BENTON - Both the incumbent and his challenger for the 59th District state senate seat have given a thumbs down to a scheduled legislative pay hike.

State Sen. Gary Forby and his opponent, Ken Burzynski, oppose the pay raises that will cost the state more than $1 million.

"I am absolutely opposed to receiving a pay raise, especially in a time when the country and state are enduring such poor economic conditions," Forby said in a press release. "The current pay raise that stands before us from the Compensation Review Board would cost the state millions of dollars to pay the selected elected officials.

"To pay for the raises for senators and representatives alone, the cost to the state would be more than $1.2 million. It is my opinion that this is something our state cannot afford right now and would be an irresponsible act if approved."

Forby said his track record on the issue of legislative pay raises is consistent.

"In 2004 and 2006, I pushed hard to make the responsible move of rejecting the pay raises, both times voting against them. In 2004, we were able to formally reject the pay raise and it did not go into effect. However, in 2006, my vote was not enough to stop the pay raise from going through. Nevertheless, I did not accept my own personal pay raise as I did not think it was the right thing to do.

"Instead, last October at the Dancing with the Stars event, I donated my portion of the pay raise to the Williamson County Child Advocacy Center. Going a step further, I did not accept the additional money received from the many special sessions we endured last year. Instead, I passed the money received from those daily per diem checks along to local charities throughout the 59th District in the form of separate charitable donations."

Burzynski said he believes the senators should reject the pay hike when the Senate convenes next week.

"As a small business owner, I know that employees are awarded pay raises based on merit," Burzynski said. "We have a Chicago-oriented leadership that believes they deserve pay increases even though they have not delivered on key issues such as lowering gasoline and energy prices, economic development and job creation and making healthcare affordable."

Illinois lawmakers' base salaries are scheduled to rise from $67,836 to $72,985 if the Senate fails to act on House Joint Resolution 132, Burzynski said.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's salary will also increase to more than $192,000.

He urged Forby to push his fellow senators to vote against the hike. Forby said his signature will be one on a letter to Sen. President Emil Jones asking him to bring up the pay issue at the special session so he can vote against it.

"Next week, when the Illinois Senate reconvenes, they need to work quickly to reject the pay increases for lawmakers, executive officers and agency heads that were recommended by the Compensation Review Board," Burzynski said.

beckymalk@gmail.com

927-5633