How to get a pay increase? Vote No.

You gotta love Illinois.

Don't miss today's Associated Press (AP) story on Page 3A of the Northwest Herald. Go to http://www.nwherald.com/ a little later and search for a keyword, such as hostile or sleight (as in, sleight of hand) or bewildering, all words that ought to bring up the article online As of 8:29AM that AP article is not on the Northwest Herald's website; perhaps it will be there later.

How do legislators get a pay raise? They write a bill to give themselves a raise, and then they vote against it.

And they still get it!!!

Quoting from the AP article, "... the law says raises take effect automatically unless lawmakers pass legislation rejecting them."

So watch out, when your legislator tells you that s/he voted against a bill for a pay raise. It's like that old skit on Prairie Home Companion about 20 years ago. A "No" vote means "Yes", and a "Yes" vote means ... well, in Illinois this is a time when "Yes" and "No" both mean "Yes".

Heads they win, tails we lose. Got it?

Here's a perfect example of clear thinking and logical justification by a State Representative: Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) is quoted as saying, "All those hardworking people (judges, state's attorneys, agency heads) deserve a raise and we don't?" You go, girl!