3:09 pm Fri September 27, 2013  Judge ruling: state lawmakers
should get paid  A Cook County judge had harsh words Friday for
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, saying state lawmakers should get
their paychecks again.  IPR’s Tony Arnold explains.   Governor
Quinn has said lawmakers shouldn’t get paid until they agree on
a plan to cut pension benefits for state employees.   So he took
the money for their salaries out of the state budget, which
prompted a lawsuit.   In making his ruling - Cook County Judge
Neil Cohen said he was relying on precedent.   When Rod
Blagojevich was governor - he tried to cut judges’ salaries,
which was found to be unconstitutional.    Cohen said he was
using that case to rule against Quinn.    Quinn’s lawyers pushed
back - asking that lawmakers not get paid while he appeals the
decision.    Cohen called that “cynical” - saying not getting
paid would create more hardship for the legislators.    Meantime
- there’s still no clear agreement among lawmakers on how the
state’s 100 billion dolla