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Some state workers could get pay raises

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By Mike Riopell | Wednesday, January 03, 2007 |

SPRINGFIELD — New guidelines could allow some people who work under Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to earn merit-based raises this year.

Blagojevich’s office announced Tuesday that managers with salaries under his control can earn merit-based pay increases this year. Many received 4 percent raises in 2006, but, before that, merit raises for management had been frozen since early in the governor’s first term.

A majority of state employees get pay increases based on a regular schedule. Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said nonunion workers bore some of the burden of trying to fix a budget deficit during the governor’s first term. She said it is less of a problem now that his second term is about to begin.

“We’ve been able to do a lot of things to get the deficit under control,” she added.

In 2007, an estimated 6,000 employees under the governor will be eligible for raises based on their annual reviews, at a cost of about $13 million. Pay for state university employees is not included because their salaries are determined by the schools, not the governor.

Workers with stellar reviews can get up to $200 more per month in pay, as well as a onetime bonus for up to 7 percent of their annual salary. The guidelines describe rates of raises below that, including workers with “unacceptable” ratings getting no pay increase.

While workers received a 4 percent raise last year, they also have seen a 4 percent cut in their take-home pay because of increases in their pension contributions.

If approved by a legislative committee, those new guidelines will stay in place until further notice, assuring workers of at least a chance at yearly raises. Ottenhoff said the plan was finalized last week, and she acknowledged that if financial situations demand it, the raise plan could be dropped.

In the years when the merit-based raises were frozen, thousands of state workers petitioned the state and won union representation — and the contractual pay increases that go along with it, said Anders Lindall, a spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. He said thousands more requests are pending.

Mike Riopell can be contacted at (217) 789-0865 or mike.riopell@lee.net.