Madigan: Why The Court Is Getting Involved In The Budget Tangle

A court hearing is set for Tuesday morning, July 7, in Cook County to help determine which bills the state's comptroller can write when the state has no budget. There's a question as to whether state employees' paychecks can be issued. The state began its new fiscal year a week ago.

Talk to Illinois' Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, a Democrat, and it sounds simple: without a budget, Illinois has lost much of its authority to spend money.

"In order for all employees to be paid their full amount of pay, a budget needs to be passed by the legislature and approved by the governor," she says.

EXTENDED INTERVIEW with Attorney General Lisa Madigan on why she's asking the third branch of state government -- the court system -- to get involved as the governor and lawmakers fight over budget matters. Statehouse Bureau Chief Amanda Vinicky asked Madigan, daughter of House Speaker Lisa Madigan, about accusations made by her father's latest political nemesis, Gov. Bruce Rauner, that she is trying to "block" workers from getting paid. Hear her response in this segment.

But it's not that straightforward. Madigan says federal law requires certain state workers be paid the minimum wage, no matter what.

Republican Comptroller Leslie Munger says her office isn't prepared for that.

"Our state's antiquated computer systems and databases make that task very difficult," Munger says.

Similar reasoning led a court to allow Illinois to pay all state workers during a 2007 impasse, but it's unknown whether it'll be allowed again; Madigan says the situations aren't comparable.

It's a technical, legal matter, but partisan accusations mean it's now dripping with political overtones. Madigan says she filed the case in Cook County because most of her office's lawyers are based in Chicago, as is most of the state's population, but she says it could have been filed anywhere in Illinois.

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