(The Center Square) – Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, says he has no intention of cashing in on the 18% pay raise state lawmakers gave themselves as part of the state’s new $1.7 billion spending plan.
“The optics of this are bad and the reality of it is even worse,” Caulkins told The Center Square. “I’m embarrassed by it, and have no desire to benefit from it.”
Instead, just as he has done since taking office in 2019, Caulkins said he plans to deposit his entire salary in a special checking account to be dispersed to veterans, seniors and youth groups as part of his Outreach 101 program.
“Everybody in Illinois and especially in our district is being hammered with high gas and food prices that have them struggling,” he added. “I think it’s an insult to working families in this state to do this. It shows a lack of concern and is yet another example of how detached from reality the Democrat Party is in Illinois.”
The $12,094 pay hikes that went into effect just before the start of the 103rd General Assembly bump the base pay of state lawmakers to $85,000. In addition, most state representatives can earn up to $16,000 more based on annual salary bonuses for committee responsibilities and leadership positions. With state lawmakers already ranking as the fourth-highest paid in the country, the base pay raises are in addition to 2.4% annual cost-of-living increases lawmakers carved out for themselves just four years ago.
Since taking office, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has pushed hard for such pay hikes, arguing that they help attract better candidates for the job.
Caulkins disagrees.
“None of this was talked about, just all of sudden here we are,” he said. “They snuck it in as part of the spending bill, no discussion, no hearing, nothing. No one around here was talking about a pay raise.”
Caulkins said it’s a far cry from what he was envisioning when he came to Springfield.
“I never wanted people thinking I was running for office because I just wanted a job,” he said. “I wanted them to understand my interest in getting involved was purely about public service. I’ve seen other politicians motivated by other things, where it becomes more about what they can get than what it is they can do for the people. We have to remember to be good at this job is to be about public service.”
