Dysfunctional Illinois: No play, no pay

Friday, August 09, 2013

AUGUST 1st was a typically sunny morning in Springfield, the capital of Illinois—but not for the 176 members of the General Assembly, who, for the first time ever, did not get paid. They are being punished by the governor, Pat Quinn, for failing over several years to tackle the state’s “worst-in-the-nation” pension woes. So with a stroke of his pen Mr Quinn, a Democrat, eliminated their salaries from an appropriations bill.