State Senate panel backs bigger pay hikes

A state Senate appropriations committee voted Wednesday to set aside money for two cost-of-living increases on top of a raise that lawmakers debated earlier this month.

A lawmaker's base pay of $57,619 would climb to about $68,800. The governor's salary of $150,700 would jump to $174,200, although Gov. Blagojevich says he will turn down his raise. The total cost to taxpayers would be about $4.8 million a year.

Earlier this year, the state's Compensation Review Board recommended raises of nearly 10 percent for state officials, who had not gotten a cost-of-living increase since 2001. The Illinois House rejected the increase. The Senate waited until after the election to vote and then failed to block the increase, meaning the raises would take effect.

But no one will actually collect bigger paychecks unless lawmakers and the governor put money in the state budget to pay for the raises. AP