Illinois Lawmakers Will Miss At Least One More Paycheck Amid Pension Inaction

Illinois lawmakers hoping for their paychecks to be restored immediately will need continue penny-pinching as a judge on Tuesday set oral arguments in a lawsuit over Gov. Quinn's line-item veto of the pols' pay for mid-next month.

Quinn appeared Tuesday at a brief court hearing that set oral arguments to begin Sept. 18 in the lawsuit against the governor, who moved to suspend state lawmakers' pay last month as punishment for not coming up with pension reform compromise legislation during the spring session.

House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton's suit claims Quinn's veto was unconstitutional but the governor feels otherwise. Madigan and Cullerton, both fellow Democrats of Quinn's, had sought a preliminary injunction that would have reinstated lawmakers' pay.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Quinn defended his "dramatic and drastic" action despite the lawsuit Tuesday, saying "I think the taxpayers of Illinois know full well what the principle is, you don't get paid if you don't do your job."

The governor further described the lawsuit as a "landmark" case.

Meanwhile, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan will be representing Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, who is also named in the lawsuit, in the legal challenge of Quinn's veto. A spokeswoman for Madigan's office told the Chicago Sun-Times she doesn't believe she has a conflict of interest despite her father being a plaintiff in the case.