Illinois is seeing a spike in both taxes and raises.
While Illinois residents are having to pay more than double what they previously spent for gas due to Governor Pritzker’s new budget, state lawmakers are seeing an increase in their cost-of-living as well as having their salaries increase by 2.4% due to the same budget.
In addition to their base salary, Illinois lawmakers can also receive 10,000 dollars from committee chairmanship stipends. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Illinois is classified as “full-time lite” which means that they serve smaller districts and work shorter sessions than full-time lawmakers. Despite that, they are highly paid and perform legislative work for at least 80% of their job and are in session for 70 days a year.
Of all 50 states, Illinois lawmakers take home the fourth highest salary only trailing Michigan, Pennsylvania, and California. States that all have full-time legislatures.
For Illinoisans, the new gas tax is just the first of 21 new or higher taxes and fees.