A Cook County judge ruled Thursday that state lawmakers must be paid on time despite their failure to pass a budget, which has caused a pileup of more than $12.8 billion in unpaid bills.

Last year, then-Comptroller Leslie Munger, an appointee of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, put lawmaker paychecks in line with Illinois’ other past-due bills in an effort to make lawmakers feel the pain of the stalemate.

Circuit Judge Rodolfo Garcia ruled current Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza needs to pay up, citing a 2014 law passed after then-Gov. Pat Quinn withheld paychecks over pension reform.

Several Democratic legislators sued Munger, claiming she violated the state constitution through executive-branch interference with the legislature.

Mendoza said she planned to comply with the order. She also said she would ask her lawyers to appeal the judge’s ruling.