SPRINGFIELD -Illinois lawmakers and other top officials apparently won't be seeing bigger paychecks anytime soon.

State Comptroller Dan Hynes said Monday that pay raises for the General Assembly and others in state government will not be made even if the Legislature fails to reject the salary increases this week.

The reason: The state budget doesn't direct him to pay the raises, so he can't.

"We cannot implement the pay raises without an appropriation," Hynes said.

Under Illinois law, both the House and Senate must reject pay raises recommended every two years by a special commission or they automatically go into effect. The House rejected the pay hikes last spring, but the Senate hasn't followed suit.

With lawmakers set to return to Springfield today and Wednesday, there is speculation that the 7.5 percent salary bumps will become an issue.

The commission recommended lawmakers' pay rise from $67,836 to $72,985. The governor's salary will rise to more than $192,000.

The issue has already become fodder on the campaign trail in at least one Senate race.

Last week, state Sen. Gary Forby and his opponent, Republican Ken Burzynski of Benton, called for the Senate to reject the raises, which will cost taxpayers more than $1.2 million.

In addition to citing technical reasons for not being able to pay out any pay hikes, Hynes said it doesn't make sense to pay them at a time when the governor has made cuts to health care providers and social service programs.

"I am of the opinion that this is no time for pay raises," said Hynes, a Democrat.

kurt.erickson@lee.net / (217) 789-0865