Legislation championed by State representative Stephanie Kifowit, D-Aurora, to rein in obscenely large severance packages granted to fired or outgoing government employees at taxpayers’ expense was signed into law August 14.
Kifowit’s Government Severance Pay Act, Senate Bill 3604, was introduced and passed in response to large payouts from government entities to outgoing executives. Most notably, the College of DuPage paid a $763,000 severance package to its fired president, and the University of Northern Illinois provided its dismissed former president a $600,000 severance package. Kifowit’s initiative requires government entities entering into employee contracts that includes severance to provide a provision prohibiting the severance pay when the worker has been fired for severe misconduct and reins in all government severance packages to a 20-week maximum.
“Publicly-funded golden parachutes granted to dismissed government employees break the public trust every time they occur,” Kifowit said. “That money could be used to fund critical services, such as Meals on Wheels for seniors or domestic abuse shelters.”
“People ought to know that they can trust their public officials to be responsible with public dollars,” Kifowit continued. “My legislation limiting, or if there is misconduct eliminating, public severances will help restore people’s trust in government.”
—Representative Stephanie Kifowit, IL House District 84
