem to want to come up with excuses for the voting majority instead of accepting that they want these leaders and these policies.

mqyl
9 months ago

I like to think I’m a little less gullible than the average voter, but, over the years, I’ve voted for some bums, too. Unfortunately, in many cases, it’s a choice to try to vote for the lesser of two evils. All the misleading and erroneous information presented during political campaigns (from Democrats and Republicans) makes it more difficult to make an informed decision, too.

s & p 500
9 months ago

There’s a video on you-tube “Why Calif is passing laws that don’t make common sense, melissa mendez”. We think that actual debate occurs in legislative sessions. Nothing like that happens in real legislatures. It’s mostly back-stabbing and getting as many of your own bills passed as possible before you’re up for reelection.

Tom Paine's Ghost
9 months ago

Why stop at $90K/year? Why not $900K or $9M per year? The financial incompetence and greed of Illinois Democrat politicians knows no depth. They are just going to hand the bill to the Illinois taxpayers like we are a Sugar Daddy with a checkbook as bottomless as their greed. Illinois Democrat politicians have been scamming the state for decades so why hold back? Their absurd paychecks for a part-time job will eventually end once the bondholders cut off Illinois credit card so their time is limited; why not cash in and go for the gold?

Poor Taxpayer
9 months ago

It is so sad that it becomes funny. The greed of government is never ending. They really do not care about Illinois. More and more people are leaving because of this kind of stuff.

Tom Paine's Ghost
9 months ago

Why stop at $90K per year? Why not $900K? How about $9M? Illinois Democrats are ignoring all other financial and fiscal responsibility and taxpayer fiduciary duty so why not go for the gold? They are just going to hand the bill to the taxpayers until the bondholders cut off daddy’s credit card and Illinois is financially insolvent. Pigs get fat; hogs get slaughtered. Go for it greedy swine Democrats!!

Last edited 9 months ago by Tom Paine's Ghost
Riverbender
9 months ago

I guess it is a good thing Representative Jay Hoffman has a job with a downstate trial lawyer firm. Heaven forbid he have to live on such a paltry salary.

sue
9 months ago

THIS IS WHAT COMMIE COUNTRIES DO

sue
9 months ago
Reply to  sue

LOOK IT UP NEG 1

state_pension_millionaires
9 months ago

The worst of the worst. They treat law abiding citizens with disdain. Almost every key political metric in IL/CHI is at or close to the worst of all 50 states.

The only two things they have done with precision, due to public union hired guns I’m sure, is entrench fabulous public sector pension-medical and set up a political machine that cannot be challenged.

nixit
9 months ago

Raises for elected officials should either be conditional on opting out of the pension system (GARS) or treating the raise as a non-pensionable bonus (if that is possible).

Time spent as an elected official should be non-pensionable. Put all these politicians on social security. I don’t care if it’s more expensive either. If they want a pension, work somewhere else.

Poor Taxpayer
9 months ago

Most messed up government of any state. The laughingstock of the country. Revenues going down daily and expenses going up even faster. Truely an economic disaster.

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