Regardless of how your own personal finances are faring, you, as a proud Illinois citizen, should be happy and grateful to know that Illinois' governor, JB Pritzker, put pen-to-page a couple of days back, and gave raises to all the state’s top leaders, his department chiefs, and big boost in the base pay for being a state lawmaker.

Again, you may have a problem or two making ends meet, but now Illinois lawmakers, technically a part-time position, are the fourth-highest paid in the nation behind California, New York, and Pennsylvania.

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It's Not Just Illinois Lawmakers Who Are Getting A Nice Pay Bump, The Raises Also Include The Governor, The Lieutenant Governor, The Secretary Of State, The Attorney General, The Comptroller, And The Treasurer

In the interests of fairness, I must point out that Governor Pritzker, a billionaire, does not take a salary as Illinois' chief executive, and has paid some staffers extra out of his own pocket, so this isn't a move to fill his own wallet.

That really doesn't make this pay raise move any more palatable to some, like Freeport's Republican State Senator, Brian Stewart.

TheCenterSquare.com:

“What other business allows its employees to vote for their own raises,” said state Sen. Brian Stewart, R-Freeport. “During a time when hard-working families are trying to keep pace with rising prices of food and fuel, higher taxes, and ongoing inflation, a number of lawmakers thought nothing of giving themselves an 18 percent pay increase, as well as providing the governor with hundreds of millions of dollars for pet projects.”

Want some? Run for office. (Getty Images)
Want some? Run for office. (Getty Images)
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So, What Kind Of Money Are We Talking About, And Who In Illinois State Government Gets What?

The following is a list of Illinois State Government positions, their previous salary, their new salary, and the percentage change of their paychecks:

  • Governor: Old pay-$190,700/New pay-$205,700/Percentage change-7.9%
  • Lieutenant Governor: Old pay-$143,400/New pay-$160,900/Percentage change-12.2%
  • Secretary of State: Old pay-$168,300/New pay-$183,300/Percentage change-8.9%
  • Comptroller: Old pay-$143,400/New pay-$160,900/Percentage change-12.2%
  • Treasurer: Old pay-$143,400/New pay-$160,900/Percentage change-12.2%
  • Attorney General: Old pay-$168,300/New pay-$183,300/Percentage change-8.9%
  • Illinois General Assembly Members: Old pay-$72,096/New pay-$85,000/Percentage change-17.9%

Considering what a bang-up job our state government has done with unemployment (2nd highest in the nation), outbound migration (2nd in the nation, first in the Midwest), gas taxes (2 new ones in 2023), property taxes (don't even get me started) and more--this seems like money well spent, right? Right?

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