If the Governor and Judge Robert LeChien,
Circuit Court Judge in St. Clair County, say
state workers should be paid they deserve to
be paid if they show up to work, we believe
that Pay Now Illinois providers also deserve to
be paid for the work they do in binding
contracts.
Pay Now Illinois filed its lawsuit on February 9
seeking parity with state workers. Our new
lawsuit seeks funding for agencies contracted to
do work for the state in fiscal year 2017, which
began in July and runs through June. If state
workers continue to be paid for services they
deliver, so, too, should state contractors, who
care for some of the state's most vulnerable
people. We filed in St. Clair County because
precedent had been set there when it was decided
that state workers should continue to be paid
despite the lack of a state budget. It is not a
level playing field if Illinois is paying one
but not the other. The people of Illinois rely
on state contractors much as they do state
workers and the former should be guaranteed
payment because they have existing contracts
with the state. Our claims are just as if not
more legally sound.
Last week, Judge LeChien denied a request by
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to
dissolve the order previously won by AFSCME and
twelve other unions representing state employees
that ensured that state workers would continue
to be paid on time and in full even in the
absence of a state budget. The aim of the suit
was to force a government shutdown if the judge
ruled in Madigans favor by ending payment to
state employees and push the Governor and law
makers to get a budget deal done.
Our aim is to secure the integrity of our
contracts and we are asking the court to require
that our contracts be paid. Human service
providers are important employers in our
community, helping people achieve so they can
give back to their community. Across the board,
every day we delay a resolution to our budget
crisis and the paying of these contracts
every one of us who pays taxes in Illinois will
have to pay more as our back log of bills
continues to grow.
We look forward to having our case heard in this
court.
