Illinois governor Pat Quinn lost his battle to withhold pay raises for state employees Tuesday, when an arbitrator says Mr. Quinn violated a union contract with nearly 30,000 state workers by refusing to give them pay raises July 1.
The announcement comes just weeks after Mr. Quinn said he had no choice but to stop the pay hikes from going into effect on July 1 because Illinois lawmakers did not set aside enough money to pay for the raises and keep government operating for an entire year.
“My view of the law is that, it says very specifically in the law that any of these raises are dependent on appropriations passed by the General Assembly and the General Assembly chose not to appropriate millions of dollars,” Mr. Quinn said at the time.
Mr. Quinn’s spokesman, Grant Klinzman, said the arbitrator’s ruling will be appealed.
“The fiscal year 2012 budget does not provide the money for pay raises for nearly 30,000 state employees at 14 agencies,” he said. “Funding these raises would mean that these agencies would not be able to make payroll for the entire year, disrupting core services for the people of Illinois, including children, the elderly and those with special needs.”
The raises come just months after Illinois lawmakers approved tax increases and major budget reductions. Mr. Quinn had said the $32.98 billion general funds budget he signed on June 30 did not appropriate money for the raises, noting that funds for the raises would have to be found in other areas.
Even with stringent budget cuts and increased taxes, the state continues to face pressure to curtail its debt, which bonds markets have warned it reaching disturbing levels.
