In January the AP found that Rauner's top staff made 36 percent more than top officials working in Quinn's office. It has also been discovered that Purvis' salary is double what her predecessor made.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is paying half of his staff's salaries with money from other government departments, despite his criticism of the practice before taking office in January.

The Rauner administration has previously defended the practice, known as off-shoring, and says that staffers are paid by the department they work with the most.

The AP found that the governor's office has 90 employees earning $7.8 million collectively. They determined that $4 million off-shored dollars were financed by 18 other agencies, and that those workers weren't listed on the governor's office payroll. That leaves $3.8 million that is financed in-house; a sizeable portion of the $5 million budget for the office.

Other Illinois agencies are financing $4 million worth of Rauner's staffers' salaries, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Concern over big consultant salaries, however, has gone up because the state hasn't had an actual budget for two months. Many of out-of-office staffers are paid at least $145,000. Democrats are now reiterating that there is a serious concern over funding for basic social services.

Rauner is well known for his belief in slashing government spending and union busting. His proposed budget for 2015-2016 has been strongly scrutinized by the left, leaving him and Democrats in a political stalemate.

The administration reported in June during an Illinois House hearing that it off-shored only $3 million. Trover told the AP that the amount is less than appropriations made by former Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat.

"This is one of the things that he complained about as a candidate," said Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Democrats didn't take much objection to the amount, but said the main issue was the fact that human services was responsible for her pay. They said the department wouldn't be able to use money for other primary goals such as child care and drug-abuse rehabilitation.

"This is one of the things that he complained about as a candidate," said Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

State Democrats are raising concerns, but Rauner's office says it has done nothing wrong.

They determined that $4 million off-shored dollars were financed by 18 other agencies, and that those workers weren't listed on the governor's office payroll. That leaves $3.8 million that is financed in-house; a sizeable portion of the $5 million budget for the office.

Rauner's opponents say the maneuver comes at the expense of state services and understate Rauner's actual costs. They also say the practice hurts government transparency and goes against the governor's own views.

Among the agencies paying for Rauner staffers are the Illinois State Police, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Capital Development Board.

Rauner's administration said the matter was blown out of proportion, and that Democrats' concerns were a political tactic to distract from their proposed tax increases.

Trover could not be reached for comment

The administration's off-shoring first got attention in May, when it was reported that education advisor Beth Purvis' $250,000 salary came from the Department of Human Services. Democrats didn't take much objection to the amount, but said the main issue was the fact that human services was responsible for her pay. They said the department wouldn't be able to use money for other primary goals such as child care and drug-abuse rehabilitation.

"You can slice and dice the state payroll in multiple ways, but the two bottom lines are: all payroll is publicly reported and the Rauner administration is spending less on total agency-wide payroll than the previous administration," Lance Trover, a spokesman for Rauner, a Republican, said in a statement.