West Central Reporter

In a Jan. 9 Facebook post, Sen. Jil Tracy reacted to the passage of a supplemental budget bill.

"State Senator Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) says Democratic leaders forced through an irresponsible spending bill during a lame-duck, after-hours, Sunday-night vote on legislation that was quickly signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker.

Tracy shared a link to her website where she expanded on her statement: “The support by Democratic leaders of such a self-centered vote shows that their claims of working on behalf of the average Illinois resident are suspect. Very few hard-working, tax-paying Illinoisans are allowed to give themselves a raise, as well as supply their boss with a pot full of cash for pet projects,” Tracy said. “Families are struggling to stay afloat financially, as costs are spiraling higher as a result of bad decisions by some government officials about spending priorities.”

NPR Illinois reported that the Governor, Lt. Governor, Comptroller and Treasurer will all see pay increases with passage of this bill. "Under the pay schedules outlined in the bill, salaries of the lieutenant governor, comptroller and treasurer would increase from $143,400 to $160,900; and the attorney general’s and secretary of state’s from $165,400 to $183,300."

The State Journal-Register reported that these increases will go into effect for statewide officeholders on Jan. 9, and went into effect on Jan. 4 for legislators.

Senate Bill 1720 was filed by Rep. Greg Harris on Jan. 6, 2023. It laid out increases in pay for the heads of several departments, including the Department of Children and Family Services, Department of Aging, Department of Agriculture and others.