Why people clutch their wallets when an Illinois legislator walks up the street

It’s a small matter, really, in the scheme of things.

Except that it perfectly showcases the money-grubbing culture of Illinois politics.

Who even would have guessed that a state lawmaker who resigns can, by law, award himself a little “exit bonus” by quitting on the first day of a month but collecting a paycheck for the whole month?

Does it work that way for you? If you were to quit your job on, say, Feb. 1, would your boss cut you a check for the whole month of February?

If so, you’ve got one terrific boss and you really shouldn’t quit.

Or you’re a member of the Illinois General Assembly.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza finds this galling, especially because the most recent two legislators to pull this trick resigned under a cloud of a federal investigation, and she has proposed a good bill that would stop the practice.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, would limit lawmakers who resign before completing their term to getting paid only for the days they actually work. And paychecks would be issued bi-weekly, as they already are for all other state employees, rather than monthly.

This is how it goes in Springfield. Legislators grub around for every extra dollar they can pocket, reforming their ways only when they’re found out.

And they wonder why people clutch their wallets when an Illinois legislator walks up the street.

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