SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois House voted Wednesday to reject pay hikes that would have boosted salaries for state lawmakers and hundreds of other top state officials by nearly 12 percent.

On a 94-8 vote, the House put the thorny question of legislative pay hikes in the hands of the Illinois Senate, which now must follow suit.

A vote in the Senate could come within two weeks. If the General Assembly's upper chamber doesn't vote on the exact same legislation, the election-year raises will automatically take effect.

The proposal's fate in the Senate is unclear. Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, who controls what legislation is voted on in the Senate, said earlier that he favors the pay hike.

Currently, lawmakers earn a base salary of $65,353 annually. They earn more for serving on leadership teams or as chairmen of various committees.

If approved, base pay would rise to $72,985.

Jones and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, would see their salaries go from $91,824 to $102,547. Madigan voted in favor of the pay hike.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich would see his salary rise to $192,773, up from a current level of $170,917.

Beyond state Rep. Kevin McCarthy, D-Orland Park, few lawmakers spoke in favor of the pay hikes during debate on the House floor.

"I don't think my constituents think I'm overpaid," McCarthy said. "I think I work very hard for it."

Opponents said the state's budget situation and the inability of lawmakers to find agreement on key state issues makes it the wrong time to take more money from taxpayers.

All Pantagraph-area members of the House voted against the pay hikes. A separate survey of members of the Senate in the region found they too oppose the raises.

"This is not the time to talk about pay raises in the General Assembly," said state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington. "The fact of the matter is we have to lead by example, and the example should be we do not vote for pay raise."

State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, suggested a pay raise would enrage voters.

"It would make people helluva happy right now, wouldn't it?" Mitchell said.

"I certainly am not for them. I was kind of surprised last week to even hear about them," said state Rep. Keith Sommer, R-Morton.

State Rep. Shane Cultra, R-Onarga, voted to reject the pay raises.

Republican senators, including Dan Rutherford of Chenoa, also oppose the pay hikes.

"Illinois is not meeting its current obligations," said state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington. "This is the worst of all times, and the arrogance of some of my colleagues who say they need a pay raise is alarming to me."

"If it comes up for vote, I'm going to vote against it," said state Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield. "In a time when we have a fiscal crisis in the state, myself representing a number of state employees who have not had a raise in four or five years, I think it would be unconscionable to accept it."