SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — Gov. J.B. Pritzker used his first full day in office to restore frozen wage increases for unionized state employees.

The Democrat also took other pro-worker action Tuesday by announcing that union employees would begin getting seniority-based “step” increases in pay. Those contractually required increases were frozen by former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner four years ago during still-unresolved contract negotiations.

Pritzker did not say how much the extra pay would cost but it is not retroactive.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Republican Party chairman Tim Schneider,  says the Democrat’s action constitutes “reckless spending … without specifying the costs.”