Today the Ozinga for Congress campaign points out the phony hypocrisy of Debbie Halvorson's on-again, off-again efforts to shove more taxpayer dollars into her wallet via yet another legislator pay raise . . .
MOKENA, IL – Conveniently, Debbie Halvorson now says she opposes another pay raise for herself and Rod Blagojevich. But prior to running for Congress, Halvorson voted to increase Blagojevich's salary as well as her own (she now makes $85,291 for part-time work):
"Among those voting in favor of the raise was Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, who said hardworking lawmakers deserve to be fairly compensated." (Kankakee Daily Journal, 11/17/06)
With Illinois state government broke---with Springfield politicians gridlocked and out-of-touch---with middle-class families struggling under the weight of a shaky economy: shouldn't Debbie Halvorson have fought tooth and nail to force a vote to reject this year's pay increase if she genuinely opposed it?
Partisans weren't the only ones who questioned Halvorson's leadership on the issue. Southtown Star columnist Kristen McQueary noted more than two weeks ago that Halvorson "ought to fight against pay increases, which means putting pressure on Jones, publicly, and other stone-wallers if it reaches that point" (5/11/08).
Of course, Halvorson chose to ignore this sage advice and remained silent. As a result, the Chicago Tribune reported last week that the "pay increase for state lawmakers appears more likely" (5/22/08).
But no one should be surprised. . .
After all, Debbie Halvorson has said that her job – rather than standing up for the people she represents – "is to be the most loyal and trusted soldier of the Senate President,"[1] and that "[Senate President Emil Jones'] agenda is my agenda."[2] She has also likened their relationship to one resembling "father-daughter."[3]
And as Jones made quite clear, he needs a pay raise, even though the Chicago Sun-Times reported that he's been using his campaign account as an interest-free personal bank account:
"Thousands of Illinoisans may be hurting because they lost their jobs or can't pay their mortgages, but the top Senate Democrat is looking out for himself in these tough economic times.
"'I need a pay raise,' Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) said." (Chicago Sun-Times, 5/2/08)
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"Before championing a big legislative pay increase, Illinois Senate President Emil Jones provided himself with tens of thousands of dollars in interest-free loans from his campaign fund." (Chicago Sun-Times, 5/22/08)
As demonstrated by her utter lack of leadership on the pay raise issue, Debbie Halvorson has once again subordinated the interests of struggling middle-class Illinoisans to those of Rod Blagojevich, Emil Jones and herself.
