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Hynes, state workers' union square off against Blagojevich

Posted August 07, 2007 11:00 pm

Dana Heupel and Adriana Colindres

Today (Wednesday) originally was billed as a budget showdown for legislative leaders. Instead, it transformed into a face-off involving the comptroller, the governor and the largest state employee union.

Comptroller Dan Hynes and Gov. Rod Blagojevich fired verbal warning shots at each other Tuesday, while the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees threatened to sue if state workers' paychecks are delayed.

After AFSCME's threat, Hynes sought an opinion from Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office. But because of the possible lawsuit, Madigan stopped short of issuing a formal opinion, said Robyn Ziegler, a spokeswoman for the office.

"What we did do, however, is inform the comptroller that there is previous case law that covers this issue," Ziegler said Tuesday evening. "In 1991, the Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled that the comptroller is prohibited from issuing payroll checks when there's no appropriation in place."

That case involved a similar budget crisis while Dawn Clark Netsch was comptroller, Ziegler said. AFSCME and other state employee unions sued to force Netsch to issue paychecks, but a Sangamon County Court rejected the suit, and the denial was upheld on appeal. The case did not go to the Illinois Supreme Court.

AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said later that union officials believe state and federal laws have changed since 1991 and still intend to pursue court action if workers aren't paid on time. He said the union, which represents 40,000 state workers, could file the lawsuit as early as today.

Hynes said last week that nearly 5,000 state employees' paychecks and $170 million in payments to school districts could be delayed if a temporary or permanent state budget wasn't approved by Aug. 8. He said state law does not allow him to write any checks - to workers, schools or creditors - without the spending authority provided in a budget.

In a letter to Hynes and Blagojevich, AFSCME Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer wrote, "From a legal standpoint, it is our position that the state is obligated to pay employees for work performed - whether or not monies have been allocated by the General Assembly."

Blagojevich also wrote to Hynes, saying state government will collect more than $2.8 billion in revenue this month.

"Since the funds are available to you, and the law allows you to pay … employees for the work they perform, I urge you to begin making full payments to state employees for their work," the governor wrote.

The first group of state employees to miss checks would be those paid on the 15th and last days of each month. Hynes said last week he needed to begin processing those payments today. Schools receive their state money on the 10th and 20th of the month.

Another group of state employees would normally receive their paychecks Aug. 22, Lindall said. They include employees of the Illinois State Police and Department of Central Management Services, he said.

Meanwhile, Republican legislative leaders said Tuesday they and their Democratic counterparts are close to agreement on an operations budget that would avoid a government shutdown, but still differ over whether to include a construction budget or how it would be spent. Democratic leaders declined to comment on budget negotiations.

Also Tuesday, Hynes issued a written statement urging Blagojevich not to delay action on a state budget when the General Assembly sends one to him.

Blagojevich has indicated any budget that does not contain his priorities, such as money for his universal health-care plan or increased revenue for education, could cause a government shutdown.

Hynes also accused the governor of "playing politics with people's lives" by not acting on a supplemental spending bill for nearly two months. Among other appropriations, the legislation contains money for legislative and executive pay increases, families of soldiers killed in Iraq, hospitals that treat Medicaid patients, school construction and cost-of-living raises for family service providers.

"If he finds portions of the spending bill objectionable, he can strike those, but he shouldn't hold up the rest of these payments, creating more victims in this dangerous game of chicken he's playing with the legislature," Hynes said in the statement.

"The bill the comptroller is pressing the governor to sign contains a pay raise for all the state's elected officials, including the comptroller," Rebecca Rausch, a spokeswoman for Blagojevich, responded in an e-mail. "It was added quietly and passed in the middle of the night on the backs of death benefits for Gold Star families.

"The governor has every intention of signing the provisions that provide benefits for the Gold Star families and provide money for hospitals. He hasn't yet decided whether he's going to approve the pay raise for the comptroller and other elected officials," Rausch wrote.

"Frankly, the comptroller's energies would be better used making sure state employees get paid on time rather than lobbying for his own pay raise," Rausch added.

The General Assembly has been in overtime session since May 31, when it missed its constitutional deadline for adjournment.

In another development Tuesday, more than 100 students and members of the clergy - mostly from Chicago - gathered outside the governor's Capitol office at mid-day, hoping to meet with him and express their support for an income tax increase that would boost funding for schools.

Their request for an immediate meeting was turned down, and Deputy Gov. Louanner Peters told members of the group that they had not been expected in Springfield on Tuesday.

"We have been insulted for the very last time by this governor," said the Rev. Roosevelt Watkins of Bethlehem Star Church in Chicago. "He has disrespected our children by not giving us the increased funding that we need for education."

The governor's office subsequently contacted some members of the group and met with them later in the afternoon, said Chris Butler, field director for A-Plus Illinois, which is a coalition of organizations seeking to improve school funding in the state.

Mike Ramsey contributed to this report from Chicago. Dana Heupel can be reached at (217) 788-1518 or dana.heupel@sj-r.com. Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres@sj-r.com.

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