By AP
Springfield, IL – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is defending pay raises he gave to his staff even though the state is awash in debt. An Associated Press analysis of records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act finds the Democrat has given 43 salary increases averaging over 11 percent since taking office. Quinn says the raises were deserved and offset by a 25% cut in office costs. His staff says the governor's office has already seen a 10% cut and another 25% reduction is planned this year. Quinn plans to cut spending by $1.4 billion dollars this year because of Illinois' debt.