Democrats in the Illinois state legislature and Republican governor Bruce Rauner are at loggerheads over a budget for the coming fiscal year, which officially began yesterday.  The result of the lawmakers' inaction will be a partial government shutdown. But don't worry.  The politicians in state government made sure they'd get paid before teachers, health care workers, and all the "little people" in the state who are being furloughed or will have their pay reduced. Chicago Tribune: Remarkably, while workers face layoffs, state legislators won't feel the pinch, thanks to a bill passed last year. It classifies legislator pay as a continuing appropriation — a budget item that state law mandates be funded even in the event of a government shutdown. The bill puts compensating part-time legislators on par with the state's big-ticket items such as debt and pension payments and retiree health benefits. This bill was pushed through...(Read Full Post)