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Illinois local government salary, 2010-2011
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Illinois local government salary data is public record.
Cities
On June 9, 2011, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration posted the salaries of every city employee to a public website in a bid to follow through on a campaign promise to bring transparency to government.[1] At $2.5 billion as of 2011, payroll was one of the largest expenses for the city as it battled a $650 million budget deficit. The data showed that 2,400 city workers were paid $100,000 or more per year.[1]
According to a payroll database compiled by the Illinois-based watchdog group Better Government Association, there were two employees earning more than $150,000 annually in Aurora in 2011.[2] The BGA database does not allow searches to be broken down by department, only last name or salary value.
- City Treasurer Brian Caputo earned $159,411.20
- Chief of Police Gregory Thomas earned $154,731.2
- Mayor Tom Weisner earned $111,841.6
- Assistant Chief of Staff Charles Nelson earned $98,966.40
Counties
Lake County's highest earner is the county administrator, who earned $222,547.27 in 2011.[3] The Cook County CEO earned $500,000 for the same year.[4] The chief financial officer of DuPage County earned $162,782.[5]
School districts
Teacher salaries
Below is a chart of the top 10 highest paid teachers in Illinois as of 2010.[6] Over 14,000 teachers in Illinois made over $100,000 a year as of 2010.[7]
| Salary | Subject | Name | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| $191,124 | Physical Ed | William Mitz | Adlai E Stevenson High School |
| $189,219 | English (9-12) | James Liesz | East Leyden High School |
| $187,278 | Physical Ed | Steven Heuerman | Niles West High School |
| $184,449 | Physical Ed | Paul Parpet | Addison Trail High School |
| $179,253 | Graphic Design | Archibald Loch | Adlai E Stevenson High School |
| $177,263 | Guidance Counselor | David Bene | Highland Park High School |
| $174,656 | French | Carolyn Dunoon | East Leyden High School |
| $172,164 | Physics | Michael Wietlispach | Hoffman Estates High School |
| 171,595 | Drama | Susan Rothchild | Lake Park High School |
There is also a chart comparing salaries for the highest paid high school teachers to those of university professors:[8]
| Subject | Illinois High Schools | Univ. of Illinois Main Campus |
|---|---|---|
| English | $189,219 | $163,000 |
| French | $173,000 | $150,000 |
| Physics | $172,100 | $240,000 |
| Math | $169,700 | $185,000 |
| Theater | $167,500 | $102,000 |
| Political Science | $166,410 | $191,000 |
| Music | $165,400 | $136,000 |
Law enforcement
Chicago Police Department 2011 salaries:[9]
- Superintendent of Police earned $310,000
- Assistant Superintendent earned $188,316
The Illinois Senate passed a bill to repeal a provision in a 2007 pension law that would have allowed the former Oak Brook Chief of Police to collect a $750,000 annual pension, much higher than his final salary. The 2007 law included a one-time, six-month window that allowed former Oak Brook Police Chief Thomas Sheahan to transfer credits from a Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (MEABF) into the Sheriff's Law Enforcement Personnel program within the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF). Sheahan was to receive benefits based on one $77,000 pension, instead of two pensions that add up to $45,000 a year. Sheahan was the only person in the state to benefit from the provision.[10]
Fire departments
The Chicago Fire Deputy District Chief earned $134,868 and the District Chief earned $148,356.[11]
Salary articles
In 2011, Sunshine Review requested salary information from 19 local governments in the state.
Cities
Counties
School districts
- Township High School District 211
- Chicago Public School District 299
- Township High School District 214
- School District U-46
Law enforcement
- Chicago Police Department
- Will County Sheriff
- Illinois State Police
- Cook County Sheriff
- DuPage County Sheriff
- Lake County Sheriff
- Aurora Police Department
Fire
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.[12] 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.[12] 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.[12]
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
- “Employee State Salaries”, Pantagraph.com, 2010
- “Better Government Payroll Database”, Better Government Association, 2010 (dead link)
- “Salary Request”, State of Illinois Comptroller
- “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: A Closer Look at Public Employee Pay”, Illinois Policy Institute, 2010
- “Illinois State Payroll Database”, STLtoday.com, 2009
- “Teacher Salary Database”, Family Taxpayers Foundation, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Releases Salary Information for Every City Employee," ABC News, June 9, 2011
- ↑ Better Government Association, Payroll Database, July 21, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ Lake County employee salaries
- ↑ Cook County employee salaries
- ↑ DuPage County employee salaries
- ↑ Champion News, 2010 Top 100 Teacher Salaries, Dec, 2010 (dead link)
- ↑ American Thinker, Let's hear it for the 'working class' teachers of Illinois!, March 14, 2011
- ↑ Carpe Diem, Highest paid teachers in Illinois: High School vs. College, By Discipline, Dec. 16, 2010
- ↑ Chicago Police Department, Illinois
- ↑ Daily Herald, Senate targets former Oak Brook chief’s pension, May 26, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Fire Department, Illinois
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
