Defeated former legislators can't bear the idea of not being on the state's payroll.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has, once again, run into trouble with the ill-advised nomination of a former state legislator to a highly paid executive branch post.

Quinn's nomination of former Democratic state Rep. Mike Smith of Canton represents all that is wrong with government in Illinois. The Illinois Senate would be well advised either to reject or ignore this nomination, just as it did earlier this year when Quinn made the same mistake.

There are several problems with the Smith appointment.

For starters, it's clear payback to Smith, who was defeated for re-election last November but voted to increase state income taxes before leaving office in January.

Second, Smith does not meet the statutorily established qualifications to serve on the state's Educational Labor Relations Board. Individuals who serve on the five-person board are required to have at least five years of experience "directly related to labor and employment relations" either representing labor or management in school-related collective bargaining issues.

Smith concedes he doesn't meet the legal requirements but contends his experience as a state legislator is "related" to the statutory requirements and therefore qualifies him for the post.

Appointments of this nature are an affront to taxpayers in any case.

State boards of this kind mostly were created to allow politicians to place themselves, their friends, their family members or their political supporters on the state payroll. The labor board meets just once a month, sometimes by teleconference, while board members are paid $94,000 a year plus generous health and pension benefits. The board chairman earns more than $100,000.

In practice, the chairman and board members generally rubber-stamp recommendations made by the board's paid staff.

This is the second time Quinn has tried to reward a defeated former Democratic legislator who voted for his controversial income tax increases during last January's lame-duck session.

Quinn earlier nominated former Democratic state Rep. Careen Gordon of Coal City to a lucrative post on the state's Prisoner Review Board. But after the Senate refused to act, Gordon withdrew her nomination.

Quinn later gave her a legal job with the state that did not require Senate confirmation. It would be no surprise if Quinn did the same thing with Smith if the Senate refuses to act on his nomination.

The matter is complicated by party politics. Quinn, a Democrat, is asking the Democratic-controlled Senate to confirm the nomination of a former Democratic House member. Republicans can do nothing but complain if Democrats decide to confirm Smith.

But Senate Democrats don't need this headache. Taxpayers are sickened when politicians use public resources to reward individuals like Smith. They are even more sickened when the nominee doesn't meet the minimum professional requirements set by law for the job. There is no need for senators to stoop to Quinn's level on this issue.