Exhausted with lawmakers’ inability to resolve Illinois’ pension liability, Gov. Pat Quinn has suspended their salaries and used his line-item veto to eliminate salaries from the fiscal 2014 budget.

Given that the average Illinois lawmaker collects $67,836 a year, the last ditch effort would save the state almost $14 million for the year. The plan also includes a suspension of the governor’s salary until a pension bill makes its way to his desk.

Quinn has asked legislators for months to save the state and warned that passivity and half-passed legislation was unacceptable by the Wednesday deadline. Concerned for the state’s credit, which holds the lowest rating of all U.S. states, Quinn created consequences for a seemingly uncaring General Assembly.

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Senate President John Cullerton and Illinois Comptroller Judy Bear Topinka both shared a concern over the constitutionality of Quinn’s decision and argued that political grandstanding such as the governor’s should not inhibit a special committee from resolving pension troubles.

"The governor's actions raise a series of constitutional and procedural issues that have never been resolved by the courts," said state Attorney General Lisa Madigan regarding the constitutionality of Quinn’s decision.

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House Speak Michael Madigan, who sponsored and passed a pension bill in the House this year, praised the governor for his efforts.

"The governor's decision follows my efforts, and I understand his frustration," Madigan said in a statement. "I am hopeful his strategy works."

Sources: Reuters, Chicago Tribune

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