Cook County employee salaries, 2011
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Cook County employee salaries are public record under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
Salaries
Cook County employs more than 22,000 employees.[1] However, 800 county employees were laid off beginning in December 2011 in an effort to save over $30 million.[2]
According to a payroll database compiled by the Illinois-based watchdog group Better Government Association, there are 634 Cook County employees with an annual salary of $150,000 or more.[3] There are 47 employees earning more than $300,000 annually and 17 employees earning more than $350,000.[3]
The bulk of the county's highest paid employees work in the Cook County Bureau of Health Services.
Highest paid county employees
- Healthcare CEO William Foley earns $500,000
- Richard Keen, a surgeon, earns $444,239
- Robert Weinstein, chair of internal medicine, earns $450,000
- Peter Egofske, an attending physician, earns $431,797.59
- Michael Ayres, CFO of Bureau of Health Services, earns $350,000
- George Cybulski, Medical Div. Chairman XII, earns $422,751.69
- Yogesh Gandhi, Med Dept Assoc Chair-Surgery, earns $368,116
- Courtney Hollowell, Medical Div. Chairman XII, earns $364,597
- Patrick Dunn, Associate Chair Radiology, earns $350,835.69
- Hyang Paek, Attending Physician XI, earns $359,472.44
- Tuan Nguyen, Associated Medical Chairman, earns $377,821.59
- Roxanne Roberts, Chairman Trauma Services, earns $401,828.97
- Stathis Poulakidas, Medical Div. Chairman XII, earns $415,604.81
- Jeffrey Schaider, Chair-Emergency Medicine, earns $388614.72
- Edward Linn, OBGYN Chairman, earns $385,000
- Ruheri Perez-Tamayo, attending physician, earns $377821.59
- Gennadiy, Voronov, Chairman of Anesthesiology, earns $375,000
Other noted salaries
- Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle earns $170,000
- County Commissioner Earlean Collins earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Robert Steele earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Jeremy "Iceman" Butler earns $85,000
- County Commissioner William M. Beavers earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Deborah Sims earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Joan Patricia Murphy earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Jesus Garcia earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Edwin Reyes earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Peter Silvestri earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Bridget Gainer earns $85,000
- County Commissioner John Daley earns $90,000
- County Commissioner John A. Fritchey earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Larry Suffredin earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Gregg Gosslin earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Timothy Schneider earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Jeffrey R. Tobolski earns $85,000
- County Commissioner Elizabeth Doody Gorman earns $85,000
- Sheriff Tom Dart earns $160,000
- State's Attorney Anita Alvarez earns $192,789
- County Treasurer Maria Pappas earns $105,000
- County Clerk David Orr earns $105,000
Benefits
According to the Cook County website, Cook County offers its employees a health insurance program that includes medical, dental and eye care.[4]
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.[5] 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.[5] 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.[5]
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.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook County Official Website, "County Employees"
- ↑ Cook County Official Website, "Preckwinkle submits FY 2012 budget to county board," Oct. 23, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Better Government Association, "Payroll Database" (dead link)
- ↑ Cook County, Illinois Bureau of Finance, Department of Risk Management, "2012 Benefits Overview"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
