Vella Supports “No Budget, No Pay” Legislation

ROCKFORD, Ill. – State Rep. Dave Vella, D-Rockford, is backing legislation that would prevent state legislators from receiving a paycheck if no budget is passed.

“As we saw during the previous budget impasse, the lack of a budget causes massive strain on our communities,” said Vella. “If legislators are unable to do what needs to be done to prevent the damage that the lack of a budget causes on our residents, then they have failed in their jobs and therefore do not deserve to take a single cent of taxpayer dollars.”

Vella is co-sponsoring House Bill 178, a bipartisan measure which would freeze funding for legislative salaries if no budget is passed, as part of his efforts to bring good government practices back to Springfield. He has introduced a number of bills to protect taxpayer dollars from abuses from public officials, including barring legislators from collecting taxpayer-funded pensions and not allowing public officials to collect a full-months salary for less than a month of work.

“For far too long, many politicians in Springfield have been working for themselves and not the people they are supposed to represent,” said Vella. “It is time that we put taxpayers first, and I look forward to continuing to support legislation that helps achieve that goal.”

​