Kifowit Passes Legislation to End ‘Golden Parachute’ Payments for Fired Government Employees

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Aurora, passed legislation to rein in obscenely large severance packages granted to fired or outgoing government employees at taxpayers’ expense.

“Government should invest in its people, not enrich fired or outgoing employees,” Kifowit said. “These publicly-funded golden parachutes granted to dismissed government employees break the public trust every time they occur.”

Kifowit’s Government Severance Pay Act, Senate Bill 3604, is in response to large payouts from government entities to outgoing executives. Most notably, the College of DuPage paid a $763,000 severance package to its fired president, and the University of Northern Illinois provided its dismissed former president a $600,000 severance package. Kifowit’s Government Severance Pay Act requires government entities entering into an employee contract that includes severance to provide a provision prohibiting the severance pay when the worker has been fired for severe misconduct and reigns in all government severance packages to a 20-week maximum.

“People ought to know that they can trust their public officials to be responsible with our public dollars and not enrich their pockets by looking for a big payout when they leave,” Kifowit continued. “My legislation limiting, or if there is misconduct eliminating, public severances will help restore people’s trust in government.”

The Government Severance Pay Act now heads to the governor for his signature.