Illinois paid $1.6M to state workers whose workplaces are closed

A pending lawsuit by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, among other unions, is keeping dozens of workers on state payrolls – even though their workplaces have been shuttered for months.

When an Illinois manufacturing worker arrives at his plant only to find the doors chained shut – it usually means he’s lost his job.

This is not the case for Illinois government workers, according to a Jan. 18 investigative report from NBC 5. The report found that dozens of state workers have been paid more than $1.6 million over the past seven months while their places of work were closed by the state.

When Gov. Bruce Rauner began implementing emergency cost-saving measures in July 2015, his actions included grounding the state’s air fleet and closing all five state museums, as well as the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta. These closures were to come with layoffs for 150 union employees across six state agencies.

But legal action by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, among other government-worker unions, has delayed those layoffs, NBC 5 reports.

News of this bizarre pay scheme comes as AFSCME butts heads with the governor over contract negotiations that may leave members of the state’s largest government-worker union without the automatic pay raises, shorter work weeks and gold-plated health insurance they have come to expect from taxpayers.

AFSCME workers have enjoyed benefits that far outstrip those of the private-sector taxpayers who fund them. Since 2005, AFSCME worker salaries have grown five times faster than Illinois workers’ median earnings.

Bringing Illinois government-worker pay and benefits in line with what Illinoisans can afford should start with shedding those workers who show up to empty workplaces each day.