Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Cook County Sheriff's Office, Illinois, 2007-2011
This article may not adhere to Ballotpedia's current article guidelines. Please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org to suggest an improvement.
The Cook County Sheriff's Office in Cook County, Illinois reduced the number of full-time employees by 3%, from 6,899 employees in 2010 to 6,697 employees in 2011.[1] The Sheriff’s Office received $457,168,535 for FY 2010, reduced in 2011 to $404,568,651.[2]
Sheriff’s Office total budget[3]
| Year | Salaries/benefits expenditures |
|---|---|
| FY 2007 | $388 million |
| FY 2008 | $419 million |
| FY 2009 | $435 million |
| FY 2010 | $471 million |
| FY 2011 | $405 million |
Salaries
Of the 27 positions listed that include specific salary information (including members of the Executive Office, Administration and Legal Affairs), five employees made over $150,000 annually and 11 employees made over $100,000 annually in 2011.[4]
| Title | Salary (maximum annual) |
|---|---|
| Sheriff | $160,000 |
| Under Sheriff | $146,470 |
| Assistant to Sheriff | $109,119 |
| Executive Assistant V-Sheriff | $88,065 |
| Administrative Assistant to Sheriff | $158,102 |
| Administrative Assistant IV | $188,982 |
| Community Outreach Liaison | $97,612 |
| Assistant to Sheriff | $115,430 |
| Director of Administration | $124,602 |
| Chief of Staff-Sheriff | $124,765 |
| Grant Analyst | $83, 782 |
| Legislative Affairs Administrator | $73,226 |
| Legislative Coordinator I | $73,226 |
| Executive Assistant IV | $124,263 |
| Executive Assistant I-Sheriff | $44,913 |
| Chief Counsel | $ 115,000 |
| Police Commander | $93,368 |
| Deputy General Counsel | $196,119 |
| Assistant General Counsel | $75,077 |
| Legal Assistant-Sheriff | $84,200 |
| Administrative Assistant IV | $54,288 |
Top 5 highest paid workers[5]
| Title | Annual salary (maximum) |
|---|---|
| Deputy General Counsel | $196,119 |
| Administrative Assistant IV | $188,982 |
| Sheriff | $160,000 |
| Administrative Assistant to Sheriff | $158,102 |
| Under Sheriff | $146,470 |
Pensions/benefits totals
The totals below reflect 2010 year-to-date expenditures, reported in 2011.[6]
| Pension | Life insurance | Health insurance | Mandatory Medicare costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| $77,935 | $3,082 | $195,967 | $17,133 |
Car use/purchasing
| 2010 expenditures year-to-date | 2010 adjusted appropriation | Department request |
|---|---|---|
| $2,684,957 | $7,613,000 | $4,595,000 |
Phone use
Neither the Sheriff’s Office nor Cook County, IL list phone or cell phone policies and no reimbursement information is available specifically relating to phone use.
Salary records project
In 2011, Sunshine Review chose 152 local governments as the focus of research on public employee salaries. The editors of Sunshine Review selected eight states with relevant political contexts (listed alphabetically):
1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. New Jersey
6. Pennsylvania
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin
Within these states, the editors of Sunshine Review focused on the most populous cities, counties and school districts, as well as the emergency services entities within these governments. The purpose of this selection method was to develop articles on governments affecting the most citizens.
The salary information garnered from these states were a combination of existing online resources and state Freedom of Information Act requests sent out to the governments.
A study published by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia said the city of Philadelphia faced challenges owing to the cost of public employee pensions.[7] The report claimed the amount that Philadelphia paid to pension recipients limited the city’s ability to use its budget effectively.
The report said there were more individuals receiving pension benefits—33,907 claimants in 2006—than workers in the city—28,701.[7] The authors recommended three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions: improved data collection, expanded transparency initiatives, and reductions to the city's overall budget.[7]
Salary schedules can be published as ranges, not as specific compensation figures, and may leave out compensation received through health and retirement benefits, as well as benefits such as commuter allowances and cell phone reimbursements. This project aimed to close the gap and provide a more accurate picture of public employee salaries for the sake of public education and transparency.
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook County Official Website, "Sheriff’s Office 2011 employee count" (dead link)
- ↑ Cook County Official Website, "Sheriff’s Office 2011 budget recommendations" (dead link)
- ↑ Cook County Official Website, "Sheriff’s Office total budget archives" (dead link)
- ↑ Cook County Official Website, "Specific salary information"
- ↑ Cook County Official Website, "Highest paid workers"
- ↑ Cook County Official Website, "Pensions/benefits totals"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
