HB2943 amends the Illinois Salaries Act and the General Assembly Compensation Act to undo changes made by Public Act 102-1115. In practical terms, the bill would remove the automatic salary increases that were set for certain statewide executive officers and legislators beginning with the 103rd General Assembly and restore the prior framework that tied compensation to the Compensation Review Board for terms beginning on or after January 11, 2027. The bill keeps the existing salary structure for terms beginning before January 9, 2023 and would revert the newer fixed-dollar compensation provisions for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney General, and members of the General Assembly.
For legislators, the bill would eliminate the current $85,000 annual salary for General Assembly members that applies beginning with the 103rd General Assembly and return compensation to the earlier $28,000 baseline, subject to Compensation Review Board adjustments, for terms beginning on and after January 13, 2027. It also preserves the existing rules on additional pay for leadership and committee roles, mileage reimbursement, and per diem/lodging provisions, while changing the underlying salary language to remove the 2023-era increases.
The bill’s impact would be on state compensation statutes governing pay for constitutional officers and lawmakers. It would not create a new compensation system, but instead roll back a prior statutory change and reestablish the pre-PA 102-1115 approach for future terms. The affected parties are Illinois statewide elected executive officers and members of the General Assembly, particularly those whose compensation is set directly by statute rather than by separate appropriations.
Overall sentiment cannot be measured from recorded committee debate or votes because no transcripts or vote history were provided. Based on the bill title and substance, the measure appears to be a rollback of legislative and executive pay raises, which typically draws support from fiscal restraint advocates and opposition from those who favor maintaining the higher compensation levels already enacted. The absence of recorded action suggests the bill was introduced without documented public debate in the materials provided.
The main point of contention is likely whether the state should keep the salary increases enacted in Public Act 102-1115 or revert to the earlier compensation structure. Supporters would likely frame the bill as limiting government pay and reversing automatic or statutory raises, while opponents would likely argue that the current salaries are already law and that reducing them could affect recruitment, retention, or parity among constitutional officers and legislators.
HB2943 would amend two Illinois compensation statutes—the Salaries Act and the General Assembly Compensation Act—to remove the salary changes enacted by Public Act 102-1115. It would affect the statutory pay of statewide executive officers and General Assembly members by restoring prior compensation language and eliminating the newer fixed salary amounts for future terms, especially the 103rd General Assembly and later terms beginning in 2027.
No committee transcripts or vote records were provided, so there is no documented public sentiment in the supplied materials. Based on the bill’s subject, the measure is best characterized as a rollback of pay increases, which generally tends to attract support from budget-conscious lawmakers and criticism from those who support the existing compensation levels or oppose changing pay after it has been set by statute.
The central dispute is whether to preserve the compensation increases established by Public Act 102-1115 or repeal them and return to the earlier salary framework. Supporters of the bill would likely emphasize fiscal restraint and opposition to legislative/executive pay raises, while opponents would likely focus on the fairness and stability of the current salary schedule and the potential effects on recruitment and retention of public officials.