By AP/KWMU
Chicago, ILL. – The Illinois Supreme Court Thursday ordered Comptroller Dan Hynes to pay salary increases for Illinois judges that were vetoed by the governor.
Hynes had said he would not include a cost-of-living increase in paychecks for more than 1,000 judges because the money was not appropriated. But the court says the governor's veto only removed the money for the pay hikes, and not the legal obligations to pay them.
Earlier this month, Governor Rod Blagojevich vetoed pay raises for the state's constitutional officers, judges and lawmakers as part of $22 million in state budget cuts.
In a statement, Blagojevich says a pay increase to judges is inappropriate, ill timed and unnecessary.