Hirschauer Backing Effort to End Taxpayer-Funded Exit Bonus for Legislators

WEST CHICAGO, Ill. – State Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, is sponsoring legislation that would end the practice of legislators claiming a full month’s pay for only one day of work.

“In most professions, employees only get paid for the days that they work and legislators should be held to that same standard,” Hirschauer said. “This is a simple change that we can should make, not only to improve ethical standards in our state but to save taxpayer dollars.”

Under current state law, legislators can claim a full month’s salary for just one day’s work. Hirschauer is sponsoring House Bill 3104, which would change the legislative pay schedule to prorate legislators’ salaries so they only get a day’s pay for a day’s work. The issue came to light in recent years after a series of high-profile cases of Illinois legislators having to resign mid-term for ethics violations. In those cases when those a legislator left office mid-month they were entitled to a full month’s pay.

“Unfortunately, this issue has been highlighted more recently as legislators from both parties have been forced to leave office in relation to bad behavior and ethics violations,” Hirshauer said. “Especially in those cases, it is wrong for taxpayers to be on the hook to pay a full month’s salary for a legislator who only worked several days.”

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